What is a CONFERENCE PRODUCER?
A fascinating blend of research, planning, people skills and intuitive management, Conference Producers are professionals that take ultimate responsibility for the success of an individual or series of events by making sure the intellectual content is right.

A good Conference Producer will have an input into virtually every aspect of a Conference’s development, from inception, through marketing to eventual delivery. They are often the primary stakeholder as to the essential details and components, and as such must have a keen eye for detail in addition to being able to look at the bigger picture.

A Conference Producer’s life is governed by deadlines, relationships and an innate ability to capture the imagination of the target audience. It can be an extremely exciting and rewarding career role for professionals with the right blend of skills and experience.

What do they do in the role?
As with many roles within Events, the ability to manage people and contacts is a key and primary skill, although the remit of a Conference Producer goes much further, and begins much earlier in the production stages, than that.

Initially, a Conference Producer gets involved in writing Conference proposals and creating the actual shape and content of the event itself, so meticulous research and planning is central to the role.

They will also play a large part in attracting relevant speakers and building relationships with industry people in order to be constantly aware of the burning topics and influences that could potentially translate into a compelling, rewarding and successful Conference.

Marketing experience is also important, in terms of being able to accurately define the event’s target audience and create communications material that will appeal to them and instigate a desire to attend.

Finally, a Conference Producer will be present at the event itself, ensuring that the Conference flows smoothly, that the speakers are looked after, and that the planning process is executed flawlessly in practice.

Who might they work for?
A Conference Producer could conceivably work for any organisation that had a requirement for, or a business model that includes, the staging of commercial Conferences.

A commercial events company is a business that exists to deliver bespoke events aimed at certain industry and interest groups, such as the Utilities, Finance, Education and Legal professions. The overarching objective for companies like this is to attract paying delegates to ensure that the event is successful, well attended and makes money.

A publishing company may have a similar requirement for a Conference Producer, although their objective in staging an event might be slightly different. Publishers might run an event that relates specifically to one of their media titles and the interests of its readership, which fulfils a dual role of generating revenue whilst at the same time developing the media title brand itself as a key player in the industry.

A Conference Producer might also operate in a standalone capacity for an association or institution that has a less directly commercial objective behind the event, to ensure an engaging and relevant programme of events and content is generated by the association on behalf of its members.

The key to success for all these different types of Producer however, is the ability to manage events that feature content and speakers that the target market genuinely want to see.

Who do they deal with in the role?
Externally, a Conference Producer will need to be in regular contact with influential industry figures, who may be useful either as speakers themselves or as conduits to other people or commercial entities. This will enable the Conference Producer to keep a ‘finger on the pulse’, stay networked, and develop ideas for conferences that are proven to be interesting.

A good Producer will also be in regular contact with sponsors and potential sponsors, who may wish to target the same audience as your Conference, providing them with regular updates and opportunities where they may be able to get involved.

Internally, a Conference Producer will be constantly liasing with the Sales and Marketing teams to ensure that the marketing communications are being managed correctly and the sales figures for the event are strong. Invariably, the Conference Producer may well have an obligation to report to the board of directors, or senior management, in order that they may be presented with a top line summation of the event’s practical and commercial progress.

The Producer will also link into the Operations team – who will be responsible for all logistical aspects of the event, the venue, catering etc. (In some companies the operations role may also fall to the Producer, but normally this is a separate function).

What skills, experience and qualifications are required?
A degree is normally required, although not essential, for any Producer position of responsibility, as it demonstrates to a certain extent (dependant on the degree) the ability to employ strong research techniques and abilities to a focused endpoint.

Good copywriting skills, excellent interpersonal skills and organisational skills are also core competencies that contribute to a successful candidacy. Above all else, however, solid industry experience (whether gained within the degree, reflective of a personal interest, or gained within past production experience) is highly prized, and will enable you to develop the confidence to deal with senior level contacts, also a critical skill.

Producers often develop areas of specialism in terms of the sectors they know – highly valued, some roles might demand this specialist knowledge as essential, but Production skills are normally viewed as transferable across sectors.

