Like countless other sectors, COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on the meetings and events industry across the UK and Europe. In the UK alone, 30,000 jobs are at immediate risk with 60% of the entire supply chain struggling to remain operational.
If you’ve been affected by redundancies, the first thing to remember is that it wasn’t your fault. The decision to let you go had nothing to do with your value, contribution or worth and everything to do with the global pandemic and events businesses just doing what it takes to survive.
It’s important that you don’t let this take hold and stop you moving on to another job, training or even taking the time out if you can afford it.
Here are some top tips on how to prepare for that next role, doing what you love in the global meetings and events industry.
1) Be proactive online
Being able to network is vital for unearthing opportunities and making valuable connections but with face-to-face networking events currently on hold, now is the time to tap into your online networks and build your digital presence.
Join relevant industry groups on LinkedIn, look-out for hiring requests, sign-up to those virtual events that offer peer-to-peer networking and keep yourself visible by posting, liking and commenting on other people’s LinkedIn content.
Top Tip: Maintain a professional tone of voice across all your social channels since more employers than ever are checking-up on what potential candidates share about their daily lives.
2) Remain patient
Human Resource departments are currently working at full capacity to manage furloughed staff, redundancies and candidate applications, so remain patient.
You’re entirely justified to request a timeframe for when you’ll be notified about being invited to interview but any follow-up correspondence should acknowledge the current situation by saying, ‘“I know you must be extremely busy at the moment …” or ending with “I’m looking forward to learning more about the role, when the company is ready to move forward”.
It’s also a good idea to use a follow-up email as an opportunity to show your technology proficiency or knowledge about the company.
For example, mentioning that you’d be happy to be interviewed via zoom, Microsoft Teams or Skype shows your full-range of digital capabilities, whilst referencing the company’s most recent event or announcement shows that you’re invested in their culture.
Top Tip: Why not connect with the person you’ll be directly working for on LinkedIn and just drop him or her a line to let them know you’ve applied and you’re looking forward to having the opportunity to speak with them about the position. Your ingenuity may get rewarded if the person requests that HR adds you to the interview roster.
3) Stay informed
Set up Google alerts for the companies that you wish to work for, follow them on Twitter and use the time to research articles they’ve contributed to, webinars they’ve appeared in, or awards they’ve previously won. You’ll thank me when you’re sitting on a virtual interview and you’re asked what you know about the company you’ve applied to join.
Top Tip: Understand the challenges your chosen employer has faced during the coronavirus crisis and how they’ve reacted. How have they coped with staff working from home? Have they pivoted or expanded their offer to include virtual meetings and events? And what initiatives are the senior management involved with to support, not just employees but the events sector as a whole?
4) Work on your CV
One recruiter I spoke with recently told me that it’s always very obvious when someone has rushed their CV and just brought it up-to-date without due consideration for the role they’re now applying for. Make sure you tweak your CV and credentials documents for each and every application.
Top Tip: Highlight those skills which are most relevant, detail targeted experience, showcase your website or social media influence and make an extra effort to stand-out from the other applicants.
5) Increase your skill-sets
It’s an uncertain time for lots of people currently so a key piece of advice is to focus on the things you can control and let the things you can’t control take care of themselves.
One area you can manage is up-skilling, giving yourself more opportunities to get noticed and providing future employers with a more valuable resource.
More than 30,000 event and hospitality professionals have receive training and/or certification with Cvent Academy. Take advantage of this opportunity and upskill with Cvent.
Top Tip: Due to the current requirement, Cvent training courses are offered free of charge until 31 December and subjects include Virtual and Hybrid Event Training, Event Promotion, Mobile App Creation, Venue Sourcing and Creating RFPs, plus more.
Finally, don’t give up. Find ways to remain positive, maintain a healthy body and mindset and stay connected. Your next opportunity in the world of meetings and events is just around the corner.
