Conference Planner

At every conference, there are nametags and programs, keynote speakers and Emcees, lunch options and coffee breaks, and a million other details that all somehow come together before the opening session. It’s not magic; it’s the work of a Conference Planner.

A Conference Planner might work for the organization running the conference, or the venue where it’s being held. Either way, as Conference Planner, you’re the logistics person. Starting several months before the event, you work on everything from securing the space, to booking nighttime entertainment, to ordering tables and chairs.

What happens when a keynote speaker cancels three weeks before the event? Or your boss suddenly informs you that the conference needs a Sign Language Interpreter? Or the room assignments change right after you’ve printed all the programs? You need to think on your feet, make some calls, and come up with creative solutions.

When the day of the conference arrives, you’re the one that all the event staff approach with questions: What do I do if someone isn’t on the registration list? What time is the Caterer showing up? Where are the scissors? And then, before you know it, you’re sitting at the closing session, feeling a wave of calm wash over you. You did it.

Within weeks, you’ll be bored with your new, low-adrenaline life and ready to start it all over again.