Organizing product launches, seminars, weddings, birthday parties, school functions, office events etc. take skill and experience. Organizing events is a specialized industry.
What are the jobs really about?
Planning and Organizing Events
Jobs in the Events Industry generally revolve around a process that starts from the planning or conceptualization of an event and ends after the dismantling of the event. As an entry – level professional, you will be responsible for contributing towards a particular part of this Event Management process.
The process of Event Planning/Management includes several stages and tasks including communicating with the client to develop a concept for the event, agreeing on a budget, hiring and liaising with suppliers and other external parties (Designer, DJ, Caterer, Security, Performing Artists etc.), ensuring compliance with legal and health requirements, creating and sending out invitations, promoting the event, coordinating with authorities and media, overseeing the event and solving on the spot problems, ensuring event closure and dismantling the stage/arrangements.
Event Management companies or freelance professionals generally work on medium to large scale events. The event can be a birthday party, a society event, a fashion show, a festival, an anniversary, a promotional event, a corporate function, an awards night or a huge ceremony.
Find out about the Top 7 Careers for Freelancers.
Why do people work in the Events Industry?
Glamour
Glamour is a very big part of the Events Industry and is a huge motivating factor behind people choosing to work in this industry. As a professional in this field, you get to attend large – scale events for free, visit new places, meet new people and possibly even work for events that are featured in newspapers, on television or on the internet. All these factors add to the glamour quotient of the job thus making it an attractive career option for students.
Dynamic
One of the biggest reasons behind people choosing to work in the Events Industry is that it never gets monotonous. No two days in this profession are the same and each event comes with its own sets of problems and opportunities. Unlike most other professions, people in this industry always have a challenging career with no place for complacency. This helps them stay on their toes and always give it their all while also reap the rewards of hard work.
Creativity
The Events Industry allows people to explore and use their creativity to innovate, create, manage and plan new concepts and events. This is a major advantage of this career, as it allows creative individuals to use their talents in a productive manner without having to deal with the uncertainty that exists in other creative careers.
Find out about the Top 7 Creative Careers.
Travel
The Events Industry provides professionals with the opportunity to travel across the country and even to foreign locations for work purposes. However, you must keep in mind that the amount and scope of travel required depends on your role and the size of the organization you’re working for. The larger the Event Management Company, the more chances you have to travel to new places for events.
Networking
A major motivating factor behind people choosing to work in the Events Industry is that it provides you with the opportunity to meet and socialize with a large number of people including some famous and powerful personalities. With a career in this profession, you can use your networking skills and expand your personal as well as professional circle indefinitely, which can also help you advance in your career.
What is it like to work in the Events Industry?
Fast Paced, Unforeseen Problems
Working in the Events Industry is not easy. It is an extremely fast paced industry and you have to constantly deal with on the spot problems that need to be solved immediately. For example, at an outdoor event you are managing, the DJ might not turn up or the generator might not work, and it might even start to rain and so on. Professionals who succeed in this industry are ones who are constantly alert, can multitask and always have contingency plans in place that assist them while dealing with on the spot problems.
Unstable Industry
As a professional in this industry, you will often have to deal with uncertainty regarding your job. This is primarily because hiring an Event Management Company is not a necessity, and people/organizations tend to only do so when the economy is in a good state. During low periods like recession, a service based industry like the Events Industry suffers from lack of projects.
Additionally, the extreme competition in this field adds to the lack of job security and you need to constantly be at the top of your game so as to hold on to your job and progress further in your career.
Dealing with Clients and other People
Like any other service based industry, dealing with clients and meeting their demands is a crucial part of the Events Industry as well. This is not an easy task as the clients tend to want lavish events without spending much. Professionals who succeed in this industry are the ones who manage to find a balance between meeting the client’s demands and budgetary constraints.
Additionally, in this Industry, it is extremely crucial for an event’s success that the people attending the event go back home satisfied. As a result of this, professionals in this industry have to work extra hard as they not only have to meet the demands of one client, but also manage to meet the demands of the large crowd or visitors at the event.
Teamwork
Teamwork is a very crucial part of the Events Industry as professionals are required to work in tandem with other members of their team which can include colleagues, subordinates and seniors as well as work with professionals who have been hired specifically for the event, such as DJs, Photographers, Caterers, Security Personnel, Performing Artists etc. People who succeed in this profession are the ones who possess exceptional communication skills and who manage to coordinate between different entities and ensure that the whole team is working towards the same goal.
Networking
Although this is one of the factors behind people wanting to work in this industry in the first place, it is also one of the biggest challenges of this career. Networking is absolutely essential to grow and succeed in this profession.
It is important to understand that any particular event takes place only once, and people are only willing to hire you if they trust you and your capabilities. So it becomes absolutely essential to build contacts and strong relations with the people you meet at your events and other places, so as to get more projects that will help you grow professionally.