Team Building Event Host (Chicago) at TeamBuilding.com – Chicago, Illinois

About teambuilding.com

In 2013, we started Museum Hack, leading unconventional tours of the best museums for thousands of happy tourists, first-dates, friend groups and more. This venture organically grew to include team building events for companies like Google, Johnson & Johnson, and Chipotle. In 2020, we rebranded as teambuilding.com.

To date, we have hosted tours and events for 45,000+ teams and 1,000,000+ participants, earning 75,000+ 5 Star Reviews on Google Reviews and our verified ratings. Our experiences are mentioned in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Economist. In 2021, the Inc 5000 listed teambuilding.com as the #1 fastest growing private B2B company in America and #15 overall.

Along the way, we learned exactly what makes a team building experience successful, and we have helped hundreds of thousands of teams build stronger and more fun-fueled connections.

Basically, team building starts here.™

About the Role

Oh hey, you found our secret sauce...

We call our collection of in-person and virtual experiences "Originals", which are led by our expert host team. Our event hosts bring their authentic personalities and professionalism to our internally crafted content, delivering consistent, high quality, stealth team building events. Our most common feedback from participants is that our events are more fun than expected, and that’s largely due to the way our hosts enable engagement between participants and intuitively meet people where they’re at, while delivering content in formats that exceed client expectations. Our company’s mission is to build happier teams, and our hosts are at the heart of that mission.

What You’ll Do

As an In-Person Host Contractor, you would be responsible for hosting and cohosting teambuilding.com Originals events in the Chicago metropolitan area, with possible light regional travel as needed. This is a gig-based position, so you could go through spurts of being extremely busy, and other slower times, dependent on event bookings. Events and locations vary from running high-stakes guacamole competitions in client offices or hotel ballrooms, to scavenger hunts at the Field Museum!

While you will have full remote support and training, this position has minimal on-site supervision. We are looking for dependable people that are self-starters with excellent communication skills and abilities to think on their feet. You would be responsible for working with our internal team to order supplies for your events, self-reporting to various venues, learning material on a sometimes quick timeline, and being ready to adapt to any twists or turns that come up in the moment.

As a Lead Host, you’d be running the show! You’d be responsible for connecting with the client in the time leading up to the event, either through a pre-event phone call or via text, and then delivering the best possible vibes on the day! If the idea of challenging a room full of lawyers to competitively give you their best Thriller dance moves brings you joy, this job is for you.

As a Cohost, you’d be the support behind the chaos. Your job would be to split the supply load with the host, keep score for events, run tech elements when applicable, DJ with your favorite party music, take pictures throughout each event, and help your host with any clean up.

If solo-hosting without a cohost, put on your party hat! You’d be doing all of the things!

If this sounds exciting, please apply! If this sounds like a lot, apply anyway. :)

Requirements

• Age 21+.
• Have reliable transportation for self-reporting to events in and around the Chicago metropolitan area.
• Flexible weekday availability. Events typically run within the hours of 10am - 7pm, with the occasional event starting earlier or later.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Extremely dependable self-starter.
• Comfortable being in and sharing the spotlight.
• Able to learn and memorize content, and deliver it naturally.
• Ability to think on your feet, improvise, and creatively problem-solve in front of guests.
• Willingness to attend and successfully pass training, including skills demos.
• Ability to stand for 2-4 hours and manage supplies of up to 30 lbs.
• Willing to utilize our communication platforms (texts, email and Slack) for internal communication.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong preference for candidates with a performance background in one or more of the following: theater, improv, stand-up comedy, MC-ing, tour guiding.
• Very comfortable and familiar with breaking the 4th wall/crowd work.
• Experience in customer-facing service positions (serving tables, retail, front of house, etc.)
• Bonus if you have creative writing experience (playwriting, sketch comedy, marketing copyright, blogging, novelist, etc.) in addition to performance experience, but not necessary!

Compensation & Workload

• Events are compensated with a flat rate, plus gratuity.
  • Lead Host rate for a 90-minute event: $100 to $125 per event (~$40/hour) based on event type, plus gratuity.
  • Cohost rate for a 90-minute event: $60 to $100 per event (~$25/hour) based on event type, plus gratuity.
  • The onsite time commitment for a standard 90-minute event ranges from 2.75-3.5 hours for a standard 90-minute event with set up and clean up.
• Estimated workload of approximately 1-3 events per month, with potential for more or less depending on bookings.
• Average gratuity is $200 per event, with 75% going to the Lead Host and 25% to the Cohost.
• $22/hr to learn any new-to-you content or run errands on behalf of the company, and are reimbursed for any expenses made on behalf of the company.

Next Steps

• Submit an application following the directions below in How to Apply!
• Once your application has been reviewed, we will reach out to schedule a Zoom interview to take place between now and early-April. If passed through that interview, you will be invited to paid auditions and training that will take place over 4 days in mid-April, with a pay rate of $22 per hour. A breakdown of the audition and training process is as follows:
  • Day 1: approximately 9am-5pm CT
    • We will introduce you to our most popular event, The Great Guac Off ™. We will then provide audition materials. You will be given an extended lunch break to prepare those materials. We will then hold group-format host auditions in the afternoon.
    • At the end of this audition day, we will email each candidate individually with the results of that audition.
      • If you pass the audition, you will be provided with more instructions and material for review, and will be called for paid workshopping and job training the following three days.
      • If you do not pass the audition, you will be released.
        • While we are excited to experience many peoples’ unique talents and personalities, we are looking to build a strong team of only 4-6 people at this time. As with theatrical casting, cuts may not be directly reflective of ability and will be more about what fits with the current puzzle. Anyone cut will be kept on file for future opportunities.
  • Day 2: approximately 10am-3pm CT
    • Intensive workshopping and training on The Great Guac Off ™.
  • Day 3: approximately 10am-3pm CT
    • Introduction to additional events.
    • More in-depth operational overview, account onboarding, and technical set up.
  • Day 4: approximately 10am-5pm CT (at the Field Museum!)
    • Introduction to the Field Museum Scavenger Hunt.
    • Workshopping of the Field Museum Scavenger Hunt and Museum Hack’s internationally recognized storytelling method.
• Once passed through the audition and training process, you will be eligible for staffing.

How to Apply

Are you not able to check every box? If your experience looks a little different from what we've outlined, but you think you can bring value as a host to teambuilding.com, we encourage you to apply! To apply, please follow these steps:

• Submit an application online. Please avoid emails or phone calls.
• Include a ~1 min self-tape audition showcasing your hosting energy and personality.
  • Video Instructions:
    • Video should be approximately 60 seconds in length.
    • Possible topics to showcase your vibe:
      • Tell us about a fun fact that lives in your head rent-free.
      • Tell us why your hometown or favorite hobby is the absolute best.
      • Tell us about your favorite thing to nerd out about.
      • Tell us why your favorite food is better than all other foods.
      • Tell us about a random rabbit hole you found yourself down recently and what you learned that was awesome.
      • Choose your own adventure! Tell us about something else that you think is awesome!
    • Upload the video to YouTube (unlisted, not private) and share the link in the application. Raw smartphone videos are welcome!
    • Applicants who do not submit an original video will be rejected.
• Optional - Create a cover letter highlighting who you are, why you're interested in this job, your superpower, and your availability.
• Feel free to invite your friends to apply. If both of you are a good fit, you may have the opportunity to run events together!

At teambuilding.com, we believe that every candidate brings unique strengths to the table, and we encourage you to apply if you're enthusiastic about this role. Join us as we celebrate important occasions such as Black History Month, Women's History Month, Earth Day, Mental Health Awareness, Pride Month, and more.