June 15, 2006 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Q. My background is in sales, and I have experience in arranging events for my employers. I’m also bilingual (English and Spanish). I’d like to be an event coordinator for a charity. How do I get started?
A. Planning charity balls and golf tournaments for a living may seem like a fun and glamorous career — and it can be — but being successful at it isn’t as easy as it looks.
“Everyone seems to want to get involved in ‘special events’ lately — it’s a very hot job,” says Karen Cornell Rosenberg, director of donor relations at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, where she coordinates all of the institution’s events.
Ms. Rosenberg says she recently advertised a “special events coordinator” position and received résumés from a wide variety of candidates, including former teachers and business executives looking for a career change. “A lot of people think that just because they’ve thrown a few big parties they can easily transition into being an event planner, but there is so much more that goes into producing a successful event than people realize,” she says.
So before you decide to toss your sales job aside, take stock of your current skills to determine if you really have what it takes to be in special events. Ms. Rosenberg urges you to ask yourself the following questions:
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Are you creative? You need to be able to visualize the whole production, from the decorations, food and entertainment, to the flow and timing of your event.
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Can you juggle multiple, detailed tasks easily? “You need to be able to coordinate many different projects simultaneously, without dropping the ball on any of them,” says Ms. Rosenberg.
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Are you willing to work lots of weekends and evenings? Few events take place during weekdays.
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Are you organized? “You need to be able to keep orderly files and create a documented paper trail on each event, cataloging the steps you took to build the event,” she says.
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Are you personable? You need to be able to get along with everyone you work with — from executives to housekeepers, to security personnel and musicians. “If you are amiable, relaxed, and have a positive attitude, it will be easier to get your job done,” says Ms. Rosenberg.
If you feel that event planning is a good fit for you, you should make contact with people who have such jobs, says Marlene Blas, associate director for meetings and events at California Western School of Law, in San Diego. But first, she suggests, narrow your focus and determine where you would like to work. Your Spanish-speaking skills, for example, might make you particularly well suited for a charity that serves or aspires to serve Hispanics. Next, call the organizations that most interest you and see if their event planners might be willing to grant you informational interviews, suggests Ms. Blas. (Your college or graduate-school alumni offices may also be helpful in setting up informational interviews with fellow alumni who are fund raisers.)
Because the event-planning field is constantly changing with new trends and technology, Ms. Blas also encourages you to attend conferences for events specialists and to take classes on managing events. Contact your local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals for more information on courses and conferences in your area.
Another great way to get on charities’ radar screens is to volunteer, says Jill Alcott, owner of an event planning and fund-raising consulting firm in New York that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations. As you search for a full-time position, also consider taking on part-time or temporary assignments, suggests Ms. Alcott. Some recruiters specialize in placing candidates in temporary and short-term projects at charities across the country.
Lastly, be sure refresh your résumé so that it highlights the skills and experience you already have in arranging events and send it to nonprofit recruiters, says Ms. Alcott. Also, bring copies everywhere you go. “You never know who you are going to meet,” she says, “so it is best to always be prepared.”
