Event organizer is a suitable job for young, dynamic people who have good communication skills. In a typical job interview, the employer will evaluate the candidate by asking many questions about knowledge and skills related to the field of application. Candidates' answers will show their thinking & mindset in their work, thereby helping employers assess whether the candidate is suitable for job requirements and company culture. Having proper preparation with the most common set of questions in recruiting event organizers positions is the best way for you to have the opportunity to take this vacancy.
1. Common interview questions in recruiting event organizers position & how to handle it
Let's take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions with Navigos Search, from the perspective of a veteran employee in the field of event planning.
1.1 What factors determine the location of the event?
This is the first must-have skill of an event organizer. Even the choice of location determines 80% of the success of that event. Therefore, employers will need a candidate who meets this skill. To be able to answer this question well, you do not simply give an answer, you should utilize your working experience and analytical ability on many different aspects to provide the most appropriate answer.
Suggested answer:
There are many factors that determine the choice of an event venue such as: theme, participants, cost, scale, requirements from the managers or customers. However, in my opinion, the most important factor is the last factor - requirements from the managers or customer expectation. Because based on that, I will build a specific plan, zoning the locations that meet that requirement well. From there, outline the pros and cons of each location to make a final decision. However, it should be noted that it is necessary to communicate clearly from the first steps to ensure that you really understand the customer's wishes and do not have any misunderstandings.
The most common interview questions
1.2 What is the biggest risk in event organization?
Risks in event planning is something that no one would like to face; however, there is no guarantee that these risks could be completely avoided. With this question, the employer would like to know about your competence and problem-solving skills. It is important that you prove and convince the employer that the answer you give is the most appropriate and harmonious. At the same time, you could provide effective solutions to minimize that risk.
Suggested answer:
When organizing an event, there are many risks that logistic teams and event organizers need to face. However, the biggest and most difficult risk to overcome is that the number of attendees is not enough and as expected. When an event is organized, it will aim at 2 main purposes: communications (media) and profit after the event. To meet these two benefits, the attendance factor is extremely important.
For that reason, on the day the event happens officially, if the attendees are not enough or too few, it means the PR plan has failed, the profit has lost as well as the desired KPI has not been reached. This leads to event failure and even heavy loss.
In order to reduce this risk significantly, my experience says that I have to focus on analyzing the steps to approach customers and have to strictly manage the number of event participants based on the attendance confirmation rate from the stage of receiving the registration form to attend, making phone calls to confirm attendance, sending SMS to the stage of sending email invitations and confirming customers' participation in the event.
These steps must follow a reasonable timeline, each step cannot be too far apart so that customers will always remember the event but not be bothered by the organizers. Also, this timeline should not be too far from the event time.
According to Navigos Search's experience, the maximum time to start running ads and reach customers is no more than 2 months from the date the official event takes place: Choose an organization time frame which is suitable to the participants; convenient location for commuting; ensure the weather situation; have a thoughtful plan to remind and confirm the attendance of participants;...
1.3 What tools and software do you use to plan your events?
Online registration, e-ticketing, seating plan software systems, and leveraging modern technology to streamline event planning are extremely useful tools for event organizers. Especially in the current digital transformation context, applying technology will save time and effort while ensuring a clear management system.
Note that the candidate's answer must affirm:
- To have the ability to learn quickly.
- To be timely updated with the scientific and technological progress.
- To specify some specific software.
Suggested answer:
I usually use the Event Manager tool. It allows us to manage customer information, partners, service prices and other information related to location, equipment, human resources (MC, PG, service, ...). Managing through Event Manager saves me a lot of time. However, on the current market, there are many other useful new softwares such as: Party & Event Planner Lite, Microsoft templates, Microsoft Support, Microsoft Support, Asana, ...
With the high application of technology at work today, I always follow, learn and update information quickly about these tools. If it suits the needs, I can recommend to the company to increase work efficiency as well as help myself keep up with the advancement of science and technology.
Practice answering prior to show the best to the employer
1.4 If there is a sudden change happening within the event, how will you handle it?
With this question, the employer will assess your composure in dealing with problems and unexpected situations. Because in this situation, if there is no effective solution, you will freak out, panic and cause negative effects. So, when answering this question, the most important thing that you have to mention is your calm state of mind and problem-solving skills.
Suggested answer:
Talking about event organizing, it is difficult to avoid unexpected changes. Therefore, my experience is always to practice calmness to examine the situation and come up with the most reasonable and fastest way to solve the problem. And to achieve this, I always have backup plans in place before the event, based on my previous event management experiences, to easily apply when needed.
