Thursday, October 11, 2012

A Day in the Life of an Events Coordinator


What is a Meeting and Event?

Michelle Giang is the Events Coordinator at the Marriott International Hotel.  She graduated from SFSU and got into the Marriott Management Training Program in her last semester.  From there she worked her way up to now an Event Coordinator.  Her ultimate goal is to become an Event Manager.

First of all, what is a meeting and event?  In the US alone, there are thousands of individuals who plan meetings and events.  It is impossible to count the number as the number is huge and constantly increasing.  Besides convention and conference centers, there are hotels and resorts as well as catering facilities that are also part of the events and meetings industry.  Annual conferences, training seminars, staff/board meetings, tradeshows, product launches, technical and scientific conferences, and incentive programs are just some of the meetings and events that make up the meetings industry.


Creating and Following a Timeline

When I ask Michelle what is the process of planning an event and what is her typical work day in the office, she said its all about creating and following a timeline and supporting the team.  Developing a timeline for the meeting or event is an important first step in the planning process because planning an event involves massive details and to-do lists.  Having a good timeline will help identify and prioritize key tasks and dates to keep you stay on track.  Most importantly, it will factor in the time you need to make decisions.  Planning tasks differ from meeting to meeting.  They are different depending on what kinds of meeting you are planning, whether its for a corporate, an association or a wedding.  All timelines must be customized to each unique situation.

Timelines are every component in meeting planning, and will vary depend on the type of events.  When thinking about your timeline, you have to consider about who is the timeline for, who will be the keeper, any special due dates, and assign responsibilities accordingly.  Whether you are developing a big event or timeline, Michelle said you need to incorporate the key tasks and key dates.
As I listen to Michelle listing out the tasks that she has to do everyday at work, I can feel the stress thats coming from her.  I know Event planning is a stressful and fast paced/changing job that you don't know what will be happen the next day or you might have to come in really early and get off very late at night.  My first goal or career was also to go for Events; however, after the interview with Michelle, I kind of feel discouraged and want to change my career plan.  For Events, people really need to have that passion and creativity in order to survive in the field.  I think I will switch to Tourism since I like to travel...

6 comments:

  1. Are there any links that I could go to in order to see some of Michelles work? I understand that Event Planners Plan things, but do they do anything else? It is interesting that the timeline that you talked about in this blog is similar to some of the steps of management like planning and organizing.

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    1. Event planners need to meet with clients and contact different vendors. These tasks may include reserving dates for party locations, double checking menu numbers, and getting final pricing on floral arrangements. Event planners also take or of the food and beverage part and many more.

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  2. It is very informational how you broke down timelines. Planning is a very important phase of management. Don't let the stressful environment deter you from event planning. You just got the aspect of it from one person. Any job you take will have some degree of stress but what is most important is carefully selecting a good team to take some of the load off of your back. Also stress management is very important. You should take a look at Jerry's blog review about stress management.

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  3. Wow, your blog looks very professional! I like it! I like how the images you insert in the blog correlated to your contents. Even planning sounds like a fun career to me. As an even planning coordinator, do you have control of creating the theme of an even? I think you can handle the stress of being an even planning coordinator, as long as you are well organized and can react fast to solve those last minute changes/problems. In today's economy, any job could be stressful.

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    1. If the client have their own thoughts about what theme they want, planners can give some suggestions; however, if they want the planners to take over charge, then planners can control creating the then of an event. It's negotiable.

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  4. Although after reading how Michelle's work seem to be very stressful but I think after getting into Marriot's Management Training Program, you will be prepared for the field you want to work at in the hotel.
    Nonetheless, I also agree with Pierre that the most the most important thing is having a good team. Having good team will produce better results for the company but at the same time, people need to learn how to be a better team player.

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