Organising events is a stressful job and as your attendance grows, it’s less likely that you’ll be able to do it alone. But growing your team can also be stressful, especially when you’ve already got a million things on your plate. What’s the key to making the hiring process as efficient and quick as possible? Start with a go-to list of interview questions that will make it easy to find your next team member.
Here are 20 event coordinator interview questions to ask your next candidate, grouped by skillset — including time management, stress management, budgeting, measuring success, and technology.
1. Time management
When you’re an event professional, there are never enough hours in the day. Questions about time management will help you understand how the candidate approaches their workload as an event coordinator and prioritises tasks to stay productive. Before you sit down in the interview, take a moment to ask yourself these questions — there are no right answers, but you do want to make sure your candidate is compatible with the existing team.
Questions to ask:
- How do you prioritise your time?
- What tools do you use to stay organised?
- When kicking off a new event, what are the first steps you take?
- Have you ever managed more than one event at a time? Did you complete both events successfully and if so, how?
2. Stress management
You don’t want a new team member who cracks under pressure. So how does your candidate handle stress? These questions will help you suss out their level of self-awareness, how they handle conflict, and whether they can remain calm when things don’t go according to plan.
Questions to ask:
- Tell me about a time when you had to accommodate a last-minute change. What did you do and who was involved?
- What do you do when you are feeling stressed?
- How do you cope with multiple deadlines?
- Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult client/vendor. What was the result?
3. Budgeting
Event budgets are one of the more frustrating parts of being an event planner — and they can make or break your event. You might not need an accounting major, but you do need someone who can keep on top of your spending, negotiate with vendors, and take their budget seriously.
Questions to ask:
- Have you ever gone over budget? How did you deal with it?
- How have you negotiated with sponsors, vendors, and partners to make more room in the budget?
- What tools do you use to manage your budget?
4. Measuring success
Event success can mean different things to different people. For you, it might mean hitting an attendance or revenue goal. To your sponsors or partners, success might mean a tangible return on their spend. And to your attendees, success means a great experience.
Your event coordinator needs to be able to understand the high-level goals of your event, and to work towards success as you define it.
Questions to ask:
- How do you measure the success of your events?
- Do you use qualitative or quantitative data?
- Describe your most successful event planning experience. What were your goals and what did you do that made it so successful?
- What do you think makes a good event?
5. Tools, news, and tech
It’s important for event professionals to stay up to date on the latest industry trends and tools. Tech-savvy team members will be more effective, require less training, and make your life easier. Here’s how to find out if the candidate is up-to-date on the most recent tech.
Questions to ask:
- What event technology/software do you use/prefer now?
- What new event technology are you excited to try?
- What marketing technology do you use to promote events?
- How do you manage your social media, advertising, and email campaigns?
- How do you stay up-to-date with the event industry?
Make your team more productive
As you grow your event team, productivity and efficiency will only become more important — so make sure these values are in your team’s DNA. To learn how to boost your team’s productivity, download the free guide: The Event Organiser’s Ultimate Productivity Handbook.
