How To Become An Event Planner With No Experience

Many professionals dream of becoming event planners. However, most of these professionals have no idea where to begin. They also usually assume that they will never land their dream job without any professional experience. They believe that they need to not only have great resume writing skills, but also a long list of professional experiences in their resumes. Contrary to this belief, aspiring event planners like yourself can achieve their career goals regardless of their current positions. Read this post to discover how to become an event planner with no experience.

Choose A Type Of Event Planning

To begin fulfilling your dream of becoming an event planner, choose a type of event planning to go into. Popular options include social event planning, corporate event planning and non-profit event planning. Social event planning usually enables event planners to work from home. If you want to create your own hours and eventually plan children’s birthday parties, weddings and small hotel functions, consider this option. On the other hand, corporate event planning entails working in an office to plan events for popular companies. Aspiring planners with a passion for helping their communities should consider taking the nonprofit route. Determine which option best suits you so that you can successfully become an event planner with no experience.

Attend A College Or University

Once you choose a type of event planning to pursue, obtain the necessary education. Many aspiring event planners assume that they need to obtain their certification in order to begin working in the industry. Fortunately for you, this is not the case. In order to earn your certification, you need to have experience working as an event planner. For this reason, you cannot get certified until later on in your career. However, you do need to attend a college or university in order to gain the knowledge you need to succeed in this field. Some schools offer stand-alone event courses for aspiring planners who do not have the time and/or capital to earn a full degree. Consider both on-campus and online options to become an event planner with no experience.

Volunteer To Gain Experience

Additionally, you need to volunteer to gain experience in order to become a successful event planner. This is a great way for inexperienced planners to get their foot in the door. You have a wide array of options to choose from. You can volunteer at nonprofit events or work with business charities. As long as they can provide great recommendations for you when the time comes to apply for professional positions, the experience is worth it. Consider running entire events, working check-in tables or marketing for nonprofits and charities. Then, you will succeed at gaining experience as an event planner.

Apply For Lower Level Roles First

Another effective way to gain experience for the first time is to apply for lower level roles. While your dream is to run the show at events, you need to start somewhere. Apply for lower level positions to start building up a resume that at least has relevant experience on it. Some positions to consider applying for include event planner assistant, decorator and receptionist at an event planning office. Search for open positions near you to gain experience in the event planning industry so that you can start your career more easily.

Build Relationships Within The Industry

Finally, build relationships within the event planning industry. Take every chance you get to introduce yourself to professional event planners. Pay their assistants, decorators and other types of employees with the same amount of respect. After all, you never know who might have power when it comes to the hiring process. By building relationships with any and every professional who works for an event planning business, you increase your chances of getting hired. If you acquire the top business networking skills, you can launch your event planning career without any experience.

In order to become an event planner without any experience, you need to follow certain steps. To start, decide on a niche within the industry. Then, get an education from a college or university. Volunteer at nonprofit organizations and/or charity events to gain first-hand experience. Consider applying for lower level positions to get your foot in the door as well. Furthermore, build relationships within the industry to boost your chances of getting hired as a newbie event planner. If you follow these steps, you will successfully become an event planner with no experience.