How planning your wedding could help your career
Features
By
on February 03, 2010
26 Responses
Yes, that's a banana. Photo by Ben Haley
Now, I don't necessarily mean you should become a wedding planner, although some of us offbeat types DO find ourselves working in the wedding industry. (I NEVER EVER thought I'd write a book about weddings, and then end up working in the wedding media biz. How the hell did that happen!?)
So while "I planned my wedding, now I'll plan yours!" does happen, what I'm talking about here is the ways that planning a wedding help you develop skills that can be applied to non-wedding jobs. You're building skills that could help you move up a career ladder in whatever industry you work in ... or WISH you worked in.
Here's a quick list of employable skills you might be developing while you work on your wedding:
- Project management: guiding the development and milestones of a project with a very hard deadline at the end
- Interpersonal communication: telling your family "I love you, now fuck off" without hurting feeling
- Bookkeeping: tracking your expenses to insure you stay within your budget
- Writing skills: crafting the perfect language for your wedding website, invitations, and programs
- Hands-on manufacturing: assembling those DIY centerpieces, bouquets, etc.
- People panagement: getting the best results from everyone who's helping you (wedding party, vendors, etc) and doing so in a way that makes everyone feel good
I'm sure y'all can think of a million other examples — the real question is, how can you highlight these wedding planning skills when applying for a job as, say, an office manager? Chatting about your wedding isn't typically seen as professional behavior.
So, in my non-Offbeat work life,I spent four years of my career working with recruiters, ie folks who interview job candidates all day every day. I asked one of my colleagues how a bride could mention skills gained from wedding planning in an interview, and here was what she said:
If I asked someone during an interview, “Give me an example of how you’ve managed a crisis," they could respond with something to hook me into learning more about the wedding, and immediately tie it back to building job-applicable skills.
For example: “I got married last summer, and since I was looking for additional project management experience, I decided to plan the wedding myself. It actually turned into a significant event planning opportunity: managing the budget, selecting all vendors and venues, coordinating guests and their needs, etc.” And then dive into the specific story.
The moral of the story is that if you angle it carefully, the skills you're using now as you plan your wedding can totally become marketable job skills that can help you move ahead with your next career move.
So now I want to know — what skills are YOU developing as you plan your wedding? And how are you going to apply them?
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
Brit said
Breat post!
Brit said
Wow, spelling issues. Let me try that again! Great post!!
Elisabeth said
Do "communication skills with my future spouse" count? We'll call that "interpersonal communication". Sounds good.
Also – I'm very bad with a budget. I'm learning. Slowly.
Jenni said
Learning how to ask for help AND how to delegate when things can't be accomplished on one's own.
Learning how to research and weigh options of different scenarios.
gaelgirl said
well, i learned how to diy my own vintage reproduction aqua ball jars b/c they are just too $$$ & hard to find. i just posted them on etsy & can do them in custom colors for other people's weddings.
@dootsiebug said
One reason many people are turned down for jobs is simply because they don't know how to "sell" the skills they have! You have to talk up your strengths and show how it's relevant. While bringing up your wedding will almost certainly drag a snicker out of a hiring manager who isn't expecting that sort of thing, making the connection between those skills and the job you're applying for says so much about how you grow, expand and seize unexpected opportunities.
Rachel Brinkerhoff said
Because I'm a Project Manager there was no way I could bring myself to hand it over to a wedding planner. I mean, if I can manage an International Airport Project a wedding is a piece of cake! And it was!
Laura said
I would caution you against doing this. Your marital status should never enter an interview – even if it is related to a role you're interviewing for. A hiring manager well-trained in interviewing will steer the conversation away from anything that relates, even remotely, to your marital status.
Dina E. said
Maybe make it more general then – "Last year, I planned a wedding…"
fleda said
I agree with Laura–best to keep the personal out of job interviews? For legal reasons as well as the fact that one wants to look professional and only that? Maybe it depends on the job and the employer. But I TOTALLY agree with you about transferable skills!
And Rachel, I feel you on this one. Everyone keeps talking to me about about how planning a wedding is soooo hard, but I'll tell you, it's a LOT easier and a LOT more fun than planning a three-day academic conference for 400+ people! I'm loving it.
Meg said
Um. CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW CUTE THAT PICTURE OF YOU IS. Seriously. Discuss.
Hillary said
I'm planning my own wedding all by myself. and I have learned so much about time management and budgeting skills. It's only natural that these skills should translate to my career.
Jax Adele said
What if we do get paid for planning our wedding because our boss hasn't caught us doing most of it at work?
Becca said
Ditto!!!
Kait said
AMEN SISTER!
Shelby said
I'm learning that I need to ask for help and trust people with tasks otherwise my brain will explode.
