This was suppose to be the last post on subject of aspiring to be a wedding planner. But at the urging of many of my planner friends across the country, they asked I write more. I certainly don’t want to beat this topic to death, but then again, I receive resumes or phone calls every week!!! So is it timely? Yes. I think it is.

I hope you understand why you need to have experience first before you plan a client’s wedding. We clearly outlined some of the pitfalls here when you are “learning” on someone else’s special day. So HOW do you get this experience?

It can be a vicious circle. It’s like trying to get credit extended to you but you don’t qualify because you have no credit history. Huh?

Obviously the best experience would be to work for a professional event planner. However, it’s not the only way; hospitality and catering would probably give you a more well rounded picture. But let’s focus back on working for us planners. There are some Do’s and Don’ts when approaching planners for potential jobs.

As always, I will get straight-to-the-point.

1. Do Not email us through our web inquiry form on our website. That area is strictly for potential clients. Imagine the disappointment to find people looking for work.

2. Do send an email requesting information if we are hiring.

3. Do Not tell us this has always been your dream job. As some planner’s will mimic; “It’s my dreeeeaaaaaaam to be a planner”. This raises a red flag. Can you imagine interviewing at a corporate job and telling the HR person it’s always been your dreeeeeam to be an accountant? I don’t think so. And get back to me if your dream is to be on your knees picking up a broken glass and mopping up spilled liquor on a dance floor at 1AM.

4. Do send us a resume with real job experience that is applicable to our industry. We get really excited to read that.

5. Do Not call us right away. A follow up phone call in a few weeks if we received your resume and email is fine. But email is almost always better. Please remember, you are one person out of dozens that contact us each month.

6. Do be open with starting at the bottom and working your way up. This may include internships or smaller part-time duties, easing you into the business. Businesses in general are looking more into internships; so don’t be surprised when that is an offer.

7. Do Not offer to partner with our company if you have no experience or established business in general. Yes this happens.

8. Do ask questions of other planners (go out of your immediate area if you aren’t getting a response). But ask the right questions. What are the pitfalls? What’s the worse part of your job? How hard was it for you to break into the business? You already have the iconic viewpoint of event planning, so at least do some research on the negatives so you can have a clear picture.

9. Do Not ask a professional event planner for copies of their time lines, checklists, budgets, contracts, packages, etc. And please do not copy their style of their website. There are 50 states out there, with most likely an event planner in each state with some online presence. If you want to do research; do so from another planner across the country. Not 40 minutes from you.

10. Do understand that we can’t hire everyone. This is a unique kind of business. Because of the creativity involved, it is treated more like a hobby instead of a professional business by many newcomers. There is a smaller market for our services, but we are gaining. Slowly.

The finale….up next week.

Plan on! -saundra

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