Three insider secrets to recruit the next gen of event professionals

Meeting planning is a respected professional role in a vibrant industry; however, if we want to attract the best talent out there, we need advocates to speak loud and proud about this amazing career. Job hunters should know that it's a high-status professional role, often with close access to a business's top executives and multi-million-dollar budgets. Chris Johnson - who for the past seven years has held a key role managing new recruits through his position as Director of Global Events at Land O'Lakes, Inc. - has changed his vernacular. "I stopped saying 'meeting planner' long ago in favor of 'event management professional' in all of my topical conversations," he explains. "I always say, 'elevate the role, and you'll elevate the candidate pool."

So if you're an event professional who knows just what the industry has to offer from years of first-hand experience, how can you spread the word and help bolster future rising stars?

When researchers recently compared the results of 34 studies into students' career intentions in hospitality and tourism, they found that the most important factors to future job satisfaction were confidence in the ability to make a meaningful contribution, a sense of "fitting in" within the workplace, and pride in professional status. With the right guidance, would-be event professionals will realize just how much the role has to offer in each of these key areas. Who better to show that it promises a long and rewarding career than those who already work in the field?

To help uncover tactics that industry veterans can use to attract new talent and advocate for the industry, Skift Meetings sat down with six meeting planners and a senior executive at Hilton. Together, this team of experts came up with three handy talking points that can help recruit new job seekers curious about meeting planning with precisely the kinds of details that are sure to win them over.