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Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners
Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions.
Also Known As:
Catering Director
Conference Planner
Conference Planning Manager
Conference Services Director
Conference Services Manager
Convention Services Director
Convention Services Manager (CSM)
Event Coordinator
Events Manager
Special Events Coordinator
Wages
Annual wages for Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
163,300
5% Change From 2024
Explore Meeting and Convention Planners video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Plan and develop programs, agendas, budgets, and services according to customer requirements.
- Maintain records of event aspects, including financial details.
- Promote conference, convention and trades show services by performing tasks such as meeting with professional and trade associations, and producing brochures and other publications.
- Promote conference, convention and trades show services by performing tasks such as meeting with professional and trade associations, and producing brochures and other publications.
- Meet with sponsors and organizing committees to plan scope and format of events, to establish and monitor budgets, or to review administrative procedures and event progress.
- Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment.
- Evaluate and select providers of services according to customer requirements.
- Inspect event facilities to ensure that they conform to customer requirements.
- Read trade publications, attend seminars, and consult with other meeting professionals to keep abreast of meeting management standards and trends.
- Coordinate services for events, such as accommodation and transportation for participants, facilities, catering, signage, displays, special needs requirements, printing and event security.
- Conduct post-event evaluations to determine how future events could be improved.
- Design and implement efforts to publicize events and promote sponsorships.
- Design and implement efforts to publicize events and promote sponsorships.
- Hire, train, and supervise volunteers and support staff required for events.
- Monitor event activities to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and laws, satisfaction of participants, and resolution of any problems that arise.
- Arrange the availability of audio-visual equipment, transportation, displays, and other event needs.
- Direct administrative details, such as financial operations, dissemination of promotional materials, and responses to inquiries.
- Consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions.
- Develop event topics and choose featured speakers.
- Obtain permits from fire and health departments to erect displays and exhibits and serve food at events.
- Confer with staff at a chosen event site to coordinate details.
- Meet with sponsors and organizing committees to plan scope and format of events, to establish and monitor budgets, or to review administrative procedures and event progress.
- Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment.
- Hire, train, and supervise volunteers and support staff required for events.
- Negotiate contracts with such service providers and suppliers as hotels, convention centers, and speakers.
- Organize registration of event participants.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")