Recruitment Help!!!!

LadyLion4Life · #1 01-04-2010, 12:31 AM

Hi guys! So I was just elected recruitment chair of my chapter of and I am at a lost on a couple of things. First, we are a small chapter on my campus and we have been struggling to get girls the past couple of years. We have only been on this campus for 10 years so we are pretty new. People see us and tend to think there is something wrong with us because we are so small. Our girls are all sweet, talkative, and really down to earth. Has anyone been a small chapter and have any ideas as to how to get a lot of girls to join?

For formal recruitment we always do really great and have a lot of girls come back to each night but then Bid Day comes and we only get a few girls. As recruitment chair I have to come up with a skit and theme for Formal recruitment and I am at a complete loss. We did a Project Runway skit last year and the year before but my adviser won't let us do it again. I would like to do a tv show based one again but I don't know which would work. Does anyone have an idea of a skit that might work (once again we are a small chapter)?

Thanks for all your help guys!!!!!

FSUZeta · #2 01-04-2010, 09:17 AM

i know that you asked for advice for a skit, but if your return rates are good but on bid day only a few of the girls you bid are accepting your bids, you might want to focus on the reason that is happening. during formal recruitment are the pnms allowed to drop chapters even if they would not have a full schedule and not go back to them, or are they forced to attend all parties that they are invited to? this might explain why you have lots of girls attend your parties, but not accept your bids.

do you do cob? smaller chapters often can make up the difference in the size of their new member class by hitting the ground running a few days after formal recruitment. there are numerous threads on gc with wonderful cob ideas.

Musicwalksuhome · #3 01-04-2010, 10:28 AM

Fall or spring recruitment? If it's spring the most important thing you can do is pre-recruit. You need to have girls wanting to join your sorority before recruitment even begins.

33girl · #4 01-04-2010, 10:57 AM

^^^YES. This doesn't mean just going after girls for them to be numbers, but making friends with them and finding out if they'd be a good fit with your chapter.

Ask the best resource you have - your most recent pledge class. Tell them no matter what they say, don't worry, you won't be mad - it's all done to improve. Ask what they heard the other girls saying during rush, and ask what they thought of the pref party. If they tell you they joined in spite of pref, then change it ASAP.

COB and take a new member class in the "off" semester, whether that is spring or fall. Maybe no other groups do it, but the fact of the matter is, you aren't going to make up the difference totally in formal rush.

Rush is 24/7/365. You have to be at the same level as all the other groups going into formal rush, not hope that a miracle will occur and everyone will put you down first.

LadyLion4Life · #5 01-04-2010, 11:06 AM

We do Formal Recruitment in the Fall and then COBs after that. We do COBs every month in the Spring with a couple more in the beginning. I am just afraid we won't get many girls this Spring. We had COBs all Fall and had hardly any girls come out to them and I think this is why I am afraid for Spring.

AOII Angel · #6 01-04-2010, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyLion4Life

We do Formal Recruitment in the Fall and then COBs after that. We do COBs every month in the Spring with a couple more in the beginning. I am just afraid we won't get many girls this Spring. We had COBs all Fall and had hardly any girls come out to them and I think this is why I am afraid for Spring.

Here comes the commercial! Get "I Heart Recruitment". Maybe throwing a COB party isn't enough for your chapter. Going out and finding members means more than just advertising that you have spots open. The people at your campus who know that they want to join a sorority also know that there are spots open in your group and know that they don't want to join. That means that your sisters need to focus on finding the people who might not know that sorority membership is for them. Recruitment sometimes involves a little more footwork than people expect, but the results can be dramatic and very rewarding!

33girl · #7 01-04-2010, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyLion4Life

We do Formal Recruitment in the Fall and then COBs after that. We do COBs every month in the Spring with a couple more in the beginning. I am just afraid we won't get many girls this Spring. We had COBs all Fall and had hardly any girls come out to them and I think this is why I am afraid for Spring.

Do you actually have a spring pledge class, or do you just bid and hold over the girls you get until they can pledge with the next fall's class? Or do you (eek) wait till the next fall to bid them?

For the COB events, do you have parties that are pretty much exactly like your formal rush parties, or do you have non-events - like inviting girls over to watch Grey's Anatomy, inviting them to come to a campus theater production, having lunch with them? You should be doing the latter, not the former. If you are essentially "formal rushing" all year it's going to drain you and the PNMs will wonder why on earth they should join a bunch of girls who look stressed out all the time.

Don't open your COB parties to completely random women via chalking, flyering, facebook/myspace. Everyone at these parties should be someone a sister personally knows and has personally invited. This may be the complete opposite of what you've been told - but the truth is - women join because of the one to one connections they make. If a sister has personally invited them, you've already got one of those connections taken care of. You need to get more "bang for your buck" where COBing is concerned.