Besides, with good communication skills, active listening skills will help me effectively handle unexpected problems that arise during the event such as attendees, partners, ... while still ensuring their satisfaction with the event. Event organization is considered as the job of pleasing everyone since you have to contact and work with many different customers. Therefore, communication, listening and behavioral skills are very important. If you have to meet with customers and partners without being able to communicate fluently then chances of becoming a professional event organizer is very limited.
In addition, I think behavioral skills and knowing how to satisfy the strict customers and to resolve conflicts at work internally or with clients are also big pluses for people working in this profession.
1.5 If you were assigned to organize 2 different events at the same time, what would you do?
Employers would like to see your ability to manage the tasks. With a hotel, or a media company, it is very common to host many events at the same time in the peak months.
Therefore, candidates must know how to balance the workload without reducing the quality, effectiveness of the event and the productivity at work. And to answer this question, you must mention the skills of multitasking, effective task & time management. At the same time, you should also mention the ability to adapt and withstand work pressure to leave a good impression on the employer.
Suggested answer:
To be able to handle many events at once, it is imperative that I acquire the two most important skills which are multitasking and time management. In my experience, I would first consider which event is larger in order to prioritize preparation because it will take more time.
Then, I will proceed to plan both events at the same time. Of course, in order to carry out details for each event, I need to have effective coordination or teamwork so as not to be overwhelmed by too many things at a time to limit the quality loss.
Along with that, I also need to use supporting tools and software to optimize effort and time putting in the planning progress. In particular, taking notes is always an indispensable thing to help me record the tasks that have been done and not done yet so as not to miss anything.
1.6 In the case of having only one certain budget, how do you spend just enough without creating incurred expenses?
In this situational question, the employer will see how you balance your budget and manage your spending. This is an important factor when organizing an event because it is easy to incur additional costs and get out of control.
In the process of recruiting event organizers, the recruiter will regularly ask this question. When responding to it, you must show them that you have good financial control ability and have many solutions to help limit overspending. Pay attention to factors such as budget tactics, organizing ability, experience in service pricing and event equipment.
Suggested answer:
To avoid budget overruns, I will first develop a detailed spending plan and follow the principles and quantities listed in it. Next, I will base on my experience to choose the quality event equipment and service provider with the lowest price in the market. Those things will help save a part of the cost.
In addition, immediately cutting spending on unnecessary items and focusing the budget on important ones to maximize the effectiveness of the budget plan is the way for me to manage spending and organize events according to a certain budget.
Candidates who answer the interview well will be highly appreciated
2. Tips for responding to interview questions for event organizers position
When answering interview questions for event organizers, you need to keep a few points in mind:
2.1 Provide detailed examples
The smartest way to answer an interview is to give specific examples to the interviewer's questions. Prepare those examples in advance using your own experience. This will make it easier for you to convince the employer than just stating theoretical principles.
2.2 Emphasize personal strength & ability
In the process of responding to interview questions, incorporate your strengths and achievements to easily conquer the employer. However, you should not be overconfident, you should focus on what you have, on your ability.
2.3 Prepare properly with the common set of recruitment questions
In order not to fall into a passive or confused position in front of the employer, prepare well in advance for the frequently asked interview questions of event organizers.
2.4 Avoid expressing negative opinions
Focus on what you've accomplished, and avoid complaining or accusing others. In particular, you should not blame your ex-colleague.
3. Where to quickly find a job as an event organizer?
Currently, the demand of recruiting event organizers is pretty high, so it is not difficult for you to find recruitment information for this position. You can search for jobs through referrals from relatives/friends, groups, recruitment fan pages. In addition, recruitment websites are also "golden" addresses that you should not ignore.
Navigossearch.com is the leading prestigious mid-level and senior-level job recruitment website today. Navigos Search is chosen by hundreds of thousands of candidates as a place to search for job information and submit applications. Every day, there are plenty of recruitment announcements of event organizers from large and small businesses across the country that have been strictly censored for you to learn and apply for.
Besides, based on the qualifications and experience of each candidate, Navigos Search experts will advise on the most suitable job positions and working environment. After being recruited, the recruitment specialist will continue to support the candidate during the probationary period and after the probationary period.
Finding jobs and recruiting event organizers at Navigos Search
In addition, at the prestigious recruitment website Navigossearch.com, you also find useful interview information and knowledge to prepare well for the job interview.
With more than 20 years of experience in the field of recruitment, Navigos Search is proud to be the market leader in providing mid- and high-level recruitment services today.
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