Event planning, especially for corporates is a famous niche people pick. You must be one of them as you’re trying to learn how to become a corporate event planner.
It isn’t rocket science, but there’s a learning curve. From the right credentials to soft skills, you need several green flags on your resume to make it.
Let’s get into the details. Read till the end to learn how much you can earn as a corporate event planner!
A. Who is a corporate event planner?
A corporate event planner is responsible for organizing meetings, conferences, and similar events for companies. They’re skilled professionals who work on formal and semi-formal events.
They can work in-house as part of the company, externally as an agency, or freelance.
Corporate event planners don’t just work out the logistics of a corporate event. Rather, they’re responsible for creating impactful experiences to help meet the organization’s goals.
With such responsibilities, you must learn how to become a corporate event planner from scratch.
B. What does a corporate event planner do?
With so many responsibilities, let’s break down the corporate event planning process into stages. This should give you better insights into how to become a corporate event planner.
- Consultation stage: At this stage, the corporate event planner must get in touch with the company officials or stakeholders. Learn the corporate goals and visions they have for the event. This stage will help you learn your target audience and strategy
- Ideation stage: It’s now time to work on your event design. Imagine and conceptualize the event details like decor, signage, and other visual components
- Budget stage: Create an event budget outlining venue rental, marketing expenses, vendor fees, and more. Use the linked guide so you don’t make mistakes at this crucial stage
- Logistics stage: With lots of ideas and a vision, find an appropriate venue for the event. It should accommodate the event size, theme, and have all logistical facilities such as a screen
- Contract stage: Find vendors for catering, equipment, furniture, and decor. Then, get time to sign all relevant contracts that’ll ensure a good working relationship
- Marketing stage: You can begin marketing your event through social media, email campaigns, and partnerships. Starting your marketing efforts early will ensure you reach your target audience
- Branding stage: All or most elements of your event decor must be in sync with your brand color. Furniture and stationery must have branding elements. To learn corporate event branding methods, read the linked guide
- Coordination stage: With a huge staff and a lot of vendors on board, you need to effectively communicate. You must be aware of all the progress, hurdles, and delays if any
- Monitoring stage: On the day of the event, the corporate event planner oversees all on-site development. They must address any unexpected challenges promptly
C. How to become a corporate event planner with no experience?
The event planning market is a tough one to break into. However, there’s a loophole. Event planners are always on the lookout for inexpensive help or volunteers.
This is a good place to start.
Sign up for internships and volunteer work that overlaps with basic event planning skills. After one or two of these, you can leap into entry-level jobs at event agencies.
The ladder is a long one to climb but not impossible.
A good way to shorten your climb on the corporate ladder is education. You can do part-time or online degrees in event management, hospitality, and business management. Doing it alongside your internships will help you apply your knowledge as you learn it.
D. How to become a corporate event planner with basic experience?
If you’ve done some work from the ground up, you can now work on the betterment of your skills. How can you do that?
Simply put, you need to master the craft of corporate event planning through the following:
- Budgeting skills: Building expertise in this field requires you to have a strong grip on asset management and budget skills. Your client will appreciate your over-exceeding goals without exhausting the budget. Skills like cost-cutting and setting ticket prices come in handy here
- Communication and negotiation skills: Most of the event planners we have come across are great communicators. In a room of a dozen people, they’re bound to be heard. This is probably a common factor because communication and negotiation are integral parts of event planning. With your entry-level work experience, work on actively building this skill
- Vendor relations: After having worked on small projects or in small capacities, you must’ve come across a lot of vendors. You need to befriend these service providers. Having a network of vendors is going to be your weapon in this field
- Creative problem-solving: Event planners don’t just troubleshoot issues, but find creative solutions for it. To get hired by clients over very experienced people, you need to give them creative solutions. Suggest a creative event campaign or a cheaper but equally fun alternative. This skill should get you hired
- Pick a niche: In this oversaturated market, picking a niche will help you become an industry name. Explore different corporate event formats such as conferences, product launches, team-building activities, etc. Identify the demands of these events like sustainability, tech, luxury experiences, etc. Repetitively pick similar types of events to become an expert at that
E. How to become an expert at corporate event planning
At this stage, you already know how to become a corporate event planner. Now, you’re diverting your attention to how to become an expert at it.
