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How to Become a Certified Event
Planner
Planning Your Career Gaining Experience and Training Getting Certified and Working as an Event
Planner
Worldwide, the special events industry is worth an estimated $500 billion, with
profits continuing to rise. These well paid and highly in-demand professionals
plan social events for hotels, corporations, theme parks, cruise lines and non-
profit organizations. Becoming certified as an event planner requires some
creativity on your part since there are no statewide or nationally recognized
certification programs in the United States. However, with personal initiative and
advance planning, you can become a certified event planner by following these
steps.
1
Decide what kind of event planner you'd like to become. Think about whether
you want to be known as a generalist event planner (you're willing to help people plan
any kind of event), or whether you'd rather specialize in certain types of events, such as
wedding receptions, high class corporate events, sports events, and so on. The latter
choice allows you to develop a specific expertise in one field, whereas the generalist
approach will enable you to select across a broader range of events.
There are benefits and drawbacks to both approaches that you should consider -
for example, generalist work means that you will have a wide range of events
available to possible booking of your services but you won't necessarily be able to
distinguish yourself as being unique; whereas, specialist work would enable you to
become renowned for certain types of events.
Part 1 of 3: Planning Your Career
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The types of events include weddings, fashion shows, corporate sponsorship
events, diplomatic events, celebrity parties, conferences, fundraisers, openings
and Open Days, sports events (for example racing cars and horses, football,
tennis, etc.), business and product launches, travel accommodation, birthdays,
anniversaries and celebrations of people and companies, commemorations,
government sponsored events, etc. It is also expected that you will be able to
organize any type of meeting.
Determine whether you're willing to travel across the country or you move to a
different city. Certain types of event planning are more prevalent in certain places.
For example, if you live in a big sports town, you may want to become a sports
event planner.
Go to trade shows and conferences. These are industry gatherings run by national
and international organizations featuring information on even planning as a career.
Trade shows and conferences are excellent places to talk to professionals on the pros and
cons of the industry. This is a great way to figure out what type of event planning will be a
good fit for you.
[1]
Understand an event planner's duties. Make sure you know exactly whats
involved in this highly specialized line of work before you invest in education and
training. Duties include locating sites for events, working with caterers, entertainers and
decorators, creating lists of attendees, designing invitations, supervising mailings,
managing technology, and making special accommodations for guests when necessary.
You'll be expected to do all the research and footwork for your clients. The ability to
use technology and networking for this purpose is essential; while you can
question your client for some of the information, often the client won't know and
doesn't have the time to fill you in on what's essentially your duty anyway.
You'll be expected to design and theme events from start to finish. Some clients
will be more hands-on in this area than others but the design aspect still falls
squarely inside your obligations. Keep a compilation of ideas from the start of your
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event planning career so that you always have solutions to suggest and draw on.
Part of the process of planning events is developing your proposal for the event,
even before you win the contract. Be aware that this is time-consuming (requiring
thought, content creation, photographs, design ideas, etc.) and you may not even
win the job. It's advisable to develop a fee for this work or you might have your
ideas "borrowed" with nothing recouped.
There will always be more things to take care of than any list can ever describe
fully. Be ready for anything and everything to be thrown at you, and be ready to
have to constantly liaise with people, even if you think you've already sorted things!
Assess your own abilities. It is very important to be honest when assessing your
own abilities because this is a strenuous and demanding role. You will need to be
happy to interact and network with people constantly, even at odd hours. Ask yourself the
following questions to help determine your suitability for the role:
Are you creative, well organized and very detail-oriented? Being organized is even
more important than being creative because you are responsible for the smooth
running of everything, while you can always call on other people for the creative
input.
Are you able to think laterally and outside of the box?
Do you like to work as part of a team? Are you also patient and able to clearly
convey what is expected of everyone within the team?
Do you have the physical stamina to work long hours on your feet in a fast-paced
setting? This isn't a 9 to 5 job, so you'll need to work during times that other people
would consider "down time" such as on weekends.
Can you handle pressure, especially the pressure of last minute changes and
quick fixes when things go wrong?
Are you comfortable working with technology (for example, audio set-ups,
PowerPoint and computer usage, etc.)? If not, how do you intend to brush up this
skill?
Do you have good business acumen, including the ability to negotiate, persuade,
and receive and give feedback?
Most importantly, are you good working with people from all walks of life? Excellent
people skills are vital in this profession.
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1
Get relevant hands-on experience. This helps you improve your people skills, a
crucial part of an event planners job. It will also be the best way to make a decision
as to whether or not this is work you'll love doing. It's wise to try work in event planning for at
least a few months before considering formal training, even if you just seek work
experience.
Work as an assistant at a hotel or for a caterer, or seek job shadowing
opportunities with a professional planner. Get to know what its like to work behind
the scenes at events that you someday hope to plan.
Volunteer to plan fundraising events with community groups.
