Searching for Work Experience in Events Management

The first year of my Events Management course is coming to an end and I have been thinking about doing work experience during the summer. In one of my lessons I had to research jobs in the industry, by doing this I learnt that most jobs in Events Management require experience therefore I decided I would use my free time over the summer period to gain some experience.

I put together a short email stating who I was, what I do and what I am looking for and I sent it out to local businesses that involve some sort of Event Managing for example hotels, golf clubs and racecourses. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful as I only received one reply from a local hotel which said they did not need my help. This was rather degrading and knocked my confidence a little but I was advised to keep trying and not give up by friends and family.

I decided to expand my search to a wider range of far out places that would be more difficult to get to but I was willing to find a way in order to gain experience. I researched and collected contact details for businesses that specified in Events Management around Cambridge and Peterborough and created a more detailed email that let companies know that if they need a CV I have one available to send on request. My second attempt proved much more beneficial with one company sending me links to other opportunities such as stewarding at events, most companies saying they have nothing to offer me at the moment but they will keep me in mind for the future and one company asking if I would like to meet up and discuss in more depth. This was a very positive outcome and gave me the confidence to carry on searching and hopefully find a suitable opportunity closer to home.

I spoke to a close friend about my ideas and what I was looking for and she happened to work at a hotel called the Marriot which is not far from where I live. I had looked into working at the Marriot but I was unable to find a contact detail, which is where my friend came in handy as she had been given a letter about an upcoming event that she had to be working for and at the bottom of the letter was a contact detail for ‘The Events Team’ at the Marriot, which was perfect. I spoke to another friend called Ben who worked at the same hotel and he was close family friends with one of the Events Mangers there and he asked if work experience would be possible and she said that they don’t normally offer it, but because she was a family friend of Ben’s she would do it. She asked if I would give her a call the next day so I did. She asked me a few questions and I made it clear that my work would be voluntary and that I was not expecting money as it was an experience for my benefit. She was happy to take me on but needed to confirm it with the Human Resources department first and then she would ring me back…

I am delighted to be having work experience in such a global brand and I think this will look very good on my CV and to potential future employers.

Dania Lindop