Special Event Coordinator resume / CV

A special event coordinator resume / CV needs to be excellent, because it will be crucial to help you gain new work, this is especially true in the event coordination sector where you may be working on a freelance or contract basis.

If you are a freelancer, you will rely upon your resume / CV and references more often than someone looking for a permanent job who may only need their resume / CV once every five years or so.

FREE email guide: Is your Resume letting you down?: How to dramatically improve your resume.

A two page resume / CV should be sufficient for a Special Event Coordinator resume / CV, as anything more and your prospective client will be unlikely to read it. You're likely to have excellent communication skills so do not let your resume / CV let you down before you have the chance to pitch for the business. Your resume / CV is a vital sales and marketing tool so make sure your resume / CV is up to the job!

Use creative and bright language. A polished resume / CV will beat a dour and boring one. You need this job more than all the other event planners, so let's start with ensuring your resume / CV properly reflects the fact that you're a better bet than the rest!

You can split your resume / CV into several sections with the most important ones on the first page. You might typically have the following sections: Profile, Major Achievements, Career History, Education, References.

Profile for a Special Event Coordinator Resume / CV

A profile made up of four or five short, punchy sentences is essential as is a section highlighting your major achievements to date. Use the Profile to catch the reader's interest and make sure they read the next part of your resume / CV. This document will be one of many that need to be read by a prospective employer or client so you need to ensure they read as much of your resume / CV as possible before moving onto the next person's application.

The Profile can be made up of words which 'sell' you such as 'Excellent communication skills and proven ability to manage relationships with suppliers'. Ignore using words such as 'I have excellent communications skills…' as they're not needed and make the Profile less punchy.

Look at the skills needed for a successful Special Event Coordinator and make sure that you put these into the Profile on your resume / CV. If you have an excellent eye for detail and can be discrete and decisive, then do not be afraid to say so. Companies are going to give you responsibility for a large budget for a major event, so make sure you make all your relevant skills known.

Potential clients would want to know many things about you and tick off in their mind the special skills they'd like from their Special Event Coordinator. As such, use the Profile on your resume / CV to highlight your "proven ability to work effectively with a wide range of people; excellent financial awareness and ability to get the most out of all budgets; enjoys challenges and deadlines".

The other aspect which people would want to know about you is your past career successes. You don't need to go into lots of detail here just the fact that you've "experience at organizing high value fundraising events for a large number of not for profit organizations".

Major Achievements Make You Stand Out

This section can pretty much write itself as you simply detail the special events which went well or those which were organized in half the time they really needed. Selling yourself to potential clients continues in this section. Use this to show what you have done in the past, so future customers can see what you can potentially do for them.

So if you "organized a special trade event breakfast for forty senior managers from five major banks in the City with a budget of $150 per head with only two weeks notice and your speaker for the morning pulled out due to illness but you organized a replacement with 24 hours notice", then say so! Be proud of what you've done and use this section on your resume / CV to shout about it!

Use the Major Achievements section of your resume / CV to highlight four maybe five achievements which will help sell your skills to future clients. Use your knowledge of the potential client to tailor your resume / CV; therefore if they're an insurance company and you've previously worked with an insurance or financial services client, then use this section to emphasize that experience and your knowledge of their needs.

Career History for a Special Event Coordinator Resume / CV

Use this section to highlight your jobs to date in the Event Planning industry. If previous jobs had an element of event planning responsibilities, then do put those roles in but make sure you emphasize the relevant information for the reader.

Do not be afraid to give details in this section with regards to budgets, types of events (trade shows, exhibitions, breakfasts / lunches), and type of audience (senior management, CFOs, new employees and industry professionals).

It would also be wise to highlight the outcomes of the events in this section as companies do not have events for the sake of it. They may be trying to increase sales and marketing successes as a direct result of the event, so do make mention of this if you know how successful the event was.

References

Unlike other resumes / CVs, you may decide to attach written references to your resume / CV or to the email you send to a potential employer or client. Quite often it is your past experience and successes that will determine your success in getting future events so do not be afraid to ask previous clients for references that can be used when pitching for new jobs.

Ask referees / clients (that you did a really good job for) if they would mind a future or potential client calling or emailing them for more information about you. Sometimes it could come down to a reference as to whether you get the job or not!

• FREE email guide: Is your Resume letting you down?: How to dramatically improve your resume
• Do you want an interview-winning resume? Click here now to learn how a professional resume writing service can dramatically improve your chances of securing the job you desire
• Free resume distribution services - reach 1000's of top employers - save time let the jobs find you!
• How to make a resume
• Free Resume Templates: Need a free resume template?
• Free Cover Letter Samples and Resume Templates
• Which CV format will work best for you?
• How to write a profile / summary for your CV that will grab the reader's attention
• How to highlight your achievements on your CV and improve your interview chances
• Impressing employers with your career history on your CV
• Making the most of your qualifications and training on your CV
• What personal details and interests should you include on your CV?
• Ten Things to Leave out of your CV
• Ten more things to leave out of your CV
• What to include in your functional or targeted CV
• Top 10 Tips for Producing a Better CV
• How to Produce a Cover Letter that gets you Noticed
• Resume distribution services
• Sample Teacher Resume