Getting Virtually Certified in 2021

It's 2021 and for the past year, my friends in the event industry have been through a lot. They've rescheduled, adapted, pivoted (I really try not to use that word anymore), and have had to embrace an entirely new world of events: Virtual.

Sure, in 2019, we all did a few webinars here and there, but we were the masters of face-to-face, meetings & conferences of all sizes, around the world. There wasn't a hotel, venue, flight, badge, or a loading-dock we didn't have a funny story to share about after an event.

But with all events being virtual for a bit, we all had to pick up a new skill: Virtual Events Skills.

I have a friend in the event world who reached out to me and said, "Joe, where do I begin?" I suggested to go get "Cvent Certified" and check out the Cvent Virtual Events Certification Program. Yes, I work for Cvent, but the company was letting people get trained and certified at no-cost, so I told her about the classes, and showed her how others posted their certifications on LinkedIn. She could take the class online with others or watch on-demand. There was a study guide. Cvent talks about helpful stats and shows you how to configure things. It's pretty comprehensive.

She didn't want to have to take a Certification Test. Who likes taking tests? So I agreed to take the class with her, and take the exam as well. Then the pressure was on for me to pass as much as anything, cause while I've been doing virtual events for our clients non-stop since last year I HATE taking tests. What if I glossed over a question? What kind of leader would I be to my team if I couldn't pass this certification? I had visions of the trainers laughing at me if I missed a simple question.

Again, Cvent has great online classes and study guides, and I really did attend the classes at night to make sure I knew what was being covered. I learned a few new stats, and after a stressful 45 min exam... here is the result:

Needless to say, my friend passed her certification as well. Job well done.

I actually enjoyed the class, hearing examples from clients, seeing interesting questions, and even go to thank the trainer. There is always something new to learn...