Career Path:
As with many roles, there is not always a straight, linear path towards becoming a proficient and respected Conference Producer. The traditional career path, however, consists of the following stages:

· Junior Producer
· Producer
· Senior Producer
· Conference Manager
· Conference/Divisional Director

Producers will tend to ‘grow through the ranks’ of a company – but they may enter the profession at a higher level from other areas of specialist topic knowledge.

There is also a strong freelance market for Conference Producers. This can be a very attractive option provided that you have good experience gained at a recognised company.

What other roles are there out there similar to this?
Event Manager – some, although not all, Event Manager roles can require some Producing elements, particulary within Associations or similar content/interest-led organisations.

What are the Salary & benefits within the role?
An entry level salary begins around the £18K pa mark, rising to around £23-35K pa for a Conference Producer. An experienced Conference Manager/Director can expect to earn in the region of £35-45K pa.

Bonuses are normally part of the package based on the commercial success of the events produced, and can contribute significantly to a high OTE.

What’s it really like: Diana Dixon
Diana Dixon has worked as a Conference Producer on behalf of some of the most successful commercial events companies in the UK. With over 10 years in the profession, Diana now produces conferences on a freelance basis.

What are the best and worst bits about being a Conference Producer?
“I think for me one of the best parts is the high degree of autonomy and diversity within the role. A good Conference Producer needs to be able to take responsibility for, and deliver, a great many elements simultaneously, such as forecasting, budgeting, planning, writing, arranging speakers, and briefing the marketing team, and I enjoy the challenge of balancing these diverse areas.

On the downside, there is a huge amount of stress and pressure in ensuring that these things are delivered and create a successful event. In Conference Production, there are very strict timelines, and if you lose time in one area, it will start to compress the other areas, such as marketing, due to the finite, project based nature of the work. If this starts to happen, it can impact on the success of the event.

Does the role suit a particular type of personality?
There is a duality about the role, a need to be both introvert, in order that you can focus on the research and writing aspect, but also a real extrovert, so that you can network, create an energy about the project and persuade the right speakers to participate. Similarly, you need to be able to balance an eye for detail with an ability to see the bigger picture, often at the same time. This is quite a tricky ability to have, although it becomes much easier and more intuitive with experience.

I think that there is a parallel in skills with journalism – the ability to research, write and call people up cold and get them involved are very much part of both jobs, and not everyone can do this. I am also very much a project person, and I like the fact that a Conference Producer role has a defined start and finish point.

What do you think is hard about the role?
The job can be very frustrating at times, if a speaker pulls out of an engagement at short notice for example, this can be pretty stressful, particularly if you have already sent the conference programme to print. The industry is also pretty competitive, with many different people trying to put on conferences for the same sorts of people at the same time. This can lead to some fairly intense rivalry, which can be quite draining.

How did you get into Conference Production?
I started off working at (broadcasting company) ITV, before joining IBC, which then became Informa (commercial conferencing company). Working for two of the best agencies gave me a lot of valuable and varied experience, and also enabled me to travel, which can be a real perk of the profession, particularly when you are just starting out in your career.

Best lessons learnt/best advice could give
If you are new to the role, try to gain experience working within a larger, more reputable company that provides good training programmes. You may well get thrown in at the deep end, but concentrate on developing your writing ability, people skills, contacts and self-belief. Everything gets easier with experience.

The ability to shine in interviews is a distinctly valuable attribute, and one that can make all the difference to your current and future career prospects. As with any skill, it can and should be consistently improved upon and refined by professionals of all ages and levels of experience. Particularly within the current economic climate, the ability to represent yourself well within an interview scenario is vital, and very often the key to excelling in interviews is an ability to do the basics well.

No-one can tell you how to conduct the absolute perfect interview, because this is entirely dependant on the role you are being considered for, the skills and experience that you possess, and the natural strengths to emphasise in your character. There are many different approaches that yield different levels of success for different people, although the tips below should allow you to approach any interview scenario with solid foundations, confidence and optimism.

Be yourself, condensed
If you are at the stage where an interview is required then congratulations, you have already represented yourself well, either through your CV or through positive personal association. This means that your interviewer will know something about you already, particularly if you have come through a specialist recruitment consultancy that thoroughly briefs both sides before the interview.