To become an expert, you need to get a good grip on all existing event planning tools. Learn new project management tools, and venue-booking tools, and manage your workflow. There are different tools for different countries and localities.
You need to do your research, experiment, and take lessons. In this day and age, you should also be aware of how you can use AI in event planning.
Other than technical knowledge, you need to keep an eye out for event trends and news. Our social media platforms are a good place to find such updates. By following us, you can also access new opportunities and learning opportunities for free.
Another benefit of using social media to become an expert is—networking. You can only become an expert when you’re acknowledged as an expert by peers in the industry.
You should actively attend industry events, join online communities, and show expertise through posting. Writing blogs, LinkedIn posts, and cold messaging can help you build your personal brand. This will help you get more clients and respect in the industry.
F. How to get a corporate event planning job?
If you’ve read the last section, you’ve already laid out the groundwork. However, you need to cover some more basic aspects.
You will need a compelling resume that highlights all your skills and niche expertise. It’s a good idea to also company your resume with a portfolio containing visual proof of your expertise.
In your resume, you must highlight skills related to problem-solving and a client-centric approach. Combine it with a cover letter that highlights your passion for event planning.
Lastly, you need to actively network and reach out to event planning companies or clients. Don’t expect them to come to you from the very beginning.
A good starting point is to have an active and attractive LinkedIn profile.
G. Soft skills needed to become a corporate event planner
Before us, you must’ve come across a lot of articles on how to become a corporate event planner. They would’ve listed all the certifications and credentials you need. However, that only covers half of it. In India, many companies will consider giving you a chance if you possess the following soft skills:
- Strong communication, especially with vendors and guests
- Working well under pressure
- Creative problem-solving
- Professionalism even in stressful and unfavourable situations
- Team management
- Tech-savvy
- Adaptability
- Negotiation skills, especially with vendors
- Detail-oriented work to deliver flawless events
Feel free to paste this directly on your resume. However, you must attach an anecdote from your past experience to each of these skills. This will help you answer most of the questions during your interview.
H. How much do corporate event planners earn in India?
Your income as an event planner can differ vastly based on your level of experience. However, with subjective data available, here are some income estimates.
An entry-level corporate event planner will earn anywhere between 2-4 LPA. With experience beyond two years and under seven years, you can also expect 5-9 LPA.
With experience come more clients and a bigger team at your service. With such resources, your income can also be above 25 LPA. This is one of the best-case scenarios in the field. Metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore offer better packages and income.
Pro Tip: Working for established event management companies tends to pay more than freelancing if you’re an amateur.
I. How much do corporate event planners earn abroad?
With data available on Glassdoor, Indeed, and Salary.com here are some income estimates. These are significantly higher than India but so are the operational costs.
These estimates are largely gathered from event planning hubs like New York City, London, and Tokyo. Such cities are known to give the highest pay to event planners.
Entry-level event planners can earn USD 40,000-60,000 per annum. With more than four years of experience, your income can also rise to USD 100,000 per annum.
However, most of these countries also require expensive certifications and licenses.
Pro Tip: If you’re targeting these countries to work as a corporate event planner, note that the tech industry pays the most.
J. Conclusion on how to become a corporate event planner
We hope the remuneration aspect of corporate event planning has motivated you. With the right education and experience, you can cut.
However, once you get into this field, you’ll soon realize you can’t stop learning here. Keeping yourself updated is essential to stay relevant in this competitive field.
If you’d like us to write an article on event planning courses and degrees, drop a comment below!
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