Event Planner Resume: Examples, Template, and Resume Tips
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Event planning is one of those careers which will most likely never cease to exist. As much as technology is causing serious disruption in industries, event planning may never get to that point.
Sure, technology will always cause changes wherever it’s adopted and it’s going to be adopted everywhere. But the kind of change it brings differs from industry to industry.
When it comes to event planning, technology only enhances or improves the process and experience.
Another reason why your career is stable is because people will always want to hold events. These might be parties like birthdays, graduations, weddings or corporate events like AGMs, rebranding events, trade shows etc.
As long as there are humans on earth, there will be need for events.
Looking at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics data on employment, event planning jobs are projected to grow at 7% from 2018 – 2028.
With a projected growth rate that is higher than that of other occupations, opportunity for growth is guaranteed. You’re also assured of consistent work for the years ahead.
So, when others are anxious about robots taking over jobs, at least you can be at peace.
As mentioned however, you still need to keep improving on your skills and abilities.
There is an increased uptake of technology in the events industry. If you don’t keep up, you can easily start struggling as the competition gets tougher.
We’ll talk a little more about technology in the events industry in a short while.
EVENT PLANNER SALARY
Anytime you’re thinking of changing jobs or if you’re looking for your first job, salary figures are an important factor to consider. They not only give you a hint of what to ask for but also equip you for the salary negotiation.
One of the best sources of salary information is Glassdoor.
Glassdoor is recognized for the active community of people anonymously sharing employment information. You can therefore expect to get recent data and relevant statistics since they also do a lot of research.
From salary data of 5,256 event planners in the USA, the average annual pay is $49,696. And as is typical in the events industry, bringing more business will automatically mean earning more.
The pay you get from working as an event planner is also affected by many other factors.
If you have some years of experience, you can expect to be among the top-paid event planners. If you’ve just graduated, then you’ll be among the lowest paid.
That however should not discourage you. The way up starts at the bottom. The most important thing you need to have is a positive attitude and the desire for growth.
These, plus a consistently-high performance at work can even lead you to the point of running your own event planning company. If you are the business-minded type, then this could give you great joy and satisfaction.
Event planner job satisfaction
Talking of satisfaction, how much do you love your job?
Job satisfaction is one of the things many desire but unfortunately never get to experience.
Many people work just to get an income to help them pay bills and live through life. This kind of life is stressful in itself because you get tired but never really enjoy the effort.
If it’s natural for you to engage people, organize and coordinate events, then you’re on the right path. You’re on the same side with the majority of event planners.
Only 11% of event planners report being dissatisfied with their jobs.
The best thing about doing what you’re naturally good at is that you never struggle to deliver great results.
Creativity, a much-needed ability in your career, will also be flowing smoothly. You’ll thus be able to come up with beautiful settings for your events, know how to reduce costs, how to keep the team’s motivation high etc.
These are some of the things which largely determine the overall success of your career.
Technology in the events industry
Technology has brought about many changes.
From live videos for marketing events to live-streaming, technology has enabled event planners to reach more people and generate more revenue. Live videos, for example, are widely used to increase the number of event ticket purchases.
Data from eventbrite, a popular website for selling event tickets shows the numbers influencing the adoption.
Viewers watch live video 8 times more than recorded video and 67% of viewers are more likely to buy an event ticket after watching a live video.
Another area in which the events industry has embraced technology is in marketing.
Though you would be forgiven to think that email marketing is dead, you’ll be wrong in that.
Event planners say that social media is 74% effective as an event marketing tool followed by email marketing at 66%. An event planner’s website comes third at 60% and event registration sites are fourth at 26%.
As part of event marketing, the industry has embraced Augmented Reality. This has been happening in many other industries since this technology provides an unrivaled experience.
There is more you can gather about your industry and you probably know which sources to consult fro industry insights. Our advice to you is that you should keep such information at hand.
Not only does it help you when answering interview questions, it also increases your confidence levels. Confidence alone can make a big difference even when planning an event.
If you’re sure that you have the right knowledge, then you can make the right choices. That helps you increase your chances of success in your career.
EVENT PLANNER RESUME WRITING
Since knowledge empowers, here’s more information for your empowerment.
Resume writing has changed and will keep changing depending on the needs of the employers. The needs of employers change as the needs of the customers change or business landscape changes.
As such, it’s necessary to always be informed about the latest hiring trends and learn how to take advantage of them.
If the last time you wrote your resume is a long time ago, then you may have to learn a few things. If you’re writing your resume as you look for your first job, you’ll get the opportunity to learn as well as see an example you could borrow from.
In this article, we’ll teach you how to write the perfect event planner resume to increase your chances of getting a job. We’ll tell you about the five main resume sections and how you should write them.
After that, at the end of the article, you’ll get an opportunity to see two full resumes which show everything put together. One resume is for an entry-level event planner. The other one is for an experienced event planner.
These resume samples will help you see how your resume could look like if the advice here is applied. Also remember that we have resume templates for you. Use these to quickly get your resume looking neat and professional.
Let’s get started.
Personal information
The personal information section is easy to write. That however doesn’t mean that you should take things easy.
As the name suggests, the personal information section is meant to introduce you to the hiring manager.
You have to provide your full name, residential and email addresses, mobile phone number and your LinkedIn address.
Normally, this section is too simple for any mistakes to be made. But mistakes can still happen.