This allows you to professionally be yourself, to a certain extent. You should take confidence from the fact that someone has requested an interview, and let this dispel any nerves that might prevent you from expressing yourself to your fullest potential. Try to condense and communicate the most attractive elements of your natural abilities, learned skills and acquired experience into a coherent proposition for your potential employer, and let your personality do the rest.

Know more than your interviewers do
One of the most important common traits of a successful interview is the amount of research a successful candidate undertakes prior to the interview itself. It sounds obvious, but many prospective candidates will carry out only the most superficial levels of research, giving you a distinct advantage if you are prepared to dig a little deeper. The Internet is a powerful tool for this purpose, so use it to check out your prospective employer’s business, the markets within which they operate, and the types of corporate values that they hold. All this will come in very handy.

The ultimate realisation of accomplished research is to know more about certain aspects of your prospective employer’s business than your interviewers do. If you can demonstrate a depth of knowledge about the employer, this will enable you to have a much more sophisticated conversation about the ways in which your candidacy can help them achieve their commercial objectives. It will impress them with your initiative, allow you to ask intelligent, informed questions and go a long way helping you to secure your new role.

Match yourself to the role
Once you’ve done your research, you should have a pretty good idea of why your prospective company is keen to recruit, and also of the types of professional skills and experience that they might require in order to be satisfied that they made the right choice of employee. Because you now have a clearer idea of what they are specifically after for a particular role, you can then try to highlight areas within your own personal experience that match these criteria in order that you can communicate these during the interview.

Make a few notes about the role’s requirements, and then add further notes regarding your own skills and experience that meet them. In this way, you will be accentuating your suitability for the role, and thereby heightening your chances of convincing interviewers that your candidacy ‘ticks all the right boxes’ on a practical level. On a personal level, look back on your research to tell you the type of personality, ethics and working values that your prospective employer promotes. This will give you an angle on the types of characters and personalities that they would wish to employ too.

The moment of truth
Once you are actually conducting the interview itself, there is very little margin for error, so any preparation beforehand is time well spent, including perhaps even practising your technique with a friend or family member. During the interview, it is important to strike a balance between different instincts: you must remain alert enough to think on your feet, and yet at the same time be relaxed enough to remember to breathe and not trip over your words when giving answers,

Any answers that you give must be concise and considered, although expressive enough to allow the clarity of your thoughts to shine through. You should also take a notepad to jot down any thoughts or questions that you might ask your prospective employers at an appropriate moment during the interview. Your interviewers will have little choice but to make fairly quick judgements about what you have to offer, so it is important that you keep your nerve, remaining positive and professionally impressive throughout.

As the interview concludes, be sure to enquire as to what the next steps are, and ask whether there is anything further you can do to support your bid for the role.

Following up
One of the most important things to do after any interview is to obtain some feedback on your performance. In this way, even an interview in which you did not land the role can be successful in providing quality tips and advice that will only improve your abilities over time.
If you are working with a quality recruitment consultant, they will be able to talk directly to the employer on your behalf after the interview and gain some valuable insights into how well you were perceived.

The Basics – Regan & Dean Interview Check List
The following quick tips may sound obvious but…

-     Don’t be late - always allow extra contingency time to get to the interview unflustered (and if you are running late, ring ahead to let them know)
-     Dress smart (ask your Consultant for any guidelines on this depending on the type of role)
-     Ensure you’ve got all required details of the address/map/who you’re seeing, etc. with you, and take a copy of your CV (and portfolio if you have one)
-     Review the job spec and the company’s website thoroughly in advance, discussing the position in depth with your Consultant if necessary
-     Check websites of competitors too, in order to get a good general feel for their market
-     Make sure you can confidently and succinctly explain what your current and past roles have involved (a well structured CV is a great basis for this)
-     Prepare for any competency-based questions by identifying examples from your own working life that illustrate your skills/abilities. These examples must be prepared in advance, so that they readily spring to mind during, rather than after, the interview!
-     Develop a robust case in advance of why you think you’d be good for the role, and what key skills and attributes you have to offer your prospective employer
-     Take a list of questions about the role/company to the interview
-     Make sure you listen carefully to the interview questions, and focus your responses on directly answering their enquiry - you can always check with them to see if you have answered a question to their satisfaction - don’t waffle.
-     If you’re nervous, remind yourself to take deep breaths - it can often lighten the atmosphere if you explain to your interviewer that you are feeling nervous
-     Round up the interview by asking if there are any areas that your interviewers feel you haven’t covered fully enough for them, or areas of concern
-     Give a good positive end to your interview by restating your strong interest in the role, and thank them for their time
-     Phone your recruitment consultant asap after the meeting to give them your feedback

