For planners needing temporary support or contractors looking for their next gig, these three agencies specialize in providing meeting industry talent.
Sounding
Serve: Soundings connects clients with freelance, contract or full-time talent — “rising stars, innovators and experts in the meetings, events, hospitality and nonprofit industries.”
Position
Key areas include:
Event design and execution
creative services
project management
corporate marketing
Production and Creativity
cost: Match talent with freelance or full-time jobs at no cost.
Value proposition: Soundings’ mission is to “unlock potential and drive innovation through powerful connections between design organizations and talent.”
In addition to placements, Soundings also offers Elevate Career Coaching, providing certified coaches to teams and individuals.
A new partnership between SITE Global and Soundings offers SITE members a 20% discount on the 2025 Soundings Elevate 1:1 career coaching and career accelerator program. Mentoring events, including rooms for personalized mentoring and networking with groundbreaking content. Soundings Thrive members will receive free access to select SITE digital content and research, such as the Incentive Travel Index.
Why does it sound different?
“Like the definition of the word, we dig below the surface to gather key insights before matching talent,” said Founder and Chief Liaison Tracy Judge.
“What sets us apart is our people-centred, data-driven approach, coupled with our investment in our talent community through Soundings Thrive and our coaching service, Soundings Elevate. Together, these brands enable us to go beyond superficial qualifications and go deeper. Explore five key elements—skills, strengths, character, purpose, and performance—to ensure the perfect fit between talent and role.
cadre
Serve: Cadre places contract and freelance jobs as well as specialists (live event staff, meeting planners, and audiovisual professionals) using a single online platform. Sister company Meetingjobs (founded in 1990 by former meeting planner Dawn Penfold) is the meetings and events industry’s premier resource for permanent placement services, offering job boards and retention search services.
Position
Key areas include:
event planner
event manager
meeting planner
conference coordinator
Corporate event planner
wedding planner
conference manager
trade show coordinator
Conference Services Manager
destination event planner
Event Director
chief events officer
Corporate event or meeting planner
Medical or pharmaceutical meeting planner
Association Meeting Professionals
Vice President of Meetings and Events
cost: There is no fee to join Cadre’s roster of over 6,500 event freelancers (planners, live support, AV technicians, etc.). The only cost for freelancers to maintain an active profile is the $25 fee to complete a background check.
Value proposition: Clients look to Cadre to provide them with experienced event industry professionals to build their full-time employee base. Additionally, during peak periods, this foundation can be supplemented by hiring freelance workers who can jump right into work and take on a variety of project work.
Why are cadres different?
“In this new gig economy, especially post-COVID, the model of staffing agencies acting as middlemen between recruiting companies and experienced talent looking for work is outdated. This is what sets Cadre apart,” Penfold said .
“As an online marketplace like Uber, Cadre offers companies the ability to publish projects (whether it’s short-term planning work, Cvent network setup or live event support); set their own budget; and directly through the Cadre app Get offers, interviews and contracts from experienced event industry freelancers.
“Cadre is Upwork but focused entirely on the meetings and events industry, enabling companies to efficiently source a variable workforce to meet varying needs and effectively contract as needed.”
Conference N Event
Serve: MeetingsNEvents is led by Cindy Thorp, who most recently served as Director of Corporate Meetings and Travel for Dunkin’ Brands and has more than 25 years of experience in the meetings and events industry. The company provides planning and management of meetings, conferences and conferences, as well as staff support in 13 cities.
Position:
Meetings and Events Staff:
- Registration, conferences, trade shows, live events
- Digital event marketing
- Pharmaceutical Support: Physician Involvement
- transportation plan
- Venue and hotel purchasing agent
- Activity settings and strikes
- Incident Flow: Traffic and Safety
- Speaker/Exhibitor Collaboration
- Virtual meeting and event coordination
cost: There is no cost to match talent with jobs.
