Meeting planners are starting to move up in the corporate world, but there are still ceilings placed on many meeting planners without an education. This is just one of the many reasons why all meeting planners should immediately start seeking part time education options, but here are a few more:
- Other opportunities await the organized – Meeting planning takes organization, but so do many other jobs. Whether it is a different career path altogether or a change of position with the same company, an education is a great idea for meeting planners looking to take on new challenges.
- Professional growth – Sometimes we do not know how much we can handle until we are pushed beyond our limits. Adding new tasks to our lives makes us better people and teaches us new time management skills, both of which are valuable assets to any meeting planner.
- Self image – While meeting planning is a growing field right now, it could very well shrink in 10 or 20 years in much the same way that realty is shrinking. Like realtors, a sudden change in the market could put meeting planners on a new career path. Having a positive self image could help make the rebound that much easier and potentially safer.
Author: admin Categories: Uncategorized Tags: Assets, Career Path, Ceilings, Challenges, Education Options, Jobs, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, New Time, Organization, Part Time, Professional Growth, Realtors, Rebound, Self Image, Sudden Change, Time Education, Time Management Skills
There are many jobs that are disappearing every day, and many of them will not return in the immediate future. In fact, some economists think that some entire industries may be undergoing serious transitions in who they employ and how they handle those employees to the point where some jobs will probably not return in our lifetime. Thankfully, that does not seem to be the case for meeting planners. In fact, meeting planners are probably safe for a few reasons:
- There have been freelance meeting planners for decades now, so even if corporate or SMB meeting planners start to be downsized, there are plenty of opportunities for moonlighting. It is even likely that mixing and matching a day job as a meeting planner and a side job as a freelance meeting planner would work out.
- Companies are striving more than ever to create effective meetings and presentations, and thus meeting planners that are willing to work hard are going to be in more demand than ever. In fact, there are probably more meeting planners moving up the corporate ladders now than ever before.
- Even smaller companies are starting to understand that they are their image, at least to a point. That means that they need meeting planners just as much as they need PR people.
Author: admin Categories: Meeting Planner Career Tags: Careers, Day Job, Decades, Economists, Effective Meetings, Freelance Work, Image, Immediate Future, Jobs, Ladders, Lifetime, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Meeting Planning, Moonlighting, Moving, Presentations, Side Job, Smaller Companies, Transitions
Success comes to those that know how to attain it, and sadly many meeting planners do not really know how to do this. The problem is not the fact that they are not good at their jobs, but rather that they are allowing themselves to be pigeon-holed into a single role.
Here’s how to break out:
Ask to take part in meetings – If this raises objections, offer to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and/or suggest that learning about what happens in a meeting can make you more effective at planning future meetings.
Do not ask questions about venues until you have researched options – Many bosses prefer to have options presented to them, not half-researched problems. Always take a few minutes each day to look at the pricing and options at different venues, catering companies, and so-on.
Be valuable because you are connected – Cultivate contacts that can get things done when nobody else can or at prices that nobody else gets. Be sure to let the powers that be about these connections so they see the value in your work.
Always ask for feedback – Change the meeting format or venue in some way every so often to test things out. Be sure to ask for feedback, as it makes you seem interested and connected as well as progressive.
Author: admin Categories: Meeting Planner Career Tags: Break, Catering Companies, Feedback, Few Minutes, Jobs, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Non Disclosure Agreement, Objections, Options, Pigeon, Success, Venue
Meeting planners are always looking for new, innovative ways to improve their services, lower costs, satisfy their clients and make their jobs easier. It turns out that there is a simple way to do all of these things effectively without reinventing the wheel. Breakfast meetings and events are making a comeback and offer several advantages over lunch and dinner events. One of the most significant advantages is the cost savings associated with serving breakfast, rather than lunch or dinner. Breakfast events are far more cost-effective when it comes to food and morning meals are easy to plan. Whether you opt for a traditional breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, an easy-to-plan continental breakfast or a healthy spread of yogurts, granolas and fruits, you will delight in the ease of planning breakfast events offer.
Planners will also discover that booking venues for breakfast events can be much easier than booking a space for later in the day. Due to the lower demand for morning events, planners will likely have increased options for dates and venues, and may even be able to negotiate better pricing.
Breakfast events are a great way to start the day and to harness the attention of attendees before they begin to wear out later in the day.
Author: admin Categories: Meeting Planning Tags: Attendees, Booking Venues, Breakfast Meetings, Continental Breakfast, Dinner Events, Eggs And Bacon, Events Planners, Fruits, Jobs, Lunch, Meeting Planners, Meetings And Events, Scrambled Eggs, Traditional Breakfast, Wheel
Let’s be honest, who hasn’t had to do something for the sake of making a client happy that’s left them scratching their head and thinking, “I can’t believe I just had to do that!” As Meeting Planners, we’re often responsible for doing whatever it takes to make sure an event goes off without any glitches. Whether it’s catering to the outlandish demands of a guest speaker or making a last minute run to the airport in the middle of a storm to pick up company executives, it seems the role of a Meeting Planner can sometimes extend to that of Crisis Manager as well. 
debauchery? Did your event site suddenly become unavailable at last minute forcing you to scramble for a last minute location? Did all the electronic equipment fail seconds before your presentation was about to begin? Certainly, we’ve all had some of those and cringe at the memory of them. Add your amazing story in the comments below and let’s see just how far we are willing to go to get our jobs done!
debauchery? Did your event site suddenly become unavailable at last minute forcing you to scramble for a last minute location? Did all the electronic equipment fail seconds before your presentation was about to begin? Certainly, we’ve all had some of those and cringe at the memory of them. Add your amazing story in the comments below and let’s see just how far we are willing to go to get our jobs done!
