5 Characteristics That Should Be on Every Event Planner Job Description


An event planner job description, like any job description, is intended to be a blueprint of duties required  of the position. It’s usually one of the first documents that new employees receive once they’re hired. A good company will also make it part of the interviewing process. After all, the person hiring should be looking for the characteristics that are outlined on the job description.

Event planning is an industry that requires multiple skill sets. That’s the challenging part. It’s easy enough to be looking for one personality trait, but when the job requires multiple characteristics it becomes harder and harder to find a suitable candidate. Simply put, an event manager has to wear many hats.

Event Planner Job Description: 5 Important Characteristics

When someone asks me about how to become an event planner, the first thing that I talk about is passion. Event planning is not a Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 industry. While event planning jobs can and do pay well, the pay alone is not enough to make an event manager happy in their position. If an individual’s personality is not suited to the position, no amount of money will make him or her happy (okay, maybe $1 million salary).

  1. Customer service skills. This may sound callous but whenever I interviewed people for a customer service position, if they told me they enjoyed working with people I didn’t hire them. Who likes working with people? The honest answer: very few. Let’s face it, humans can be difficult to deal with. Customer service skills are an important part of an event planner’s job. Now I’m not saying that an individual has to be phony when serving a customer. Rather, it’s vital that they understand the importance of a satisfied customer and what’s required to make that customer happy.
  2. Creativity. Event planning requires creativity. The more creative, or unique, the event the greater the chances that event’s attendance will be high. Creativity is a characteristic that will be employed over and over again. Each event needs to be bigger and better than the previous event. That’s particularly true if you’re an event manager for an association which attracts the same delegates to each meeting.
  3. Communication skills. Event planning is teamwork. The team can consist of coordinators as well as suppliers. It’s up to the planner to ensure that various planning tasks are assigned to their team members. If an event planner does not have exceptional communication skills, it will have an impact on the meeting or event.
  4. Organizational skills. Here’s where the “wearing many hats” trait comes into play. Think of an event planner as a stage director. During, and leading up to, the event the planner needs to coordinate activities with various suppliers (a.k.a. team members). All of this is occurring behind the scenes to ensure that the event is executed seamlessly.
  5. Budgeting skills. Obviously events need budgets. While the candidate does not need an accounting degree, the ability to plan and understand budgets is a vital asset. This profession deals with large budgets therefore it’s vital to know where and when expenses can be cut or added as needed.

Additional Event Planner Job Resources:

An event planner job description is a blueprint of what’s required of the position. It’s important, when hiring, to understand what you’re looking for in a successful candidate. A successful event planner has, at least, these five characteristics.

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