Rachel Crick recently spoke with Lily Harris, sales events manager at Visit Austin on mentorships and how internships can help you get your foot in the door in the meetings industry.
Lily Harris is the sales events manager at Visit Austin. She graduated from Austin College in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She accepted an internship at the Austin Convention Center’s events team, then worked with the convention center as an event coordinator for two years before making the move to Visit Austin. She’s also a member of PCMA’s 20 in their Twenties, Class of 2024.
Q: What is the importance of mentorship in the events industry to you?
A: The events industry is such a big industry, but it also feels small. You make connections everywhere you go, and for me when I was starting out in my career, I was learning all aspects of the industry. It meant finding someone I could lean on who would support me through the process of growing in the career and someone I could go and ask anything about the industry and personal growth. Also, for a mentor, it’s not only that they’re there to uplift you and be your cheerleader, but it’s someone who’s there to challenge you, to challenge why you’re doing what you’re doing and tell you that you could do better, bigger things. It was important to me that I had someone who was supportive but also challenged me to continue my growth.
Q: How did you find a mentor, and what’s the best thing you’ve learned from yours?
A: Finding a mentor has everything to do with when you go into a new environment and a new career path; you have to sit back and listen and observe. I picked my mentor because we had similar personalities and similar work ethics and passions about our work. I saw myself in her and I was like, ‘I want to be like that one day.’ Not necessarily the same career, but she’s a leader in the industry and I looked up to that. Finding someone you gel with and are cohesive with is not simple. It takes time, and when you go into a new career, you don’t need to pick a mentor on the first day. It’s good to get to know your peers and colleagues; then six months down the road you can pick someone. Everyone in the events industry has been so kind and so supportive. If there’s a way they can help you, they’re willing to do it. That’s what I’ve been thankful about in this industry: the open arms.
Q: When did you become aware of all the jobs in the events industry, and what should students or recent graduates be looking for?
A: Back in college, I knew that event planners were a thing, but I didn’t know that there were event planners for associations and corporations, and that these major corporate companies had major umbrellas of event planning. I knew about PCMA, and I went to my first PCMA Convening Leaders in January 2022 in Las Vegas. There I went to PCMA U, which was for students, and it was there the umbrella started to open. It was this ‘wow’ moment. It would be good to give back to students at my previous college and talk to young professionals who are just entering the job, to explain there’s way more than just what they’re aware of. Also, join professional organizations like IAEE, PCMA and MPI young, right out the gate. Getting involved in that early will help grow your career. The generations before us are eager to bring in the young professionals because they know we’re going to be the next leaders. While it’s daunting, it’s great networking and a great way to put yourself out there.
Q: How can better mentorships be built for your generation and for the generation of planners to come?
A: I think as young professionals start to choose their mentors and professional careers, that will come naturally. The biggest gap I’ve noticed is the misconception of my generation coming out now, Gen Z, that we’re super tech-savvy. We’ve lived in this remote world for so long, and we were affected by COVID, but we grasped onto the virtual meetings aspect of it a little quicker. I think the assumption is we enjoy doing events virtually, that we want to work from home, that we don’t want to do office jobs anymore. There’s a balance to that, and my generation still wants that face-to-face communication, and they still want to be able to go to in-person events. Relationships are still valued as much as they’re valued by the other generations. I think the solution is on both sides to dig back into those in-person connections.
Q: Do you have any other insights when it comes to breaking into the meetings/events industry?
A: I recommend any young professional in college or coming out of college to find an internship in the events industry. I was a PCMA 20 in their Twenties recipient, and all of us, or a majority of us, all started in internships. That’s how we got to learn about what this industry has to offer. It’s super important in career growth, so take any opportunity for an internship. Don’t turn down an unpaid internship, because what you’re gaining is skills. If you can do it unpaid, you should take it. The biggest thing is money’s not always the answer. Internships are really important to get your foot in the door.
