Behind the scenes at Bright Network's exciting events season
Throughout the year, we run several fantastic events that help connect Bright Network members with our employer partners. Tasked with managing these events is our excellent events team whose hard work provides fantastic results for our members and employer partners.
Today we caught up with Events Manager Jen Hindle, to hear what it’s like to be on the frontline during Bright Network’s busy autumn events season.
Thanks for catching up with me today Jen! I’d love to learn more about the events that you and your team have been working on recently.
Of course! The biggest event we run at Bright Network is FESTIVAL, a huge graduate careers event that connects our bright and ambitious members with leading employers. It’s a great opportunity for attendees to learn about opportunities that are available to them. This year was FESTIVAL’s 10-year anniversary and saw over 80 employers and 3,500 students in attendance. It was a fantastic day to be a part of.
Another exciting event we ran just a few weeks ago was Women in Technology, Engineering and Consulting. This event was solely dedicated to females and non-binary members. We know how hard it is for females to gain opportunities in the STEM industry, and we run this event to ensure that we can inspire young women by giving them the chance to meet senior female leaders in the industry who can share their career journey and give them advice.
What is your role in planning and running these events?
As an Events Manager, I deliver end-to-end management of some of our flagship events. This includes working with top employers on their materials and advising them on panellists and speakers that would work well at the event; assisting with screening applications for our events; designing the presentation and working with an external vendor on our digital programme.
This year I led on Women in Technology, Engineering & Consulting and will be leading on our future events: Breaking Barriers, Women in Technology & Consulting 2023 and International Women’s Day 2023.
"Our team is fantastic and always finds a way to overcome any challenges we face"
What are the highlights of some of the events you’ve worked on for BN?
We’ve been fortunate to have some fantastic guest speakers at some of our events, and of course as an events manager, I’ve been able to liaise with them and learn from them too!
British athlete Marilyn Okoro came to deliver a keynote speech to our attendees at our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging event, and she was such an inspiration! Another highlight was working with Tim Campbell (winner of BBC’s The Apprentice) who joined our recent Internship Experience UK.
And how about any big challenges?
There can be a lot of challenges thrown your way due to unexpected external incidents! For example, when Storm Eunice hit the UK in February 2022, we had to pivot quickly and reschedule our Women in TEC event.
More recently, Black Talent in Banking, due to be hosted in person, was impacted by the London tube strikes! This meant we had just 24 hours to turn this event from in-person to entirely virtual. The events team truly supported and helped with this smooth transition and we had great feedback from our all attendees, both members and employers!
I do sometimes feel nervous on the day of events as it’s so important for everything to run smoothly, but we have such a great team that always manages to find a way to overcome any challenges that we face.
"Providing value to members and employers is key"
How do you make sure the events you run are successful?
We have such a fantastic and supportive team, including both events managers and events marketing managers. Providing value to members and employers is key to driving attendance, so we have to make sure we promote the event to the correct target audience.
After the event has finished, we make sure to gather feedback from attendees to help us understand how we can improve and innovate for future events. Feedback is so important for us to keep on doing even better.
Why should someone consider joining the Events team and what tips do you have for any would-be applicants?
It’s a very exciting time to be part of the team! After running our events virtually due to Covid-19, this events season is our first back in-person, so we’re all looking forward to seeing the impact they have on our members and employers. It’s also our first-time delivering Hybrid events, meaning that we stream to a virtual audience while hosting the event in-person at the same time. Not only does it allow us to bring our events to a wider audience, but it's also a great learning experience for those of us managing the events!
In terms of tips for would-be applicants, I'd say that time management and organisational skills are crucial to do well on our team. Having a positive and enthusiastic attitude will also help during a busy delivery season. We do sometimes face challenges, and it’s important to remain calm under pressure.
No two days are the same for our events team who work tirelessly to deliver fantastic results for our members and employer partners. Sound like something you'd be interested in? Check out all available opportunities on the link below - we look forward to hearing from you!