Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions.
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner is Also Know as
In different settings, Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner is titled as
- Catering Director
- Conference Planner
- Conference Planning Manager
- Conference Services Director
- Conference Services Manager
- Convention Services Director
- Convention Services Manager (CSM)
- Event Coordinator
- Events Manager
- Special Events Coordinator
Education and Training of Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner is categorized in Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Experience Required for Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Education Required for Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Degrees Related to Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
- Bachelor in Facilities Planning and Management
- Associate Degree Courses in Facilities Planning and Management
- Masters Degree Courses in Facilities Planning and Management
- Bachelor in Meeting and Event Planning
- Associate Degree Courses in Meeting and Event Planning
- Masters Degree Courses in Meeting and Event Planning
Training Required for Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Related Ocuupations
Some Ocuupations related to Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner in different industries are
- Public Relations Specialists
- Fundraisers
- Project Management Specialists
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
- First-Line Supervisors of Entertainment and Recreation Workers, Except Gambling Services
- Social and Community Service Managers
- Fundraising Managers
- First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers
- Recreation Workers
- Media Programming Directors
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel
- Information Technology Project Managers
- Management Analysts
- Logisticians
- Business Continuity Planners
- Administrative Services Managers
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
- Public Relations Managers
- Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes
What Do Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner do?
- Consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions.
- Monitor event activities to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and laws, satisfaction of participants, and resolution of any problems that arise.
- Confer with staff at a chosen event site to coordinate details.
- Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment.
- Plan and develop programs, agendas, budgets, and services according to customer requirements.
- Coordinate services for events, such as accommodation and transportation for participants, facilities, catering, signage, displays, special needs requirements, printing and event security.
- Arrange the availability of audio-visual equipment, transportation, displays, and other event needs.
- Inspect event facilities to ensure that they conform to customer requirements.
- Maintain records of event aspects, including financial details.
- Conduct post-event evaluations to determine how future events could be improved.
- Negotiate contracts with such service providers and suppliers as hotels, convention centers, and speakers.
- Meet with sponsors and organizing committees to plan scope and format of events, to establish and monitor budgets, or to review administrative procedures and event progress.
- Direct administrative details, such as financial operations, dissemination of promotional materials, and responses to inquiries.
- Evaluate and select providers of services according to customer requirements.
- Read trade publications, attend seminars, and consult with other meeting professionals to keep abreast of meeting management standards and trends.
- Organize registration of event participants.
- Design and implement efforts to publicize events and promote sponsorships.
- Hire, train, and supervise volunteers and support staff required for events.
- Obtain permits from fire and health departments to erect displays and exhibits and serve food at events.
- Promote conference, convention and trades show services by performing tasks such as meeting with professional and trade associations, and producing brochures and other publications.
- Develop event topics and choose featured speakers.
Qualities of Good Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
- Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
- Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
- Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
- Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
- Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
- Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
- Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
- Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
- Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
- Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
- Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
- Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
- Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
- Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
- Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
- Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
- Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
- Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
- Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
- Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
- Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
- Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
- Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
- Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
- Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
- Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
- Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
- Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
- Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
- Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
- Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
- Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
- Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
- Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
- Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
- Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Tools Used by Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
- Desktop computers
- Laptop computers
- Overhead display projectors
- Personal computers
- Public address PA systems
- Two way radios
- Video projectors
- Videoconferencing equipment
Technology Skills required for Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
- Active Network EventRegister
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge
- Convention Industry Council CIC APEX Toolbox
- Dean Evans & Associates EMS Professional
- Delphi Discovery
- Delphi Technology
- ESRI ArcGIS software
- Event Management Software
- Events Operations Software
- FileMaker Pro
- Geographic information system GIS software
- Google Docs
- Google Drive
- GruupMeet
- Hypertext markup language HTML
- IBM Lotus Notes
- Lenos marketing automation software
- LogMeIn GoToMeeting
- LogMeIn GoToWebinar
- Marketo Marketing Automation
- MeetingMatrix International
- MemberClicks COMPLETE
- Mentimeter
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Project
- Microsoft Publisher
- Microsoft Word
- NSF Hospitality Rendezvous Events
- Oracle Eloqua
- Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management
- ParentSquare
- Planstone
- SmugMug Flickr
- Social media sites
- Spreadsheet software
- Trimble SketchUp Pro
- Web browser software