Are Meeting and Event Planners Happy in Their Jobs?


We are constantly being bombarded with meeting and event planning news regarding how the industry is doing during these bad economic times. Sometimes the news is good and then, just when you think things are going in the right direction, we hit a few snags as it were.

Meeting and Event Planners; How They Feel about Their Jobs

There is no question that finding that dream job can be a difficult task today. A planner survey was completed to determine the level of satisfaction that meeting and event planners felt towards their jobs and their employer. Some of the takeaways from that survey are:

  • 72% of meeting and event planners had a favorable opinion of their company”s reputation.
  • 63% of those surveyed have been in their current job for more than 12 months.
  • 93% stated that they like their current job (of those, 19% stated that they love it).
  • 35% stated that they are likely to change jobs this year

The results of this portion of the survey indicate that many meeting and event planners are satisfied with their current job. Given the current job search market, I was a little surprised to see 35% are expecting to change jobs this year. The survey didn’t break that down to describe whether or not these planners felt that they would be pushed out of their current job or whether they are just going to take it upon themselves to find a new job.

Getting Meeting and Event Planning Jobs; It”s Who You Know

You’ve heard the old saying; “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. Well that scene seems to hold true with how the respondents indicated they found their current job. A whopping 40% said that they obtained their current job through someone they knew. After that, the other ways that planners found their current job were:

  • through a recruiter, 21%
  • from their own efforts, 17%
  • through social media, 3%
  • through other means, 19%

From this category I was surprised to see social media account for only 3% of successful job searching activity.

Becoming a Certified Meeting Professional; a Commitment to Excellence

Of course we’ve talked many times on this blog regarding investing in yourself. The meeting and event planning industry has many top-notch associations that help planners further their careers through education. One such designation, the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) Program. is considered the industry leader. The program was launched in 1985 and currently there are more than 12,000 individuals that have received the designation. For more information on the CMP program and respective dates please visit the Convention Industry Council”s website.

Generally all indications are that meeting and event planners are satisfied with their employer and, in particular, their job. A further indication of employee satisfaction, in the meeting and event planning industry, is that many are taking action on continuing their career development. In particular, the certified meeting professional (CMP) program is very popular.

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