Activities	Coordinate activities of staff and convention personnel to make arrangements for group meetings and conventions.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$44,300 per year in 2008
Work Context & Conditions	The work of meeting and convention planners may be considered either stressful or energizing, but there is no question that it is fast-paced and demanding. Planners oversee multiple operations at one time, face numerous deadlines, and orchestrate the activities of several different groups of people.
Minimum Education Requirements	General High School Program
Skills	Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Writing, Service Orientation, Time Management, Active Learning, Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Speaking
Abilities	Oral Expression, Visualization, Speech Recognition, Problem Sensitivity, Originality, Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Information Ordering, Inductive Reasoning, Written Expression, Oral Comprehension

Job Category		Business & Financial Operations
Job Description		Meetings and conventions bring people together for a common purpose, and meeting and convention planners work to ensure that this purpose is achieved seamlessly. Meeting planners coordinate every detail of meetings and conventions, from the speakers and meeting location to arranging for printed materials and audio-visual equipment. Meeting and convention planners work for nonprofit organizations, professional and similar associations, hotels, corporations, and government. Some organizations have internal meeting planning staffs, and others hire independent meeting and convention planning firms to organize their events. The first step in planning a meeting or convention is determining the purpose, message, or impression that the sponsoring organization wants to communicate. Planners increasingly focus on how meetings impact the goals of their organizations; for example, they may survey prospective attendees to find out what motivates them and how they learn best. Planners then choose speakers, entertainment, and content, and arrange the program to present the organization’s information in the most effective way. Meeting and convention planners search for prospective meeting sites, which may be hotels, convention centers, or conference centers. They issue requests for proposals—documents that state the meeting dates and outline their needs for the meeting or convention, including meeting and exhibit space, lodging, food and beverages, telecommunications, audio-visual requirements, transportation, and any other necessities—to all the sites in which they are interested. The establishments respond with proposals describing what space and services they can supply, and at what prices. Meeting and convention planners review these proposals and either make recommendations to top management or choose the site themselves. Once the location is selected, meeting and convention planners arrange support services, coordinate needs with the facility, prepare the site staff for the meeting, and set up all forms of electronic communication needed for the meeting or convention, such as e-mail, voice mail, video, and online communication. Meeting logistics, the management of the details of meetings and conventions, such as labor and materials, is another major component of the job. There also is a financial management component of the work. Planners negotiate contracts with facilities and suppliers. They are given overall budgets by their organizations and must create a detailed budget, forecasting what each aspect of the event will cost. An increasingly important part of the work is measuring how well the meeting’s purpose was achieved, and planners begin this measurement as they outline the meeting’s goals. The most obvious way to gauge their success is to have attendees fill out surveys about their experiences at the event. If the purpose of a meeting or convention is publicity, a good measure of success would be how much press coverage the event received. A more precise measurement of meeting success, and one that is gaining importance, is return on investment (ROI). Planners compare the costs and benefits of an event and show whether it was worthwhile to the organization. An important part of all these different functions of meeting professionals is establishing and maintaining relationships. Meeting and convention planners interact with a variety of people and must communicate effectively. They must understand their organization’s goals for the meeting or convention, be able to communicate their needs clearly to meeting site staff and other suppliers, maintain contact with many different people, and inform people about changes as they occur. Meeting and convention planners must have excellent written and verbal communications skills and interpersonal skills. They must be detail-oriented with excellent organizational skills, and they must be able to multi-task, meet tight deadlines, and maintain composure under pressure in a fast-paced environment. Planners also need computer skills, such as the ability to use financial and registration software and the Internet. In the course of their careers, planners may work in a number of different, unrelated industries, and they must be able to learn independently about each new industry so they can coordinate programs that address the industry’s important issues.
Working Conditions		Meeting and convention planners spend the majority of their time in offices; but during meetings, they work on-site at the hotel, convention center, or other meeting location. They travel regularly to attend meetings and to visit prospective meeting sites. The extent of travel depends upon the type of organization for which the planner works. Local and regional organizations require mostly regional travel, while national and international organizations require travel to more distant locales, including travel abroad. Working hours can be long and irregular, with planners working more than 40 hours per week in the time leading up to a meeting and fewer hours after finishing a large meeting. During meetings or conventions, planners may work very long days, possibly starting as early as 5:00 a.m. and working until midnight. They are sometimes required to work on weekends. Some physical activity is required, including long hours of standing and walking, and some lifting and carrying of boxes of materials, exhibits, or supplies. Planners work with the public and with workers from diverse backgrounds. They may get to travel to beautiful hotels and interesting places and meet speakers and meeting attendees from around the world, and they usually enjoy a high level of autonomy.
Salary Range		The median annual earnings of meeting and convention planners in the United States were $44,300. The middle 50 percent earned between $34,500 and $57,800. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $27,500, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $74,600.

