MeetingsPodcast CMP Roundtable Advice & Information For Those Applying Show 176. Live recording from the House of Blues which sponsored the meetup in Anaheim, California. Jon Trask from Grass Shack Events & Media, meets with Elizabeth Glau, Ananda Ybarra and Caprice Garcia to discuss the meetings industry.
Topics discussed, CMP Conclave wrap up and discussion followed by a discussion about the CMP itself and how to begin applying for one.
The meetup was sponsored by The House of Blues Anaheim and of course MeetingsPodcast and grass Shack Events & Media.
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I just finished listen to this podcast. About your comments about the CMP (Planner vs. Professional) From the planner perspective, I do think it’s a good thing that it is for the industry vs. just planners. I do however, feel the test is very planner centered and not really for the entire industry. Seems planners (esp. non-profit) have a very big advantage over suppliers when taking the test.
My question is MPI was the only industry association mentioned, no mention of PCMA or other groups, is there any reason? Being unemployed for 3 years, I’m not a member of either, but just curious. Thank you.
I really do enjoy the podcasts.
Hi Robert,
First off, thank you for listening to the podcasts and taking the time to comment back. It’s very appreciated!
I would agree that the test is somewhat planner-centric, however I could see there being some big challenges to trying to add in supplier based questions.
It’s challenging enough to find questions that are fair across the various types of planners because as we both know, planner jobs can encompass a wide range of skill sets. The experiences and tasks of an association planner, a non-profit planner and a corporate planner often looking nothing alike.
To me the CMP says that you have a broad base of knowledge of many facets of the meetings industry and the role of the planner is kind of a central hub into most of those areas. A planner needs the basics of an area to make informed decisions, even if they don’t get into the deeper levels of something like contracts, catering or AV.
As a supplier taking the test, I looked at it as a way to get a better overview of my industry and to better understand the needs and problems faced by my customers (planners). So, passing and adding CMP as a title doesn’t demonstrate my AV knowledge but is shown as an illustration that I’m experienced in the meetings industry and have a broader knowledge of other areas beyond my speciality.
As far as MPI, I’ve been a member for 18 years, so that’s why I fall back into using them as a reference so often. I’ve only recently explored PCMA and some of the other organizations (ASAE, ISIS, HSMAI, etc) so I’m just not as familiar with their structure and offerings. I’ve begun to make a real effort to broaden my horizons this year. So, hopefully you’ll hear Mike and I talking more about other organizations this year as well as MPI.
Thank you once again for listening and commenting!
Jon
I am also biased to MPI (been a member for 7 years, been a volunteer for 5 out of those 7!), and while I have also been a member of to HSMAI, ISES, and ABC, I have never been a member of PCMA. PCMA is the only other professional association I know of that promotes the CMP as their certification of choice. ISES is more focused on events rather than meetings, so they have their own certification, Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP), NACE has the Certified Professional Catering Executive (CPCE), ASAE has the CAE certification, and so on.
I have not had any experience with PCMA, but as far as choosing between them, MPI is very meetings specific, while PCMA is convention/trade show specific. I am biased, so my first recommendation would be MPI, but if someone is deciding between those two organizations, I would recommend they check them both out. Go to a couple of events (MPI allows you to attend two without joining), talk to the members and talk to the Board of Directors and see which association fits your needs more.
I would love to start a conversation about different certifications and industry associations because there are so many out there! I started with MPI because Corporate Meetings was my focus at a former company. Since then I have moved more into special events and away from meetings, but my roots remain in MPI. Sometimes I do wonder if I should branch out more, given my current position, so I am also starting to explore other organizations/certifications. Maybe that can be a topic of a future podcast! Maybe we can gather some industry leaders from other organizations with different certifications and discuss each in more detail? I would find that incredibly interesting!