Meeting and Convention Planners

Coordinate activities of staff and convention personnel to make arrangements for group meetings and conventions.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Develop event topics and choose featured speakers.

• Promote conference, convention and trades show services by performing tasks such as meeting with professional and trade associations, and producing brochures and other publications.

• Read trade publications, attend seminars, and consult with other meeting professionals to keep abreast of meeting management standards and trends.

• Obtain permits from fire and health departments to erect displays and exhibits and serve food at events.

• Hire, train, and supervise volunteers and support staff required for events.

• Evaluate and select providers of services according to customer requirements.

• Design and implement efforts to publicize events and promote sponsorships.

• 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.

• Organize registration of event participants.

Back to top

Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

• Experience: A minimum of two to four years 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.

• Education: Most of these occupations require a four - year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

• Examples: Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include accountants, human resource managers, computer programmers, teachers, chemists, and police detectives.

• Svp range: (7.0 to < 8.0)

Back to top

Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• 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.

• Sales and Marketing
  Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Education and Training
  Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

• 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.

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• Personnel and Human Resources
  Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• 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.

Back to top

Skills

Browse Skills

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

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

• 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.

• Service Orientation
  Actively looking for ways to help people.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• 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.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Back to top

Abilities

Browse Abilities

• 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.

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

• Visualization
  The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

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

• Fluency of Ideas
  The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

• Far Vision
  The ability to see details at a distance.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Back to top

Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Scheduling Work and Activities
  Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

• Communicating with Persons Outside 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.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Processing Information
  Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

• Thinking Creatively
  Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

• Performing Administrative Activities
  Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.

Back to top

Work Context

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Electronic Mail
  How often do you use electronic mail in this job?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Work With Work Group or Team
  How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Deal With External Customers
  How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?

• Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results
  How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?

• Coordinate or Lead Others
  How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job?

• Freedom to Make Decisions
  How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

Back to top

Interests

Browse Interests

• Enterprising
  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.

• Conventional
  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.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Back to top

Work Styles

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

• 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.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

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

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Concern for Others
  Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

• Leadership
  Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

Back to top

Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Achievement
  Workers on this job get a feeling of accomplishment.

• Responsibility
  Workers on this job make decisions on their own.

• Autonomy
  Workers on this job plan their work with little supervision.

• Independence-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

• Achievement-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

• Variety
  Workers on this job have something different to do every day.

• Recognition
  Workers on this job receive recognition for the work they do.

• Authority
  Workers on this job give directions and instructions to others.

• Creativity
  Workers on this job try out their own ideas.

Back to top