What does a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner do?

Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions. Day to day that includes work like consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions and Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment.

What skills should a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Coordination, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Active Network EventRegister, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Conference Planning Manager, Conference Services Manager, Convention Services Manager, and CSM. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner resume example

A resume for a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner needs to show the work itself: coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions. Day to day that means work like this: consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions; review event bills for accuracy and approve payment. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Conference Planning Manager
Conference Services Manager
Convention Services Manager
CSM
Events Manager
Catering Director
Conference Planner
Conference Services Director
Convention Services Director
Event Coordinator
Special Events Coordinator
Catering and Convention Services Manager
Catering Coordinator
Certified Meeting Professional
Conference Manager
Conference Organizer
Conference Producer
Conference Reservationist

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions.
Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment.
Coordinate services for events, such as accommodation and transportation for participants, facilities, catering, signage, displays, special needs requirements, printing and event security.
Arrange the availability of audio-visual equipment, transportation, displays, and other event needs.
Confer with staff at a chosen event site to coordinate details.
Inspect event facilities to ensure that they conform to customer requirements.
Maintain records of event aspects, including financial details.
Monitor event activities to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and laws, satisfaction of participants, and resolution of any problems that arise.
Negotiate contracts with such service providers and suppliers as hotels, convention centers, and speakers.
Evaluate and select providers of services according to customer requirements.
Plan and develop programs, agendas, budgets, and services according to customer requirements.
Hire, train, and supervise volunteers and support staff required for events.

21 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Coordinate services for events, such as accommodation and transportation for participants, facilities, catering, signage, displays, special needs requirements, printing and event security, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Arrange the availability of audio-visual equipment, transportation, displays, and other event needs, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Active Network EventRegister
Adobe Creative Cloud software
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge
Convention Industry Council CIC APEX Toolbox
Dean Evans & Associates EMS Professional
Delphi Discovery
Delphi Technology
ESRI ArcGIS software
Event Management Software
Events Operations Software
Facebook
FileMaker Pro

47 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Overhead display projectors
Personal computers
Public address PA systems
Two way radios
Video projectors
Videoconferencing equipment

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
ESRI ArcGIS
HTML
Marketo Marketing Automation
Microsoft Dynamics
Oracle Primavera Enterprise Project Portfolio Management
Trimble SketchUp Pro

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Reading Comprehension
03Speaking
04Coordination
05Critical Thinking
06Service Orientation
07Social Perceptiveness
08Time Management
09Complex Problem Solving
10Judgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Communications and Media
Administrative
Administration and Management
Computers and Electronics
Public Safety and Security

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

41%Bachelor's Degree
37%Some College Courses
8%High School Diploma, or the equivalent

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner do?: Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions. Day to day that includes work like consult with customers to determine objectives and requirements for events, such as meetings, conferences, and conventions and Review event bills for accuracy and approve payment.
What skills should a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Coordination, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Active Network EventRegister, Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Blackbaud The Raiser's Edge. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Conference Planning Manager, Conference Services Manager, Convention Services Manager, and CSM. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.