Meeting Planner Careers

What do you do when a client requests you to plan a small meeting?  Most convention centers are simply too large for small meetings and events, and the client doesn’t need all the high-tech bells and whistles.  All she needs is a white board, an overhead projector, or a way to project from a PC. So, where do you turn?

Small Event Centers

Almost every town has a small event center that is available for smaller groups such as yours. They are often used for small weddings where the couple would like to have the reception in the same place. This would service your client well–you could hold your meeting in one room, and serve a nice reception or dinner in another, very much like a wedding.

Tea Rooms

Some of these rooms are much more than rooms–these facilities often consist of more than one, where you could hold a meeting and enjoy a tea ceremony. While some may not have the technological facility you may need, many offer WiFi and small meeting rooms.

Historical Homes

Far from being delicate and fragile, these homes are often used for classes and small get-togethers. They are comfortable and cozy, and offer a great setting for educational meetings. If you need several smaller rooms operating at one time, this is often a stellar choice.

Of course there are other ways to approach the small meeting facility, such as local schools that are out for summer, a nearby YMCA, etc. It all depends on the flavor of the meeting and the client’s preference.

Lately it seems that lots of people want to have multiple skills for others to draw upon, especially if they are in business for themselves. However, making yourself an expert in a subject can be a real boost for a meeting planner, especially in the area of educational meetings. Here’s why….

Experts Know the Little Details

If you are an all-around event planner and someone asks you to plan a continuing education meeting for nephrologists, you may have to turn down some big money because you had to look up the word nephrologist to begin with. However, if you specialized in continuing education events for the medical field, you may have been able to do the job.

Additional Education

Many specialists in meetings like the above come from other backgrounds. For instance, the medical event specialist may have a background in nursing or hospital administration. She might know what is required for these sessions in order to provide accredited continuing education credits for doctors. She may also know which technologies are necessary for each meeting–the last thing anyone wants is guesswork on a meeting with that level of importance.

Of course, medicine is not the only field where a specialty is necessary. Look at meetings and conferences scheduled for various job categories–searching the Internet should get you a lot of them–to see if there is one that is right for you.