I've started a blog about my talented friends and the awesome stuff they're helping me with. I'm discovering how much work it is to maintain and populate a blog with interesting and relevant material. There is so much more strategy, thought, skill and time involved in blogging than I ever thought (No wonder you went pro)! I feel like I've learned a lot more about internet-ing than ever before.
Shelby
Kim said
I urge you to be very, VERY careful with this. As seen in my recent post on OBT about some serious sexism raised by the issue of my upcoming nuptials, some people take the very idea that you are about to get married (or recently got married) to mean that you are no longer interested in having a serious career, and that any minute you will drop out to have babies full time. Sure, they can't ask you personal questions in the interview, but they sure can cross you off the list if you open your mouth!
Amerikanka said
While I agree with some posters that this is an issue to consider carefully…I think much of it comes down to the industry you work in, and the vibe of the interview that you're in.
That being said, here's one more to add to the list:
-Graphic design skills: I learned Illustrator just for the sake of doing our StDs and invites (thank you, overseas pirated software…), and now that I have CS4 on my computer I'm teaching myself all sorts of other stuff, including Photoshop. Will this land me a graphic design gig? No, but it's still another skill to add to the resume in my very non-graphic-design field…plus I can talking about being a self-starting quick-learner (I don't even have to mention the wedding!).
I know there are others too, since I think about this all the time, but I'm drawing a blank…oh! The FH is teaching himself more about web design to do our website (again, general bonus points for the resume), plus he's also using this as an excuse to delve into Garage Band a little more deeply, creating some music for the website and possibly the recessional. Not sure Garage Band will help in a job interview, though ;o)
Amerikanka said
OK, well, I'll try again: one more that I'd add to this list is graphic design. I taught myself Illustrator just for the sake of doing our StDs and invites. Of course my skills are limited, and it's not like I'm going to land myself a new career in graphic design, but it has introduced me to a whole new skill. Best of all, I can simply mention in an interview that I taught myself to do it independently, and I don't even have to bring up the fact that it was wedding-related.
On the FH's side of things, he's learning more about web design (he already had basic skills) to do our website, plus he's getting into Garage Band (more than he already was) to do some music for our website and possible for the recessional. Web design, obviously, is a good plus for any resume…though I'm not sure how he's going to work Garage Band into an interview ;o)
Anony Mouse said
While I agree that planning a wedding can definitely lead to developing or honing skills that are directly applicable to professional contexts, there is, unfortunately, a very strong and prevalent bias against unpaid work, particularly of the sort traditionally performed by women, as not being "real work." As much as I dislike that this bias exists, I think that if you ignore it during a job interview you do so at your own peril. Prospective employers may not inquire about marital or family status, as these are legally protected categories, and it would be unwise, I think, to offer up information that could be used as a strike against you.
irisira said
Being in HR myself, I agree with those cautionary tales as mentioned above.
However, I do disagree with the bias against unpaid work. I've always been encouraged to highlight and discuss leadership roles I've taken in volunteer organizations, for example. Which, actually, is one way to spin it … "I planned an event for 100+ guests and had to do xyz …"
Or, rather than highlight it in an interview, just use the skills in your current job without necessarily drawing attention to it. I mean – I've done event planning for volunteer organizations, as well as taken management classes on project management and interpersonal communication, and have been applying those skills to my wedding planning, so the converse is true – skills acquired in wedding planning you can translate on the job … but, maybe, privately.
irisira said
Also, Rachel and fleda, I've never planned anything as large-scale as that, but I gotta agree that the wedding planning has been SO much easier/more fun than projects I've done for work/volunteering! I wouldn't think of hiring a coordinator, either, as I enjoy this sort of thing. I *am* tempted to hire someone to do my invitations, however – crafty, I am not.
Andre Nievo said
I like the practicality of these tips. Planning ahead can help make things easier than acting with only a little time left.
Anony Mouse said
Well, maybe what I should have said was a bias against traditionally female work– things like parenting, running a household or planning a wedding. I don't think it is reasonable or fair that it's the case, but I do think there is a bias against viewing any kind of unpaid 'domestic' work as professional or serious, no matter how much budgeting, leadership, or spreadsheets it may involve.
Kim said
While I still don't think I'm doing to mention this in job interviews, I HAVE learned a lot in the short time I've been doing this. Making super-specific budgets showing multiple scenarios and contingency funding is a new way of thinking for me. Building my wedsite has been a useful, fail-proof way of trying out tools and techniques for the professional blog/website I'm making for myself. And I'm sure that class I took in Negotiation will come in handy when it's time to deal with the caterer.
Vicky said
I started a new job, undertook a masters degree, organised an international scout trip and planned our wedding in three months. No interviewer can ever doubt my time management skills again. (no need to mention all the work, essays, rucksack packing, wedding shopping that happened at the last minute)
I think if your summary of your skills is quite broad then mentioning your wedding is ok if you are ok with sharing your marital status, if all your examples come down to wedding planning that might not go down so well.