Name: Hetty Mercer

Job Title: Events manager at JP Morgan Bank.

My position in a nutshell… My role involves managing the team that deliver all the events and conferences for the sales team.

How I got the job… By applying for the JP Morgan Bank Graduate Scheme when I left university. It was a scheme where you could try lots of different roles within the bank. The second role I tried out was in the marketing and events team and I liked it so much that I stayed there, and have been there ever since.

My typical day… I get to my desk around 8am, check my inbox and respond to any emails that have come in since the previous day. I then have meetings with different departments of the bank to see what challenges they have around reaching their clients. I will help them put together a plan for what events would be best to help meet their challenge.

My most memorable moment… When we organised a conference from nothing, it was literally just an idea, which turned into having 2,000 people, in Vancouver, Canada, for three days.

The worst part of my job… Managing all the change. You think you have everything organised and then something will happen completely out of your control, meaning you must change everything, all while remaining calm.

The best part of my job… Managing problems successfully and seeing a project all the way through. It’s great to see the results of your hard work at the end.

Advice / key skills needed for anyone wanting to become an events manager… The most important thing is to try it out. I would recommend joining the student council at your university, school or college and getting involved in organising the end of term activities, or any other events, so you can get a feel for whether you like organising, working in a team and working on projects. When you leave school or university, try and get as much work experience as possible. I think the most important skills you will need are to enjoy organising, be able to multitask and remain calm under pressure.

What about  the impact that the global pandemic has had on events?Everybody moved their events to virtual or digital events and it was great to see everyone adapt so quickly, but now there are so many of these online events that people can’t concentrate or don’t know which one to join. Maybe consider how you would design an event to make it stand out from similar events? You could even try organising a small virtual event for friends or family.