There are two main mistakes that could happen here if you’re not careful. One touches on your name while the other one comes from your email address. These mistakes have to do with writing nick names and unprofessional email addresses.
Never write your nickname on a resume. Even if your nickname is so common that you’ve come to be officially referred to using it.
Your email address could also cost you a job opportunity. Always keep in mind that hiring managers are keen-eyed as they seek to hire only the best.
It’s possible that if you registered for an email address early in life, it could be containing names of fictional characters which you identified with. Whereas this was fine back then, right now it’s not.
Such an email address shows, at the very least, a lack of professionalism.
Summary / objective
The section of the resume which usually follows your personal information is the summary. In other cases, it may be your career objective.
These two are often discussed with many people giving different views. You probably have heard that career objectives are a thing of the past. They aren’t. They just don’t apply in every situation.
If you are an experienced event planner, you will use a professional summary. But in case you’re fresh from the university or college, then the best thing to use is a career objective. You will see how they differ in the resume samples below.
In a summary, you showcase your work experience by telling the hiring manager about your achievements while at work. And while doing so, it’s best to use numbers to show the difference you made.
Numbers are used to measure and track progress. So if you really achieved something, you have to communicate it using numbers. Here is an example showing a statement using only words and another one using numbers.
Here are some questions to help you quantify your work results.
- How many clients did you talk to while researching the kind of event to hold?
- How many events did you plan in a month, quarter or year?
- How many people attended your events?
- What budgets have you worked with? $1,000? $10,000? $250,000?
- How often do you pull it off while staying within the budget?
- How do you handle emergencies during the events?
- What has been the ROI for your employer (event planning company)?
Keep in mind that it’s not just about the numbers. Everything must make sense.
As for career objectives, it’s a bit challenging to include numbers though you still can. One way to do it is by communicating your desire to help improve business.
Do this by showing the kind of change you brought about in any other work you did. Also talk about how your skills have helped you bring change elsewhere in the past.
Here are some examples of how that could work.
Note that the above examples of summaries and objectives are made up of sentences. Although these can be presented in the form of two or three-sentence paragraphs, there’s an option of using bullet points.
Although both can work pretty well, bullet points tend to outperform paragraphs. This is especially when you have great accomplishments to show off. Listing four great accomplishments does a better job compared to presenting the same in a short paragraph.
If you’re completely new to the events industry and are using a career objective, you can still go the bullet point way.
An example of this usage is shown in the resume samples at the end of the article.
Work experience
If you have planned many events and have received awards and recognition, then this section is the best thing for your resume. But if you have no event planning experience, then you could be wishing that this section never existed.
Not to worry though. We have advice which will cover your perceived weak points.
If you have lots of work experience, or maybe just a little of it, then maximize this section. If you’ve worked in more than three jobs, write about the three most recent.
Get all the success you helped bring and put it here. Make sure you include numbers but don’t be afraid of writing non-numerical achievements. As long as it shows real value, even if it can’t be measured, write it.
If you haven’t done any event planning, this section may not be your favorite. But you can still utilize it.
You don’t need to have worked in an event planning company in order to have relevant work experience. If event planning is your thing, then most likely you have organized and planned events in your life with ease. Use those instances to populate this section with value.
So, did you plan any student event in college? Even if only for 20 students? Any birthday parties back at home for a cousin or sibling?
Maybe you just assisted in the planning or coordinating. That is worth mentioning too. All you have to do is use the sample questions in the summary/objectives section above and measure your success.
Another source of work experience information is any volunteer work you may have done. Just find a few achievements which show the lessons or skills you learned which can help in event planning.
Education
The education part of your resume may be the least populated of the five main parts. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not necessary.
If you know what you want to achieve using your resume, then you know that every section is important.
Speaking strictly about education, there may not be much to write about other than the degree name and university you earned your degree at. If you have more than one degree, you’ll list them, starting with the most recent.
If you haven’t worked as an event planner before, then you will love the education section. It provides you with an opportunity to show that you are academically qualified.
To do this, highlight relevant coursework which is relevant to the job description in the job post. This will cover the lack of work experience very well.
Here is an example of how that will look like.
Skills
This is the last of the main sections you must have in your resume.
Though pretty straightforward, you need to ensure that the skills you list are relevant to the job you’re applying for. Use keywords from the job ad to guide you as those are what the employer is looking for.
The words used to describe the job and expectations are what are referred to as keywords. Keywords are important and they must be present in your resume. If they aren’t, your resume could get blocked by the ATS systems.
Most companies today use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). These “weed out” the unqualified applicants by among other things, checking for keywords.
It is assumed that if your resume doesn’t have the keywords used in the event planning industry, then the resume is irrelevant.
Here are a few skills you’ll find in most event planning job ads. They are the skills employers look for.
- Cvent, idloom-events, Eventbrite
- Venue scouting
- Project management
- Budget management
- Teamwork
- Catering management
- Problem solving
- Creativity
- Client Database Management
- Communication
- Time management
EVENT PLANNER RESUME SAMPLES
Having read through the resume sections, here are the event planner resume samples we promised you. These show you how the five sections fir together in a beautiful resume which promises to get you the job you’re looking for.
Note how the various sections have been tailored for the level of experience of the candidates.
Entry-level event planner resume sample
Experienced event planner resume sample
CONCLUSION
Now that you know how to write the perfect event planner resume, why don’t you do it like the pro you are?
Pick one of our resume templates and get started.
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