Top 15 Event Coordinator Interview Questions & How to Answer Them
If you want to become an Event Coordinator you’re in the right place. This article will tell you how to ace the interview and help you get hired in no time.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the most common questions you can expect during your next Event Coordinator interview. For your convenience, we also included examples of how you can answer them.
Technical Questions Asked in an Event Coordinator Interview
Do you have any experience using event software? If yes, which software have you used?
Example answer: “Without modern event software to stay on top of things, this job would be a million times more difficult. I’ve used software like RegFox, Cvent, Eventbrite and Social Tables before.
Eventbrite is my favorite since it allows me to manage and schedule tasks efficiently. You can also use it to implement marketing solutions such as email marketing campaigns and social media, which is awesome.”
What tools do you use to stay organized?
Example answer: “The tool I use the most is Asana. I use it to keep track of tasks I’ve already completed and tasks that I still need to do. You can also mark tasks as being in progress, which is helpful. As far as communicating with the rest of the team, I have the most experience with Slack.”
When deciding on an event venue, what do you look for?
Example answer: “Before deciding on a venue, I like to build a list of available options together with their pros and cons. I can then present the list to the client and go through each option together with them. Based on their feedback and their requirements, I can make my recommendation as to which option would work best.”
What metrics do you track and use to measure event success?
Example answer: “My main KPIs for determining whether the event was a success are guest satisfaction rates, client feedback and monetary outcome. If we went significantly over budget, I consider it a personal fail no matter how good the guest satisfaction rate is.”
Problem-Solving Questions Asked in an Event Coordinator Interview
How do you go about managing event promotion on social media and other relevant platforms?
Example answer: “The first thing I do is define my objectives and goals. I try to be as realistic as possible but also set a goal that will get me to push harder to meet.
The next step for me is to define the target audience and select a social media platform. After that, I’ll run targeted ads.
Once the ads are live, I track the conversion rate to see how well the ads are doing. If I need to, I’ll make adjustments to improve the score.”
Have you ever dealt with an aggressive client? If yes, what did you do?
Example answer: “I know that putting on an event is stressful, so I don’t take anything to heart. I know the client is frustrated by an issue and not me, so I focus on fixing the problem instead of viewing it as a personal attack.
I like defusing stressful situations by ensuring the client that the problem will get solved immediately.”
What is your strategy for staying within budget?
Example answer: “Once the client gives me their maximum allotted monetary figure for the event, I prepare a price estimate for the type of event they can expect given their budget.
My budget sheet is by my side at all times so I can track the estimated price and the actual price spent on expenses.
Obviously, I leave a contingency fund aside to handle last-minute expenses because they always happen, no matter how good you are at planning.”
Some clients want extravagant and unique events, so where do you get fresh inspiration from so that no two events you throw are alike?
Example answer: “I like to see what top Event Coordinators are doing and take inspiration from their work ethics and habits. I see myself as an extremely creative person who can come up with virtually endless fresh ideas. I love experimenting with new and interesting concepts that I draw inspiration for from various industries and sources such as movies and art.”
Event Coordinator Interview Questions About Work Habits
If you had a choice, would you like to work with an overbearing customer or a customer who’s extremely lax and gives vague instructions?
Example answer: “I’ve worked with both types of clients. Personally, I prefer working with lax clients because that gives me more artistic and creative freedom. When I’m working with an overbearing client, since they already know what they want, I focus less on coming up with new ideas and more on helping them achieve theirs.”
Have you ever had to plan multiple events at once? How did you manage to meet your deadlines?
Example answer: “I’m good at managing my time and creating my own schedule to follow. I like to set realistic time goals for completing my tasks.
When I’m planning multiple events and have multiple deadlines, I streamline my work by grouping similar tasks together. Then, I can complete them at the same time to speed things up.
For instance, if I’m using the same caterer for two events, I’ll schedule a call and discuss both events at the same time.”
Have you ever had to deal with a last-minute change when planning an event?
Example answer: “When planning a conference event in my previous job the caterers pulled out last minute. Two of their employees got sick and they said they couldn’t do it. Bear in mind this happened two days before the event itself.
Since I’m always prepared, I had a list of alternatives that I compiled when hiring the caterers. After quickly giving two of them a call, one said they could fill in and we still had a caterer for the event.”
How do you find vendors and suppliers for your events?
Example answer: “During the past two years working as an Event Coordinator, I built a solid network of vendors and suppliers I know I can trust. In addition to having existing contacts, I constantly meet new people either through recommendations or industry events I regularly attend.”
Event Coordinator Interview Questions About Leadership
How do you negotiate with third parties such as vendors and sponsors?
Example answer: “I’ve been negotiating with vendors, sponsors and suppliers for at least two years. My main focus is to get what the client wants for the best possible price.
Since I have a network of third parties I use often, I have strong relationships with most of them. That’s how I’m able to get favorable rates that other Event Coordinators cannot.”
How do you cope with the stress that comes from running an event?
Example answer: “To deal with stress and fatigue, I divide my responsibilities into subtasks and schedule them. This way, I don’t feel overwhelmed when seeing the hundreds of tasks that I have to do before the event. Instead, I’ll just have a reasonable amount of tasks that I have to do each day.
This stops me from being overwhelmed and leaves me feeling in control.”
How do you keep up with new trends and methods?
Example answer: “I often attend industry events and follow leaders in my field so I can constantly learn new things. I also follow event media outlets dedicated to event planning to get the latest news each day.
Whenever possible, I like to enlist and attend event planning and managing conferences and seminars to improve my skills.”
Preparing for an Event Coordinator Interview as a Candidate
To help you land your next job as an Event Coordinator, here are some tips we think might be helpful for you.
Review common interview questions and potential answers
Think about the questions mentioned above and how you’d answer them. The example answers provided might not reflect your working experience exactly, but you can tailor them to fit your skills and previous work experience.
Prepare your own questions
Prepare questions that you want to ask the hiring manager. Ask about the team you’ll be working with, who you’ll be reporting to, what your schedule will look like and anything else you want to know about the job.
This will show your interviewer that you’re thinking about how you can fit into the team and the role itself.
Once you’re ready to apply, here are some Event Coordinator jobs for you.