Who is applying for the Event Manager position?

Behind every successful and well-planned event lies the precise and coordinated organizational work of a team of specialists. Those who still imagine that the work of an event manager consists of daily celebrations, tastings, and meetings with celebrities are deeply mistaken.

Who is an event organizer or event manager? 

Not everyone can answer this seemingly simple question. Many people, after a little thought, will say that it is a toastmaster, or, at best, a wedding planner. And their job is a dream job, with nothing difficult about it, just daily fun and celebrations. At the same time, this «simple» work should pay a lot of money.

For example, specialists at the Aventura event agency found that 47% of applicants want to work in the event industry because they are interested in this field and enjoy organizing events. At the same time, 30% are sure that an organizer's job is daily celebrations and fun, 6% want to try themselves in a new, more creative direction, and only 17% want to work in the event industry because they know this area well and have work experience.

However, when asked «Do you have experience in the event industry?» almost 70% of applicants answered yes. And 89% note that they have had to develop creative ideas. It turns out that almost everyone believes they have experience in organizing events. But a detailed study of resumes reveals that almost 44% of those who claimed experience either have none at all or have little experience in related fields. Thus, many go to work in the event industry without understanding what it actually is.

– «To put it briefly, «Special events» are a set of activities held by companies to attract public attention to the company itself, its activities and products, as well as to implement corporate communications», says Evgenia Glushenkova, head of the event department at Aventura. – «Consequently, «event manager» is a specialist who organizes business, corporate and entertainment events for companies and individuals».

Who applies for the position of event manager?

Education. Since there is no specialized higher education in the event field, people come to the event industry from various professions. At the same time, 93% of respondents have a higher education, and only 7% have secondary vocational education.

The Aventura event agency found that most applicants (33%) are graduates of the «Advertising and Public Relations» specialty. By the way, according to experts, this is one of the most suitable specialties for an event manager. In second place is «Management and Marketing»; 25% of applicants have education in this field. About 7-8% have education in journalism and approximately the same number in directing. Specialists from the design field (5%) also send their resumes, as well as people from technical professions (4%). 17% of respondents have education in other fields (law, medicine, accounting, etc.).

It is worth noting that 83% of respondents speak foreign languages at various levels, from basic to professional. Moreover, some know 3-4 languages. 77% of applicants have design skills. And 78% have experience in sales.

Age. Gender. Bad habits. According to statistics, people aged 18 to 43 mainly want to work as event organizers, and the average age of a potential event manager is 26. At the same time, the majority of applicants for the position of event manager are women – 71%. As for bad habits, most (76%) do not have any. Interestingly, out of 24% of smokers, 15% have work experience; one can only hope that this pattern did not appear because of that very experience.

How much do they pay?

64% of applicants who indicated their salary level would on average like to receive 70 thousand rubles. The minimum salary they expect is 40 thousand rubles, the maximum is 133 thousand rubles. Some do not indicate their desired salary level. At the same time, the average salary of an event manager in St. Petersburg is 30 thousand rubles, in Moscow slightly more (about 40 thousand), and in the regions the minimum is 10-15 thousand rubles, plus a percentage of the events held.

Applicants' experience in numbers.

69% of applicants with work experience note that the maximum budget of the project they worked on is from 0-500 thousand rubles. 19% worked with budgets from 500 thousand to 1 million rubles. And only 12% dealt with projects whose amounts were 1-20 million rubles and more. Specialists at the Aventura event agency note that the level and budget of an event largely depend on the company's status, the level of the event agency and the manager's professionalism. The more experienced the specialist, the larger the projects they are trusted to manage.

Requirements for candidates.

The work of an event manager is a lifestyle. Therefore, an event specialist really needs to possess qualities that directly affect their professional activity. These include: competent speech, communication skills, politeness, clear diction, as well as adequacy, purposefulness, customer focus, stress resistance and diligence. About 40% of applicants possess these qualities.

– "Qualities such as fast learning ability and a desire to grow in event management are no less important," notes Mikhail Glushenkov, general director of the Aventura event agency. – "We always welcome proactive and creative people, but experience and an understanding of the specifics of the work are also important to us. After carefully studying hundreds of resumes, we saw many people with a 'burning' spark in their eyes, yet almost half of them have no idea what working in our field involves... So choosing a truly worthy and suitable candidate is not always easy," Mikhail explains. – "It is also worth noting such advantageous skills as strong achievements at a previous job, some design skills, experience in telephone negotiations and, of course, experience in the event industry."

Responsibilities of an event manager.

Behind every successful and well-planned event lies the clear, coordinated organizational work of a team of specialists. Anyone who still imagines that an event manager's work consists of daily celebrations, tastings and meeting celebrities is deeply mistaken. An event manager's responsibilities include: coordinating the preparation and execution of an event; managing the budget; working with venues and suppliers; maintaining financial reporting and documentation; preparing materials for presentations and the press; negotiating with clients and contractors, and much more.

So how do you become an event manager?

If you have realized that this job is for you, if you are full of energy, ideas and strength, then it is important to stock up on patience and determination. To start with, it is advisable to get a relevant education in related fields or complete courses in event management (many large event agencies offer such courses these days). Specialists at the Aventura event agency advise starting a career in events, as in any other field, from the bottom, since only experienced specialists are ever hired for senior positions and high salaries. So you can do an internship at any good event agency or work for a while as a volunteer at large, significant events.