Why Event Planning Internships are so Important

Internships are a nice bridge between the world of education and the working world.  By participating in an internship, you are able to experience what it is like working in a specific industry.  This experience can be very beneficial to your career further down the road for a variety of a reasons.

Gain Real World Experience

Perhaps the biggest reason why internships are so important is because they allow you to gain real world work experience.  This is especially important in the event planning industry as many employers only like to hire people who have work experience.  After participating in an internship, you will be able to show a future employer that you have what it takes to complete all tasks of the position you are seeking.  This will make you more desirable as a job candidate.

A common question future event planners struggle with is how to break into the industry without any hands-on experience. The answer is to get an internship.

You can put your internship experience on your resume and possibly even create a portfolio out of the projects you work on.

Network with Event Planning Professionals

Another reason why event planning internships are so important is because they give you an opportunity to network with other event planning professionals.  When searching for a job, it is sometimes more about who you know rather than what you know.  The more professionals you are able to meet and interact with the better your chances of landing a job will become.

When you participate in an internship, you will meet co-workers and superiors.  It is the management team that you want to connect with and make a good first impression as they are the ones who will either decide to hire you full time or know of another event planning position that would be available to you.

Also, networking with the management team during your internship will provide you with resources you can use for letters of recommendation.  When applying for an event planning job in the future, your resume will look better if you are able to list references and hand over a signed letter of recommendation from a respected professional.  This further drives home the point that you are a great employee who will be able to handle all of the duties associated with the position you are seeking.

See if you Actually Enjoy Event Planning

Lastly, internships provide you with the opportunity to see if you enjoy event planning.  Many students select a major with the assumption that they will enjoy their job once they graduate only to find out they do not want to work in their industry for the rest of their life.  By taking an event planning internship, you will be able to see if you enjoy all aspects of event planning and want to continue on your career path.

If you do not enjoy your time during your internship, you can always select a new major or decide which specific aspect of event planning you actually do enjoy.  This real world experience of working within the industry can be invaluable as you make your final decisions on which career path you will take.

As we mention here, the planning industry has many components to it and the best way to truly decide which aspect you enjoy the most is to be around it. During your internship you should be exposed to many moving parts and have an easier time choosing an area that interests you.

Internships are important for students in every industry, but they are especially important within the planning industry.  When you participate in an event planning internship, you are able to gain real world work experience that will help you land your first job, network with industry professionals and see for yourself whether or not you actually enjoy the profession to make sure it is a job you want to do for your career.

Update: I recommend you do a quick search for job openings in your area for event planners as part of your general internship research. It helps to see the big picture in any industry so take a quick look at which jobs are available here: Event Planner Jobs near you.