Event managers are the glue that keeps events and meetings together. From planning to coordinating to executing, they do it all. This well-rounded expertise will serve you well in the creation of your event manager resume, too.
A compelling event manager resume will display your ability to lead projects, plan events both large and small, and work with anyone, anywhere.
Expect success with Resume.io. Our comprehensive guides and resume examples cover over 500 career paths, and our helpful resume builder makes it easier than ever to create a winning resume.
This resume guide and event manager resume example will cover the following details:
Just like you need to understand the requirements before planning a huge event, your first step when writing your resume is to understand the required elements to include:
Each of these sections should reflect your unique value as an event planner or manager. In the same way a well thought-out event can influence customers or stakeholders to recommend your services, a well-done resume will convince hiring managers to interview you.
This process begins with a formula like the following:
Optimize for the ATS
An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is a software system used by companies to collect and manage their job postings and applicants. Some advanced systems include algorithms that help scan and filter resumes based on how well they match the job posting.
To ensure the highest chances of success, spend some time perusing the job posting and picking out the most important keywords, then make sure they’re prominent on your resume.
For instance, an event manager job posting might list the following requirements:
Your resume summary, then, could read:
“Event management expert with over 10 years of experience planning and executing large-scale events. Excellent communication skills, bolstered by Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) with Bachelor of Science in marketing.”
Event managers must be organized and able to keep track of a lot of moving parts. Reflect this on your resume by using a straightforward, clear format.
In most cases, that will mean using the reverse chronological format. This format focuses primarily on your work experience, listed in reverse chronological order.
If you’re new to the professional world or making a career change from another industry, you may want to explore alternative formats. One of these is the functional format, which puts your skills front and center. Or, for the best of both worlds, you could consider a hybrid format.
Whichever you choose, you can see them in action in our resume examples and the resume templates in our resume builder.
When it comes to design, event managers may want to show a little pizazz (after all, much of your job is ultimately marketing) with a creative layout.
Think of your resume header as its business card. This is where you will include the pertinent information for a company to contact you.
The information in your header should be professionally presented and easy to access. Be sure to include the following:
Don’t include:
Mia Wilson
Event Manager
Chicago, IL
(312) 555-6789
miawilson@email.com
Mia Wilson
21534 Maple St.
Chicago, IL
Your resume summary serves as an introduction of your skills and talents. In 2-3 sentences, you’ll share who you are and how you meet the company’s needs. The summary should give a picture of your career story, not just a reiteration of your day-to-day duties.
The best way to do this is by using dynamic action verbs in the simple past or present tense—coordinated, planned, spearheaded, initiated, enhanced—and include quantifiable results where you can.
Don’t just summarize your resume, however. Your goal is to present a narrative of your event management expertise and how you will offer unique value to your future employer.
Need inspiration for your summary? Check out our related resumes:
You can find adaptable event manager resume examples summary below:
Highly organized and creative recent marketing graduate with 1 year of event coordination experience. Knowledge of vendor management, budget control, and client relations. Eager to deliver successful events that exceed client expectations and drive business growth. Passionate about creating memorable experiences and building strong relationships.
Highly organized and creative events manager with over 8 years of experience in planning, coordinating, and executing a wide range of corporate and social events. Skilled in vendor management, budget control, and client relations. Proven track record of delivering successful events that exceed client expectations and drive business growth. Passionate about creating memorable experiences and building strong relationships with clients and teammates.
Highly organized and creative events manager with 10+ years of experience in planning, coordinating, and executing a wide range of corporate and social events. Skilled in vendor management, budget control, and client relations. Adept at leading teams of event coordinators and planners to drive successful corporate events that exceed client expectations and drive business growth. Passionate about creating memorable experiences and building strong relationships with clients and team members.
If you’re using the reverse chronological format, this section will begin with your current or most recent job and work backwards from there. Stick with the past 10-15 years; anything older is probably not as relevant. Keep the experience related to your target job, too. If you have other work experience you feel strongly about including, you can create an “Other Experience” section.
List your company name, job title, and dates worked, then add concise bullet points underneath to show your contributions. Start each bullet with a verb and make the short statement count.
That means you shouldn’t just list the daily duties you completed. It’s easy to fall into the trap of writing a resume with bullets like these:
While those are certainly important aspects of an event manager role, there’s nothing there that illustrates the unique achievements you’ve made. You want to show your impact, not just that you showed up to work every day.
