I started as an event intern in Grooveyard at the end of July 2017, fresh-eyed and excited to branch out into the exciting world of event management. Those 6 months I spent in my internship was both scary and brilliant.

There were days I was on site, at meetings, taking notes for high scale tenders, ordering stationery, booking hotel rooms… all before 5 pm. It was everything at once and I was thrown in at the deep end.

The Benefits of Interning

What you forget about the jump from college to the working world is that you’re usually, unprepared and inexperienced for job positions. Interning allows you to experience a role without expectations or heavy-duty responsibilities, you’re given time to learn rather than expected to know exactly what you’re doing.

Interning is something I could not recommend enough, especially in event management. This cut-throat industry is not for the weak hearted so it’s really crucial to learn if this is for you or not, earlier rather than later!

The Differences in Roles

Key differences then between being an events interns and an account executive is not necessarily the job spec, but mainly your footprint within the company. You take a bigger lead on projects and tend to have a bigger say in brainstorming, presentation decks, internal meetings etc.

While being an intern is so educational and you learn everything from watching those around you, being an account executive means you are solely responsible for your own work. The stabilisers are taken off in a sense and you begin to really begin your journey into events.

The Minor Details are the Big Details

Being an account executive means you sweat the small stuff. Your job primarily is to zoom in on any of the smaller aspects of an event that may not be the sole focus of a senior. For example, smaller activations pieces, photo opportunities, data capture etc. It can be very satisfying knowing your little pieces of work amalgamate into this larger high-scale experiential that really sets the tone off for how good or bad the event will actually be.

.What I can tell you about the transition from intern to exec is, that everything I had learned up to my step up, I was then able to easily apply to my new role. A huge benefiting factor was that I was already so familiar with the internal company structure and procedures.

What worked so well for me was how prepared I felt coming into the new position. Being an intern allows you to find your felt well still getting your foot in the door.

If I had any tips it would be, to throw yourself in, be confident and to the point. Spend as much time as you can as an intern watching the ways of others, while still investing time in learning how you yourself work best. So, that if you do get the opportunity to step up, you know everything you need to know to hit the ground running!

By Katie Geraghty