A group coordinator may work for one of many industries, primarily with various educational or non-profit organizations. It is this person’s job to organize, schedule, direct, and plan various group activities and events being sponsored by the group. This can include assembling groups of people to act as volunteers and assigning jobs and projects for each person to undertake. It is similar to the role of a manager or supervisor, with the group coordinator acting as the leader for a specific group, event, or organized function.
To become a group coordinator, you must first acquire the skills and education needed for such a demanding job. Most group coordinators have a four-year college degree or equal experience working for a non-profit or similar agency. If you intend to pursue a degree in order to become a group coordinator, ideal majors include business management or social work. If you’ve already gotten a degree in an unrelated field, this will not likely hinder your efforts in breaking into this industry, so long as you have the other skills and qualities required.
Group coordinators must be highly organized with an acute attention to detail. To become a group coordinator and be successful, you will need to be able to set goals, and stay on schedule and budget. It will also be necessary to have good people skills, which are important when finding attendees for an event or rallying supporters and donations for a cause. It is the job of the group coordinator to motivate, direct, and establish these efforts and see them through to gain the outcome needed.
You may find that to become a group coordinator, it will take some time. The exact amount of time will vary based on location and need. Start by networking with friends, colleagues and acquaintances. Often just getting inside information about a specific company from current or former employees, or friends of employees, is enough to get an interview. You may also wish to use online networking sites. Some websites are designed specifically for business networking and job searchers to help find new careers and business associates.
Old fashioned methods such as searching newspaper classifieds are also good ways to find a group coordinator job. You may also have luck calling companies you’d like to work for, introducing yourself, and explaining that you would like the opportunity to discuss employment opportunities that they have available. Even if the group coordinator position is not open, there may be other employment opportunities that could lead to growth within the company later on.
