The Rundown
Topics: Careers, Live Events | Published: February 2022 | 3 min read
Live events look enticing from the outside - loud music, bright lights, good kit, and an atmosphere that is hard to find in other industries.
The work behind that is demanding, unsociable and often physical. It is also genuinely unusual: few careers put you in a different building every week, working to a deadline that cannot move, with a team that has to get it right first time.
If you want in, there are a few things worth knowing before you start applying.
None of them are about qualifications. They are about how the industry actually hires, and how people build a career once they are in it.
Starting Out
Start at the Bottom
It sounds obvious, but it matters: take the junior role. Volunteer at your local festival or venue. Take the apprenticeship. Make the tea.
It can be frustrating when you already hold a degree in events management. But the junior role puts you in the room with every discipline at once, and you learn what each of them actually does - not what the course said they do. From there you can work out where you want to go.
Humility travels well in this industry. People remember who was easy to work with at 2am on a derig.
Learn Constantly
Live events change quickly, and the people who stay current are the ones who stay in demand. Take the training, take the courses, take the odd job that teaches you something new.
This does not stop once you are established. The best production heads and event directors are still training, still investing in themselves, still asking how something was done. If you meet someone senior who has stopped learning, note it.
Finding Your Role
Know What the Roles Are
An event is built by a wide range of specialists. Sound engineers and lighting technicians on the technical production side. Designers and content creators. Production managers, producers, event managers. Riggers, video engineers, stage crew, catering.
Most people arrive with one job in mind. Very few end up doing exactly that job ten years later, and that is not failure.
Squiggly Careers Are Normal
Some of the best production managers started as sound engineers. Some of the best event directors started as production assistants. Moving sideways between disciplines is how people build the breadth that senior roles need.
Do not treat a move off your original path as a detour. It is often the thing that makes you good.
Keep an Open Mind
Appreciate other viewpoints and other trades. You may discover the part of the job you enjoy most is one you had never considered - plenty of people have found their career in catering, logistics or client management having arrived aiming at something else.
Even if you are certain of your direction, you will need to understand the work around you. An event manager who does not know what good catering looks like, or what a rigger is actually doing up there, will not get the best from their team.
Making Contact
Ask People
The single most useful thing you can do is talk to people already doing the job.
Most modern events businesses are approachable and genuinely enthusiastic about the industry. Research the companies near you, call them, and ask for advice. Not for a job - for advice. It is an easier conversation for both sides, and it is often where opportunities come from anyway.
Be Specific
A message that shows you know what the company does will always beat a generic one. Mention a project of theirs. Ask about a discipline you are curious about. Say what you are trying to learn rather than what you want to be given.
Say Yes to the Awkward Jobs
Early on, availability is a skill. The person who takes the Sunday load-in, the last-minute cover, the job two hours away, gets asked again. That is how a freelance career compounds.
Get in Touch
If you are considering a career in live events and want to talk it through, call Premier Live on 0116 202 9953 or email info@premier-ltd.com.
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Rather email? info@premier-ltd.com. Or just ring us: 0116 202 9953.
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EXPERIENCED. DEPENDABLE. HANDS-ON. UNFLAPPABLE
The people behind the production.
These are our people - the production managers, technicians, show-callers and crew who plan your event and run the room on the night. The same team from first site visit to final cue.
What We've Been Up To.
A look at the events we've delivered, the brief, the build, and how it ran on the night. Worth a read.