LadyLion4Life · #8 01-04-2010, 04:30 PM

We do take a pledge class in the Spring and for the most part we have been our COBs exactly like formal recruitment nights; just picking a theme and getting a room in our student union building. I am trying to get away from that because obviously it hasn't been working for us so far

ASTalumna06 · #9 01-04-2010, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyLion4Life

We do take a pledge class in the Spring and for the most part we have been our COBs exactly like formal recruitment nights; just picking a theme and getting a room in our student union building. I am trying to get away from that because obviously it hasn't been working for us so far

In addition to what all of these knowledgeable ladies have said, I would also suggest that your sisters GET INVOLVED ON CAMPUS. Recruiting through other activities/organizations/sports teams can be very easy, as you've already made connections with other members, and you share similar interests. This cuts out on the one part of recruitment that can sometimes prove to be the most difficult... meeting new people.

Since I joined my GLO (almost 6 years ago), my chapter has always had a few active sisters who were involved with Lion Ambassadors (http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/lionambassadors/). The sisters continue to consistently recruit at least a few people each year through this organization alone.

thetygerlily · #10 01-04-2010, 07:39 PM

Being active on campus is key. And this doesn't necessarily mean involved in every club you can find- but visible. If sisters are wearing letters frequently- to class, to the cafeteria, to sporting events, to the gym- others will take notice. At one point we were half the size of the other chapters (15 of us, 30 of the rest) but we had several PNMs tell us they thought we were the biggest because they always saw us around campus. It may seem like a small thing, but it really does make a difference. It also opens the door when you're making small talk before class- someone may say "oh, I didn't know you are an XYZ". And if they don't? Oh well, they still see you and the more of those letters that they see, the more present XYZ is on campus. If you don't already, institute a letters day for your chapter- once (or more) per week where sisters wear letter shirts, sweatshirts, anything XYZ. If you have a point system, reward sisters for wearing letters. Oh- if sisters live throughout the dorms, you can also help accomplish this by decorating sisters' doors. Be creative. Our chapter put newsletters in the women's bathroom stalls (dorms and academic buildings) with trivia, campus events, and comics. Sure it sounds kind of silly, but we got a lot of positive feedback from that and it carried over into the next year, and the next. You don't have to be saying "Go XYZ!", more that "XYZ is here".

Also, as someone who saw a chapter go from 5 to 15 to 30 over the course of 4 years, focus on quality- not quantity. If you get a large pledge class but they don't fit in or they bring potential standards/judicial board issues? They probably will do more damage than by having less members.

Especially for COB/spring recruitment, consider that one girl may bring her friends. One year we got a group of 4 close-knit friends- we knew they'd more than likely all go together, so we were thrilled when they chose us (and we chose them).

And ditto to what others have said about personal invitations. I would be very unlikely to go to an event I saw on a flier... but if someone asked me personally? I would be much more likely to go.

FSUZeta · #11 01-04-2010, 07:50 PM

in addition to personal invitations, have a sister meet the pnm at her dorm room/apartment and bring her to the event and take her home after. it often is difficult for someone to attend a party by themselves, and they will chicken out and not come.

33girl · #12 01-04-2010, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyLion4Life

We do take a pledge class in the Spring and for the most part we have been our COBs exactly like formal recruitment nights; just picking a theme and getting a room in our student union building. I am trying to get away from that because obviously it hasn't been working for us so far

Nope. Bag this.

Try to take the parties out of the student union - have them at the house or at a sister's house or apartment if you don't have a house. There aren't regulations like there are in formal rush (except for no men/no alcohol) so you can do whatever you want. Girls right away feel more positive toward you if you're welcoming them into your home.

You can have a slight theme - like St Patrick's or Valentine's day - but just as a conversation starter. Skip the skits and elaborate decorations and go easy on the games, maybe just something as an icebreaker. I was going to say make it so the rushees don't know they're being rushed, but that's a little over the top - make it so they don't FEEL they are being rushed, more like they're just at a friendly evening.

ASUADPi · #13 01-04-2010, 11:23 PM

LadyLion4Life I pm'd you.

LadyLion4Life · #14 01-04-2010, 11:58 PM

Thanks for all your advice guys! I am going to try and take a lot of it to my chapter, but they are a stubborn group, so we will see how it goes! If anyone else has any other suggestions or tips that would be great as well!

KSUViolet06 · #15 01-05-2010, 12:20 AM

A good read:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ghlight=chosen

Recruitment story from the viewpoint of a smaller chapter: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=102416