So what are those sought after skills and how can you master them? In this blog we will dive into the must-have skills for job success in 2021. These skills include:
- Vendor Sourcing
- Security/IT Knowledge
- Digital Marketing Knowledge
- GDPR Knowledge
- Virtual & Hybrid Event Management
- Reading time: 11 – 20 mins
What's Common About These Skills And Why Are They Essential?
One thing that is common to these skills, is that they are all digital. Right now, the world is basically digitized. We cannot imagine living without internet connection. We don’t go a week without using Google. So naturally, technology is taking over every sector and the event planning industry is not left behind.
About two decades ago, becoming a professional event planner only required ‘basic’ abilities like time management, problem-solving, creative thinking, and a keen eye for details. But today event planning and management have a lot more to do with technological know-how.
Drafting a resume that makes you stand out as an applicant for any event planning job in 2021 requires a lot of additional skills. These range from vendor sourcing to security/IT knowledge and awareness on GDPR regulations. While increasing your chances of getting employed; these skills will also set you up to become a better event manager and planner. It’s a win-win situation. Without further ado, let’s dive into each of these skills.
Master Vendor Sourcing And Procurement
If you are an event manager or planner trying to broaden your skillset or increase career chances, vendor sourcing is one of the most important skills to acquire. An event simply cannot be hosted if there is no plan for the necessary procurements and logistics. As an event planner you should be able to reach out to all relevant vendors. You need to obtain their price list, negotiate contracts with them. When this is done you need to assign jobs, measure the quality of work, evaluate performance and ensure that payments are made. All these aspects are collectively fall under vendor sourcing as a skill.
Sounds pretty stressful, right? Sure, it’s not an easy skill to have. But including this on your resume will position you as a relevant and competent applicant. However, if you aren’t willing to handle all of those vendor sourcing tasks as a one-person actor, some platforms offer the ideal software that will see to your vendor sourcing and entire event planning activities.
Pro Tip: With such a platform (and software), you can comfortably add vendor sourcing to your resume without having doubts about your ability to fulfil the employer’s demand. This software makes it all easier and feasible. That’s the magic of technology.
Get Digital Marketing Knowledge Under Your Belt
Our digital world and every aspect of the economy demands some elements of digital skills or technological aptitude. If you have not been able to land enough interviews or a new job, chances are you’ve been omitting the tech aspect of the job from your resume.
One of the best tech skills you should consider chipping into your event planning resume this year is digital marketing. This skill is essential for attracting the right audiences and convert them into paying attendees.
Pro Tip: here are the 4 amazing ways to leverage digital marketing knowledge to boost your career chances:
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The use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This helps people (including potential employers) to find your company or website.
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Investing in Pay Per Click (PPC) ads to attract more leads.
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The use of social media platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook to showcase your brand and services and connect with potential customers.
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Use email marketing to broaden awareness about your personal brand, by targeting and engaging with potential customers.
Acquaint Yourself With GDPR, Security / IT Knowledge
Another important skill to enhance your event planning career and resume is GDPR knowledge. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a binding rule that every data handler across the globe must abide by.
This legal framework was formulated by the European Union to ensure that the personal data of citizens of member-countries are properly secured. Breaching this rule attracts heavy penalties for you or the organizations you work for. As an event planner who handles all sorts of personal information belonging to European attendees, GDPR knowledge is a very important skill to be acquainted with.
Similarly, for you to be GDPR-friendly, you must have some level of Security and IT knowledge. Having this knowledge will help you achieve a secured and accurate data management of all participants.
Pro Tip: Use an all-in-one platform to cater to all your event planning essentials — especially GDPR-friendly data management & knowledge on security.
Related Read: “All-in-One Event Planning Tools - 4 Major Benefits” Learn All About Virtual Events One thing is clear for the event industry after last year: Virtual Events are here to stay. Some businesses have been reluctant to accept this new way of hosting seminars or conferences. However, moving into 2021 the industry starts seeing the huge benefits and opportunities a hybrid event strategy brings.
To successfully manage virtual or hybrid events, you will need to gain some important technical know-how on live-streaming, platforms, AV, and a lot more depending on the scope of your projects. To understand how to get started and which skills to acquire, we created the Virtual Event Guide.
Marketing your virtual event is not rocket science when done right. With the following check-list, you have the most crucial steps at hand for your next virtual event. If you wish to dive deeper into this subject, make sure to check out the related read on promoting your virtual event.
Azavista-virtual-event-marketing-checklist
Other Necessary Must-Haves For Your 2021 Resume
Technical and digital aspects of event planning are important. But there are other contents you should provide in your resume to boost your career chances. For example:
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Event Planning Resume Keywords: This is an aspect of digital marketing knowledge that will help your resume stand out among other competitors. Most organizations now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs); software that can easily search incoming resumes for pre-determined keywords. Only the resumes containing the best-matching keywords are passed for further review by a human. Others will be rejected. Pro Tip: Use the keywords that match your social media profile — take LinkedIn for instance. And make sure to go through the job posting. Take note of all the required soft and hard skills and list them on your resume.
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Resume Summary (Objectives): having your resume in front of a HR manager or hiring team is one. Now it’s time to impress them. Make sure your resume summary is brief, succinct, and straight to the point. Most hiring managers will typically spend between 10-20 seconds to review your resume. Keep it short and impressive.
Pro Tip: Make use of numbers wherever they are needed. Stay away from sentences such as: “Managed many successful events with a minimal budget”.
Instead: “Managed over 15 successful corporate events with just a budget ranging between $10,000 up to $20,000” – Notice the difference?
Final Thought
When it comes to event planning and management, it’s obvious that technology plays a vital role — just as much as other soft skills. Hence, if you want to stand a better chance at getting hired for event management jobs or contracts, then you must embrace the technical and digital aspects of the field.
CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING IT THIS FAR!
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