Negotiating Your First Event Planning Job Offer: Ask These Questions!
Alyssa Perna is the Head of Operations & Productions for the Americas at Smithers and the lead instructor (and tutor!) for QC’s Corporate Event Planning course. Today, she discusses how to assess and negotiate an event planner job offer.
As you’re searching, applying and interviewing for jobs, all the hard work you put towards becoming an event planner is finally coming to fruition. When I received my first job offer, I wasn’t sure what questions to ask. I didn’t know what I could negotiate and what my total compensation package looked like.
This post will help you know what questions to ask when you land that job—questions I wish I had known or understood when I finally received my first job offer. Keep reading!
What does the total compensation package look like?
When you receive a job offer, the salary shouldn’t be the only thing you consider. You should inquire more about the employment package or the total compensation package. A compensation package is a combination of salary and benefits an employer offers to the employee when giving a job offer. This typically includes your salary, paid time off (vacation, sick days and paid holidays), retirement, and health benefits. Beyond this, benefits could include paid maternity leave or extended maternity leave, and/or other perks like an employer contribution to your health savings account or compensation towards a monthly gym membership.
Negotiate fair pay based off of your skills and experience
There are some fantastic, free tools available for you to search and find out whether the salary you are offered is fair and competitive. You can look on Indeed or Glassdoor to research what an event planner in your area is paid. These websites also allow you to search for specific organizations and/or comparable job titles to see if your job offer matched what others in the role are actually getting paid.
Often times, the employer considers your skills and experience when offering a salary. The more skilled and experienced you are, the better offer you may receive. Do your research and don’t be too greedy when asking for a higher salary, especially when starting out your career. Your earning potential will grow along with you as you gain more experience.
Create a personal budget and understand how the benefits package affects your monthly income
When taking a new job, you need to adjust your budget and expenditures. Once your salary is confirmed, find out what your monthly deductions are. For example, every month, roughly 30% of my income is taxed. And there is an additional $350 removed for health insurance premiums. From here, I can estimate my total monthly income, and weigh it against the bills I need to pay, and how much I want to be saving per month. Understanding how the opportunity affects your total monthly income – all things considered – is very important.
For any new opportunity, I always inquire deeply to understand how my overall employment package looks. As you’re comparing event planner jobs, it’s important for you to understand the whole compensation package offered and how it compares to other, similar job offers you may be interviewing for.
Ask the hard questions
Here are some questions I ask when looking more seriously at a job offer:
- Do you offer medical, dental, eye coverage?
- What is my deductible going to be?
- What are the out-of-pocket bi-weekly deductions that will come out of my paycheck?
- If I’m moving for a role, will you offer relocation assistance?
- How much paid time off will I receive including vacation days, sick days, and paid company holidays? Does the organization allow me to work from home if needed?
- Is there flex time allowed?
These are all key questions which could not only impact your paycheck but also your satisfaction when employed at the organization! I hope this helps you as your begin the job search!
Are there any questions we missed? Let us know!