Education Required		Many employers prefer a person with a bachelor’s degree, but this is not always required. The proportion with a bachelor’s degree is increasing because the work and responsibilities are becoming more complex, causing employers to prefer workers with more formal education. Planners have backgrounds in a variety of disciplines, but some useful undergraduate majors are marketing, public relations, communications, business, and hotel or hospitality management. A few schools offer courses or degree programs in meeting and event management. Individuals who have studied hospitality management may start out with greater responsibilities than those with other academic backgrounds. Because formal education is increasingly important, those who enter the occupation may enhance their professional standing by enrolling in meeting planning courses offered by professional meeting and convention planning organizations, colleges, or universities. At least two universities offer bachelor’s degrees with majors in meetings management. Additionally, meeting and convention planning continuing education programs are offered by a few universities and colleges. These programs are designed for career development of meeting professionals as well as for people wishing to enter the occupation. Some programs may require 40 to more than 100 classroom hours during a period of one semester to two years for a certificate of completion. Most of the training is done informally on the job. Entry-level planners, depending upon their education, generally begin by performing small tasks under the supervision of senior meeting professionals. For example, they may issue requests for proposals and discuss the resulting proposals with higher level planners. They also may assist in registration, review of contracts, or the creation of meeting timelines, schedules, or objectives. They may start by planning small meetings, such as committee meetings. Those who start at small organizations have the opportunity to learn more quickly since they will be required to take on a larger number of tasks.
Recommended High School Courses		English, Communications
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Education and Training, English Language, Administration and Management, Communications and Media, Sales and Marketing, Customer and Personal Service, Computers and Electronics, Clerical
Certification and Licensing		The Convention Industry Council offers the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) credential, a voluntary certification for meeting and convention planners. Although the CMP is not required, it is widely recognized in the industry and may help in career advancement. In order to qualify, candidates must have a minimum of three years of meeting management experience, full-time employment in a meeting management capacity, and proof of accountability for successfully completed meetings. Those who qualify must then pass an examination that covers topics such as adult learning, financial management, facilities and services, logistics, and meeting programs.

Interest Area		Enterprising Involves starting up and carrying out projects, leading people, making many decisions, and dealing with businesses, and it sometimes requires risk taking. Conventional Involves following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. There's usually a clear line of authority to follow.
Work Values		Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Working Conditions Good working conditions. Autonomy Plan work with little supervision. Responsibility Make decisions on your own.
Skills		Social Perceptiveness Be aware of others' reactions and understand why they react the way they do. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Service Orientation Actively look for ways to help people. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Coordination Adjust actions in relation to others' actions. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Visualization Able to imagine how something will look after it's moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged. Speech Recognition Identify and understand the speech of another person Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Originality Come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Near Vision Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer). Speech Clarity Able to speak clearly so listeners understand. Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Written Expression Able to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Optician
Job Outlook		Employment of meeting and convention planners is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations over the 2008–18 period, due to growth of business, the increasing globalization of the economy, and increasing use of electronic forms of communication to bring people together. There will also be some job openings that arise due to the need to replace workers who leave the workforce or transfer to other occupations. Opportunities will be best for individuals with a bachelor’s degree and some meeting planning experience. In 2008, meeting and convention planners held about 56,600 jobs. About 27 percent worked for religious, grant making, civic, professional, and similar organizations; 14 percent worked for hotels and other accommodation establishments; The remaining worked for public and private, and other industries that host meetings. About 6 percent were self-employed.
More Information		Professional Meeting Planners, Professional Convention Management Association , Society of Government Meeting Professionals
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition, Meeting and Convention Planners, on the Internet at: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos298.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/13-1121.00