The impossible dream?
Unrealistic demands, salary shyness and a lack of opportunities are making job hunting a demoralising process for young people trying to get into events. Early career eventprof Sasha Green shares her experience.
Being an early career event professional is difficult, especially as the event industry solely values experience over all else - without being willing to give it out.
After recently being made redundant it was back to the gruelling job hunting process, which never seems to be a positive experience for anyone.
Trawling Indeed and LinkedIn to find roles which are stated as entry level but are demanding 2-3 years plus experience is the most demotivating experience of all. Surely that can’t be entry level? You’re offering a salary based on an entry level role but asking for an already well-skilled individual.
Sasha Green
Sasha Green
Despite the numerous success stories of the four day work week and wellbeing benefits of offering hybrid working I am continually shocked by how little these practices have actually been applied within the event industry.
Out of all the jobs I have applied to in the last month, almost all have been either five days in the office or offering one day working from home at best, which is a far stretch really from the flexible working conditions your job description boasts.
The cost of living crisis is affecting a large proportion of people currently, and that has definitely had its impact on my personal job search.
I have freelance friends who have inconsistency in their work and hence their earnings. As an early career event professional this puts me off from going freelance due to the lack of secure work and the impending bills which have to be paid regardless.
The security of a full time role is definitely something I consider to be a must, but with many event companies making redundancies is there such a thing as job security in an industry which has been up and down during the Covid era?
It is clear that there are not enough opportunities for early career event professionals in the industry, especially for those not living or wanting to live in London.
A lack of feedback from employers when your application is unsuccessful is also a huge frustration for myself and many students and graduates when looking for jobs.
Despite having volunteered and taken on work opportunities during my time at university I am still receiving the same comment from every failed job application ‘unfortunately, we will be progressing with other applicants with more experience at this time’.
If no one is willing to take a chance on the next generation of event professionals I'm not sure how they expect us to gain the experience they are requiring.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
The biggest thing employers can do to make a job application process easier is #ShowTheSalary. In a cost of living crisis especially, stop wasting everyone’s time.
During my job search I have been offered five interviews. However, when I have then asked to know the salary before agreeing to an interview, every single time it has been under £21,000. Which in this day and age is not enough to live off when you have a house to run and want to have some form of a life outside of work.
The most frustrating thing about applying for jobs is not hearing back from a job after you have spent time and effort on an application, altering your CV, writing a specific cover letter or providing other evidence to not hear back is so disheartening and really gets you down after a while.
It takes two minutes to write a simple email and send it to all the unsuccessful applicants - do better!
Sasha Green is an award-winning young #eventprof passionate about supporting the next generation and sustainability.
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