Graduate Recruitment Programme

Working at Clarion is exciting, creative, glamorous and fun. Why? We are the UK’s number one events company with a truly international presence. We also have some of the most creative minds in the industry creating world class events. At Clarion you won’t just learn how to organise fantastic exhibitions, conferences and seated events, you’ll learn loads of transferable business management skills from product development to sales, marketing, finance and people management. We love working at Clarion Events, and we think you will too.

What do we offer?

This is a programme which will allow you to work on several events in great depth. It will give you real insight into how a company functions, achieves profits, and how it grows through investing in its people and their development. You will work directly on an exhibition or conference, selling to clients, travelling to events and learning all that is necessary to be successful in sales, marketing, product creation and event organisation. We will not leave you to drift. You are too valuable to us. We see our graduates as our future team builders, managers and leaders and when you show passion for a particular aspect of our business, we will show you how you can develop in that area and become an expert.

We care about our staff, their well being and their development. Apart from skills training on your particular events and in Sales, Marketing and Event Management, we constantly offer courses on management, leadership, team building, coaching, motivation, and a host of key development areas.

What can you expect?

A comprehensive programme tailored to your needs
Training, coaching, mentoring
Fast track development into team leadership and management
London based with possible International travel to events
Structured training, coaching and mentoring on all aspects of the business
Support and inspiration from the best minds in the industry
A set of skills critical to your career path and transferable to any business
Opportunity to live and work in our international offices

What are we looking for?

Your degree matters to us whether you graduate in the Sciences or the Arts and what we look for is the approach you had towards your degree – your attitude to research, to tutorials, to course work and exams.

We want smart, entrepreneurial, hard working, articulate and confident people – the future leaders of our business. We also want interesting people who enjoyed their time and involved themselves in a variety of extracurricular activities.

Above all we look for enthusiasm and passion. With passion you can fast track your career at Clarion.

Our success is underpinned by our amazing team. We deliver extraordinarily successful events because we have extraordinarily passionate people. We are simply the sum of our successful people.

Graduate Recruitment Programme 2012

Unfortunately Clarion Events will not be running a 2012 programme. Please continue to check our careers page for current opportunities within the business.

"My name is Neil Gaisford, and I was a Clarion graduate..."

I joined Clarion as a graduate almost 10 years ago. I remember the first two weeks were hard work following a leisurely 16 hour week at University. However, the exhibition I was working on was just weeks away, so I got to see a show and really enjoyed the experience. The journey since then has been incredible; I have worked in many different markets, from lighting, to farming and retail.

Today I am the Portfolio Director for five successful retail trade shows, and I'm enjoying it more than ever. I have met some amazing people and think the exhibitions industry offers you a variety of experiences you can't find elsewhere. Our job is to bring people and businesses together and it is seeing your hard work come to life in the form of an exhibition that still gives me a buzz.

Katherine - Clarion 2010 Graduate

Whilst considering a number of different graduate schemes last summer, Clarion’s stood out as one that offered not only a broad spectrum of training and development opportunities but also a chance to gain genuine hands-on experience in a very dynamic and fast-paced industry. Nine months on I am very pleased to say that it does not disappoint.

Since last September I have worked on a wide variety of events ranging from International Art and Antique Fairs and luxury travel events to our Spirit of Christmas Fair, catering for the shopping habits of affluent west London ladies. In addition I have gained a sizable network of industry contacts from on-site meetings at shows including Taste of Christmas, Art London, the Olympia International Horse Show and The National Wedding Show.

In addition to this on-site experience, the graduate scheme offers an in-depth training programme alongside a series of “release days” in which we work within other departments to enhance our knowledge of other parts of the business including finance, marketing and conference production. This has been hugely beneficial to date not only in terms of the skills gained but also the exposure to individuals across the company which is invaluable to all of the graduates.

Beyond the above, one of the main reasons that Clarion is a fantastic place to work is that it has an admirable ethos of transparency and upholds its core values of passion, imagination, care and trust through all aspects of the business. These combined make for a relaxed and friendly environment which allows individual talents and efforts to shine through and positive team atmospheres to flourish. It is this combination which makes Clarion the ideal place for a new graduate to develop a wide range of business skills within a supportive and nurturing environment.

"I have progressed from the graduate recruitment programme to Event Director..."

On leaving university I was looking for a career in a company that would offer me the opportunity to develop my leadership and management skills, whilst giving me the knowledge and experience needed to become a rounded senior business manager.

My first full day on the graduate scheme at Clarion Events entailed meeting my new boss at 6 am at Gatwick Airport for a four day trip to Rimini, Italy. One flight and short train trip later I was being introduced to the key stake holders, clients, sponsors and media partners for my new event.

I have now worked with Clarion for 10 years progressed from the graduate programme to Event Director on Top Gear Live along the way I have been given the tools, training, coaching, support and exposure to forge the career I always wanted.

Laura - Clarion 2010 Graduate

When I first saw Clarion Events at the Guardian Graduate Fair in June 2010, it was clear from the sheer number of people crowded around their stand that this was a company to be excited about; and from my experience so far I feel that they absolutely have not disappointed. For me, the major benefit which shines through from my time at Clarion has been the people I have worked with. Not only do we benefit from arriving at the company with a large network of individuals who are on the same wavelength, in the form of the other Graduates, but we are also provided with a huge support group from higher management.

Clarion’s portfolio of events is incredibly diverse and ranges from Christmas shopping exhibitions right the way through to Gaming Conferences. This means that there really is something for everyone, and from the start, the company are very keen to place employees in an environment where they know they will flourish and enjoy whatever show they are working so closely on.

From my role within the company, I have also been given numerous opportunities to enjoy the events industry from outside of the office by attending a large number of competitor shows such as Country Living at the Business Design Centre, The National Wedding Fair at Olympia and Spring Fair at Birmingham NEC. Through attending these events, it is very easy to see the quality of the shows which Clarion organises and it makes you feel very proud to have played a part in that organisation. As a Graduate I am also given great prospects outside of my department such as the opportunity to travel to one of our foreign offices in Germany for a few days.

Seven months on, I am still very pleased with my decision to join Clarion Events.

"The best thing about the company is definitely the people - everyone is passionate..."
Julie - Clarion 2010 Graduate

I could not have asked for a better company to work for. Especially as I came straight out of uni and into my first job! From day one there has been a tremendous amount of support and encouragement, including regular in-depth training. We were lucky enough to be trained by some of the most inspirational leaders; not only from external industry experts, but also from internal managers who started their own careers on a Graduate Scheme. The training that Clarion has given me has been fantastic and continues to develop us even six months into the program. Our training has ranged from shadowing management; having independent projects within the other departments; and coping with the pressure of being onsite at many of the shows the Clarion organises, including Underwater Defence, Military shows, Retails shows, Baby Shows and many more! The major highlights of the job have been gaining tickets for different shows eg Top Gear Live, but also the European travel that my role has enabled me to do. We have regularly been required to pitch at competitor shows in Europe, something which has tested our skills and taken us out of our comfort zone, with the added benefit of being able to enjoy different cultures while working.

The best thing about the company is definitely the people - everyone is passionate, lively, friendly, welcoming and willing to help! And with over 300 people in the UK offices alone that really says something about the company and what it is about.

It's just great to wake up every day and look forward to going into work!