SAM’S (THE Overlooked POTENTIAL NEW MEMBER) SORORITY RECRUITMENT EXPERIENCE
Sam decides she wants to join a sorority. She looks her college’s Panhellenic website and only finds factual information.
Since the Panhellenic website did not answer her questions, she turns to TikTok, YouTube and Google for advice.
Sam feels behind, like she is missing important information, and like she has a disadvantage.
When she gets her Round 2 schedule, she is disappointed because she was only invited back to 50% of the sororities.
Why does this situation happen to most potential new members?
Many potential new members do two things when prepping for sorority recruitment.
Focus on the material aspects of sorority recruitment — what to wear, makeup, hair, etc.
Ask for advice
When you use advice, it is like asking a friend who is not in your math class, “How do I get an A+ on my test?”
Most likely, your friend says, “You need to study.” This answer leaves you FRUSTRATED. What do you need to study? Do you need to study section 1 or section 2? Do you need to study the formulas?
If you asked your teacher, “How do I get an A+ on the test?”, she would say,
Go to class
Ask questions
Go over the practice problems
Fill out the study guide (it will be VERY similar to the test)
To get an A+ on your test, you needed to talk to the RIGHT person. You needed to know how to get the A+. You needed the right information and a step-by-step plan.
To get a bid to a sorority you love, you have to communicate that you are the right fit for the sorority. A step-by-step plan tells you how and when to communicate.
why advice does not help you get a bid during sorority recruitment?
It comes from first-year members (they do not understand the behind the scenes of recruitment)
It comes from women who go to different colleges (sorority recruitment is slightly different at each college)
It comes from women who went through sorority recruitment 20+ years ago (sorority recruitment has changed)
Here are the facts
Fact #1. Many members do not know why they received bids.
Was it her outfit? No
Was it the color of her social resume? No
Was it her hair and, or makeup? No
Fact #2. Many members do not understand the behind-the-scenes of sorority recruitment.
Sorority recruitment is not about what you are wearing or the color of your social resume. Sorority recruitment is about communicating that you are a good fit for the sorority.
Fact #3. Sorority recruitment is slightly different at each college.
What is the same is at each college is:
You want to prepare correctly for your college (get members and the recruitment teams to know your name).
You want to break the Average Conversation Cycle.
You want to stand out with your conversations.
You want to understand what the members are looking for in a new member and structure your conversation around those topics.
Fact #4. Sorority recruitment has changed.
Sorority recruitment is a values-based recruitment process. This policy changed in 1989 and again in 2019. Sororities use RFM (Release Figure Methodology) to invite potential new members back to each round. RFM started in 2003. The policy has continued to change throughout the years.
https://www.npcwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2037/2017/11/NPC-Manual-of-Information.pdf
