Career profile for Event Coordinator

What does an Event Coordinator do?

Event Coordinators coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for group meetings, events, or conventions.

What kind of tasks does an Event Coordinator perform regularly?

Event Coordinators are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

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.
Conduct post-event evaluations to determine how future events could be improved.
Direct administrative details, such as financial operations, dissemination of promotional materials, and responses to inquiries.
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.
Read trade publications, attend seminars, and consult with other meeting professionals to keep abreast of meeting management standards and trends.

The above responsibilities are specific to Event Coordinators. More generally, Event Coordinators are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work		Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Communicating with People Outside the Organization		Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Working with Computers		Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work

Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Communicating with People Outside the Organization

Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Working with Computers

Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

What is an Event Coordinator salary?

The median salary for an Event Coordinator is $51,560, and the average salary is $55,890. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Event Coordinator salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Event Coordinators earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Event Coordinators earn less than $29,240 per year, 25% earn less than $38,460, 75% earn less than $67,250, and 90% earn less than $88,360.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Event Coordinators is expected to change by 17.6%, and there should be roughly 16,400 open positions for Event Coordinators every year.

Median annual salary: $51,560
Typical salary range: $29,240 - $88,360
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 17.6%

What personality traits are common among Event Coordinators?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as an Event Coordinator are usually higher in their Enterprising, Conventional, and Social interests.

Event Coordinators typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Event Coordinators typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Lastly, Event Coordinators typically have moderate Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as an Event Coordinator tend to value Relationships, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Event Coordinators very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Event Coordinators strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Event Coordinators strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Event Coordinators must consistently demonstrate qualities such as attention to detail, dependability, and stress tolerance.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Event Coordinators, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Stress Tolerance		Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Adaptability/Flexibility		Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Stress Tolerance

Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Adaptability/Flexibility

Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

What education and training do Event Coordinators need?

Many Event Coordinators will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Event Coordinators usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Event Coordinators

1.5% did not complete high school or secondary school
9.1% completed high school or secondary school
14.5% completed some college coursework
8.0% earned a Associate's degree
54.3% earned a Bachelor's degree
11.9% earned a Master's degree
0.6% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Event Coordinators

Event Coordinators may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, communications and media, or administrative knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Event Coordinators might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
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.
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.
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.
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.
Computers and Electronics		Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Computers and Electronics

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Important Abilities needed by Event Coordinators

Event Coordinators must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Event Coordinators need abilities such as oral comprehension, written comprehension, and oral expression in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Event Coordinators, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Speech Recognition		The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Critical Skills needed by Event Coordinators

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Event Coordinators frequently use skills like reading comprehension, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Event Coordinators, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Social Perceptiveness		Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Event Coordinator

Event Coordinator

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