The concept of confidence in today’s commercial marketplace has become increasingly examined through the prism of an uncertain economic climate. Entire industries, such as marketing or banking, are built on an underlying foundation of confidence that circulates the very lifeblood of their industries. Once confidence starts to slide therefore, it brings with it no small amount of problems.

Many of the great UK banking institutions of the last century have either collapsed, merged or been nationalised, and this crisis of confidence is affecting every UK business and professional, both now and into the foreseeable future. So what does this mean for companies and individuals intent on succeeding through these troubled times? Below are some thoughts on why confidence is everything, and how you can use this mentality to create success, even during challenging circumstances such as these.

The sky is not falling on our heads
The most important thing to keep in perspective is that however bad things may seem, the situation will get progressively better given time. Although the nation’s media, and some of its key politicians, are defining the situation with extreme language, businesses will still trade and smart professionals will still thrive.

Whilst no one would suggest that the current outlook is anything but bleak, it is a lack of confidence that caused the crisis and it is confidence, both on an individual and a collective basis, which will ultimately provide a large part of the solution back to prosperity. Fortune favours the bold.

True confidence is based in realism
The ability to make realistic, objective appraisals of both your own and your company’s current situation will be invaluable over the coming months. The situation is likely to be very fluid, so accurately assessing your position within the business, and the position of the business within the market will enable you to make confident decisions that will only enhance your future prospects.

The certainty is, for example, that jobs will become increasingly scarce across virtually all professional sectors over the coming months. If you are a candidate, it may well mean that you will need to up your game to remain competitive in a diminishing pool of opportunities. If you are currently employed, it could be that you may be required to work longer hours to justify your position, or at the very least demonstrate flexibility in your approach to your role and responsibilities.

Whatever the scenario, being aware of the real effects of a downturn to your individual situation and making sensible decisions on how to counter them is a useful skill indeed.

Adapt and survive
It takes a set of heightened, sharper skills to truly thrive in a period of economic downturn. Businesses and individuals will not only be required to perform more effectively, but they may well need to change the way they see their business model or personal role. Whilst this will without doubt be demanding for all concerned, often it can be viewed as no bad thing, as it compels people to become more resourceful and industrious, qualities that are vital to successful companies.

Taking the initiative and reshaping your role or CV to reflect a more diverse and flexible skills base is a key aspect to creating personal opportunities in any economic climate, although it is an essential attribute in today’s marketplace. If you are looking for work, be prepared to consider alternative options such as temping or part time positions, and be realistic and flexible towards salary aspirations.

Necessity creates innovation
As anyone over 35 will know or tell you, recessions are traumatic periods to work within, although they do eventually yield significant benefits to professionals and individuals flexible enough to weather the storm. The lessons learnt during recessions may be tough, but they can contribute greatly to the overall development of businesses and individuals alike.

Within recessions, professionals need to be proactive, resourceful, and adaptable. Perhaps most importantly, individuals and businesses need to rediscover the ability to innovate, pursuing fresh and alternative avenues towards personal and commercial success. Whether this means approaching the job market in a different manner, or thinking outside the box within your own business and its recruitment policy, it is clever, inventive thinking that will allow certain people and companies to prosper in a time like this.

Confidence works both ways
Despite the regular portions of impending doom served up to the hungry masses by the UK media (arguably creating a self fulfilling prophesy), it is more than possible to develop your career prospects, professional development and personal fulfilment, even during periods such as these.

Supported by the right people, such as a specialist recruitment consultant that knows the marketplace inside out, there are still some great opportunities out there for you to aspire to. All the recession does is make those roles that much more competitively contested, meaning that any approach to landing your ideal role must be sharper than ever.

A critical part of this approach will be confidence. Get yourself into a positive state of mind and stay there.