Meeting Planner Careers

When one thinks of meeting planners they may be thinking of an office job where answering phones and entering information into a computer is all that happens. This might be true of some meeting planner jobs, but certainly not for all of them. Some meeting or event planning positions might involve a significant amount of travel, often to very interesting destinations. In short, the amount of travel involved will often depend greatly upon where one works as a meeting planner and the needs of that company/industry.

High powered executives are usually looking for meeting planners that have a flair for the dramatic or interesting. This will often entail higher salaries and/or benefit packages, but it will also mean more travel and interesting destinations. The workload may not be substantially different than that of a meeting planner for a more modest company, but the competition for such top-echelon meeting planner positions is likely to be fierce indeed. This competition is certainly justified by the compensation packages and travel opportunities, but there is also an option for homebodies who just want money: freelance meeting/event planning.

Freelance meeting planners do not always get to travel with their clientele, but it is not unheard of. Luckily, freelance meeting planners are free to collect as many clients as they can handle, and that means that there is no limit on their earning potential.

Here are some great resources for those of you seeking employment as a meeting or event planner.  

MeetingJobs.com offers a job search website for the meeting planning industry. In addition, you'll find resources and tools, such as webinars, resume writing help, salary planning tools and more.  

Whether you are a job seeking candidate or an employer looking to hire, you can connect with one another at MeetingJobs.com. Their website offers numerous ways to effectively and efficiently put hiring officials and job candidates together.

Another good job search site for meeting planners is located on the Professional Convention Management Association website.  PCMA offers a job search at their Career Center. Whether you are looking for meeting planner jobs, hotel or convention sales jobs or other hospitality jobs, it's important to grow your knowledge and network in today's market to succeed in a leadership position. The PCMA Career Center has high-level meetings industry job opportunities and resources available for you to hone your leadership skills and continue to advance your planner career.