Replace vague statements with results-based points, focusing on the results you brought: money saved, number of events created, revenue increases, etc. When you do that, it completely transforms your statements into something much more impactful:
Take a look at the event manager employment history resume sample below:
Senior Events Manager at Elevated Events Group, Chigago, IL
August 2018 - Present
Events Manager at Marquee Event Solutions, Schaumburg, IL
June 2015 - August 2018
If you’re hoping to make a career pivot to event management but lack direct experience, there are still ways to increase your chances of success. You may want to consider shooting for an event coordinator or planner role first, but the details you’ll include on your resume are the same.
First, be sure to emphasize your transferable skills. Have you done other types of project coordination? Have you led marketing for events, even if you didn’t work on the event itself? Or, perhaps you’ve staffed large events and gotten to see behind the scenes a bit. You can also showcase skills in communication or customer service.
Education counts, too. Include relevant degrees (for instance, in marketing or sales) and certifications. Don’t forget about any courses or workshops you’ve attended that align with the event field.
Your resume’s skill section should include both hard and soft skills to paint the full picture of your ability to lead events.
Hard skills are those that can be measured and demonstrated, like experience with specific software, knowledge of industry processes, or project management methodologies.
On the other hand, soft skills like customer service, communication skills, organizational abilities, and multitasking can be of utmost importance for an event management job.
Resume.io’s resume builder provides several pre-written key skills to choose from, along with proficiency ranges you can set to reflect your skill level. You can also write in your own skills.
Here’s what the skills box looks like in our event manager resume template.
This section, however, is not the only place to show your skills. Illustrate them throughout your resume by demonstrating them in action, particularly in the summary and experience sections.
Consider highlighting your:
The job description is a great guide as to which key skills to focus on.
The education section on your resume is fairly straightforward. Simply list your educational achievements in reverse chronological order. Include the name of the institution, the degree or certificate earned, and, if from the past five years, the dates attended.
If you have a bachelor’s degree or higher, you can leave off high school details.
Beyond academic credentials, though, there are several other items you may want to add in this section. For example,
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Associate of Arts in Marketing, Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL
You strive to run events that are streamlined, organized, and accessible for all. Your resume should be the same way.
While the most important part of your resume is the content, the way it looks matters, too. After all, you wouldn’t want to throw a black-tie event in a dingy parking garage. You want your resume to reflect the same care (and flair!) you bring to events.
This means your resume should use a layout that is eye-catching, easy to read, and nice to look at. A pop of color is fine, but don’t go overboard with several colors. There’s no benefit to adding graphics or images; it just creates clutter. A clean but modern font plus a balance of whitespace and text will make your words the focal point.
Although creating a properly crafted resume takes time and effort, there are ways to make it easier. Consider taking a look at our resume templates, which take the heavy design and structure work off your hands so you can focus on the content.
Profile
Highly organized and creative events manager with over eight years of experience in planning, coordinating, and executing wide range of corporate and social events. Skilled in vendor management, budget control, and client relations. Proven track record of delivering successful events that exceed client expectations and drive business growth. Passionate about creating memorable experiences and building strong relationships with clients and team members.
Employment history
Senior Events Manager at Elevated Events Group, Chigago, IL
August 2018 - Present
Events Manager at Marquee Event Solutions, Schaumburg, IL
June 2015 - August 2018
Skills
Education
Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management, DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Associate of Arts in Marketing, Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL
If you’re targeting a career in the event space, you’re in luck. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) anticipates the field of “meeting, convention, and event planners” to grow 8% in the next decade. That’s much faster than average.
There is some worry, however, that the rise of virtual meetings and events could hinder growth in this sector.
The BLS projects an average of about 15,200 meeting, convention, and event planner jobs to open each year throughout the next decade.
By 2032, BLS expects industry employment of approximately 141,900 jobs.
Per the BLS, meeting, convention, and event planners earn a median salary of $56,920. The lowest 10 percent of workers earned under $34,410, but the highest 10 percent earned over $99,010.
From an industry perspective, the highest-paid event professionals are in the sector of “religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations,” while the lowest-paid are those in the arts, entertainment, and recreation.
An event management career is ideal for those who are highly organized, love a fast pace, and thrive on bringing people together. Effective communication and project management skills are paramount, both to succeed as an event manager and to craft a strong event manager resume.
Our online resume builder can make the resume-creation process simpler and more efficient, setting you up with a resume that will wow hiring managers and let you land a job you love.