Part 2 of 3: Gaining Experience and Training
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Pursue formal training. Although training isn't necessary to become an event
planner, it's mandatory if you want to get a certificate. It's also a good idea because it
will ensure that you have good knowledge to begin with and can show your clients
certificates, feedback, references, and so on. There are several ways to get formal training,
from getting a degree to apprenticing. What you do will depend on the funds you have
available and the availability of training options in your area. The following possibilities are
open to you:
Apprenticing with a professional event planner. Apprentice in a support staff role
with a professional event planner and work your way up the companys ladder.
Completing formal education through a college, vocational school or online
program. Study hospitality management, public relations or hotel administration at
a trade school, college or university. Attend information sessions to find out more
about a course that interests you.
Pursuing online study. Complete a special program designed only for event
planners. Find these programs at such websites as Meeting Professionals
International. (Follow the education links to view a list of college and university
programs that can help you become certified.) There are also various webinars
online that enable you to study online.
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3
Build a portfolio. Include relevant experience that you can show to prospective
employers and to professional associations that offer certification. Keep records of
any events you helped to plan, such as photographs and professional references from
clients and vendors attesting to your reliability and expertise.
1
Complete a certification program with a reputable event planning association.
Contact the various trade organizations associated with the event planning industry,
such as Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the International Special Events Society
(ISES), the Convention Industry Council (CIC), or the Society of Government Meeting
Part 3 of 3: Getting Certified and Working as an Event Planner
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Professionals for assistance. Each organization will have different requirements for
certification, but most will require that you have a certain number of years of experience,
have completed a training program, and have passed certification exams.
Note the difference between "certification" and "certificate". While it is possible to
get a certificate in event planning from training, it is not possible to get certification
from a school. The difference is this: a certificate is the paper you're given by a
school at the completion of a program relevant to the field of event planning. A
certification, on the other hand, is a professional designation given by a trade
organization and it will only be obtained after you have a proven track record of
professional experience and have successfully passed the organization's tests.
[2]
Each program varies in the level of professional experience required, so you'll
need to contact the organizations individually to find out if you meet the
requirements; if not, keep working until you meet the requirements, as the
certification will definitely improve your reputation within the industry.
The most recognized certifications are those offered by the Certified Special
Event Professional (CSEP) offered by ISES; the Certified Meeting Professional
(CIC), and the Certified Meeting Planner (MPI).
[3]
If you are aiming to be very specific in the type of event planning that you're doing,
get certified by specific trade organizations, such as the Association of Bridal
Consultants and Weddings Beautiful Worldwide if you're planning to be solely a
wedding planner. The specific organizations are likely to be of more assistance
when you are tailoring your event planning services narrowly.
Become a member of a relevant trade organization. The benefit of belonging to
trade organizations is the fact that you'll meet many contacts and find job
opportunities through networking and resources only available to members. If you are or
have been a student in a recognized event planning course, ask about possible
membership discounts, as memberships can be pricey when you're first starting out.
Start working as a certified event planner. It is important to make a decision as to
whether you're prepared to start your own business or consultancy or whether you'd
like to start out by working for someone else. In the latter case, you'll get the benefit of
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someone else's experience and booked clients but you won't get paid as much and it'll take
longer for you to establish your own name. On the other hand, starting from scratch can be
hard work and requires funds, business expertise, and a lot of determination; if this is your
preferred option, read about starting small businesses and the types of strategies to use,
as well as the pitfalls to avoid.
Be aware that some markets are already saturated with event planners. Do your
research well in advance of setting up your own business or consultancy.
Don't lose sight of the fact that you can still offer something that is better and more
unique than the existing crowd even in a saturated market but what you're offering
will need to be extraordinary, and you'll need to be very determined and consistent.
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Experience in catering is very useful and highly transferable to event
planning.
Get help choosing a legitimate formal event planning study program.
Check with Meeting Professionals International before enrolling in any
formal program. They can tell you whether the program offers the kind of
education and training youll need to become certified.
It can be very helpful to be bilingual, such as having Spanish and
English. If you are planning for diplomatic events, even more languages
is a great advantage.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has suggested that planners
with degrees and certification will do better than those without
professional credentials.
[4]
The BLS found that the median annual salary
for event and meeting planners in 2008 was $44,260, with those being
paid the most living in areas with large concentrations of business and
government, such as New York and the District of Columbia and
Maryland.
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Tips
Warnings
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Be very careful with online certificates. Some of them may be nothing
more than a "certificate mill", teaching you little and rewarding you with a
certificate that has little or no standing in the event planning world. Do
your research beforehand to check the authenticity and reputation of the
online study.
Learn early on how to have back-up plans. Having Plans B and C will
save you from a lot of embarrassment and frustration when things
inevitably don't go according to plan. Use "thinking on the spot" skills
regularly.
This is not a 9 to 5 job; you need to be very flexible, and available for
weekdays, weeknights and weekends. This can be difficult if you're
raising a young family or don't like being up late.
Suitable training and qualifications
Business start-up funds if running your own event planning business
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on the Job
1. http://www.conventionplanit.com/savedate_n.php
2. http://www.indeed.com/forum/job/event-planner/Becoming-
Certified/t28355
3. http://www.indeed.com/forum/job/event-planner/Becoming-
Certified/t28355
4. Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov
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