Trouble with Recruitment

[Abitworried]

Hey guys,

I'm only an active member and just recently crossed so I'm still very new to the entire process of rushing from the other side (not being the rushee anymore). To put it bluntly, my fraternity is having a bad rush for the fall. Very few potentials have come out to three of our events. On Sunday we had about 4, Monday we had 10 (which is great improvement), and then today we had 4 show up again. We still have Wednesday and Thursday to go, but I find it doubtful that we would suddenly have huge turnouts on those days.

I am honestly surprised at the low turnouts and lack of interest in my fraternity. Throughout the beginning of the school year we had many potentials that expressed interest and seemed excited to rush us. However, many of those guys haven't even showed up to a single event. I can only come up with a few reasons. We simply partied with them during the pre-rush weeks. In my mind, we only offered them parties and nothing more, which is something they alone can get or with another fraternity. Another is that they never hung out with us outside of partying. Lastly, I believe what sealed our fate was that during the info night where each fraternity presented themselves, our speech and video was sub-par compared to the rest of the presentations. About 6-7 of our potentials went to the info night and maybe thought to themselves that our fraternity doesn't stack up as well with the rest of the others.

I'm not going to lie. Seeing the poor turnouts has lowered my enthusiasm for rush and I just have lost the energy that I had before it even began. And I believe the same goes for everyone else. Also, to add in our rush seems very disorganized. Actives are either arriving late or not showing up at all, the food is not even ready until the last hour of the event; it seems like everything is all over the place and it's just plain embarrassing that we showcase this to a rushee. It pisses me off so much because I know we are better than this.

Am I on the right track with my line of thinking? I want to run for Recruitment chair because I feel that I can turn things around. What are some things that my fraternity can do to ensure a very successful rush? I'm lost and need some help.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[LaneSig]

Originally Posted by Abitworried

Hey guys,

I'm only an active member and just recently crossed so I'm still very new to the entire process of rushing from the other side (not being the rushee anymore). To put it bluntly, my fraternity is having a bad rush for the fall. Very few potentials have come out to three of our events. On Sunday we had about 4, Monday we had 10 (which is great improvement), and then today we had 4 show up again. We still have Wednesday and Thursday to go, but I find it doubtful that we would suddenly have huge turnouts on those days.

I am honestly surprised at the low turnouts and lack of interest in my fraternity. Throughout the beginning of the school year we had many potentials that expressed interest and seemed excited to rush us. However, many of those guys haven't even showed up to a single event. I can only come up with a few reasons. We simply partied with them during the pre-rush weeks. In my mind, we only offered them parties and nothing more, which is something they alone can get or with another fraternity. Another is that they never hung out with us outside of partying. Lastly, I believe what sealed our fate was that during the info night where each fraternity presented themselves, our speech and video was sub-par compared to the rest of the presentations. About 6-7 of our potentials went to the info night and maybe thought to themselves that our fraternity doesn't stack up as well with the rest of the others.

I'm not going to lie. Seeing the poor turnouts has lowered my enthusiasm for rush and I just have lost the energy that I had before it even began. And I believe the same goes for everyone else. Also, to add in our rush seems very disorganized. Actives are either arriving late or not showing up at all, the food is not even ready until the last hour of the event; it seems like everything is all over the place and it's just plain embarrassing that we showcase this to a rushee. It pisses me off so much because I know we are better than this.

Am I on the right track with my line of thinking? I want to run for Recruitment chair because I feel that I can turn things around. What are some things that my fraternity can do to ensure a very successful rush? I'm lost and need some help.

Thanks for the help everyone!

I hate to say it, but it may be too late to turn this semester's rush around (since this is Wednesday and you only have today and tomorrow left).

All the points you make are valid. Rush needs to be organized, you need a good speaker for info night, the actives need to be on time and act like they want to be there, etc.

Remember, rush is 365/24/7. If you don't get a large class this semester, start inviting guys to other get togethers and to hang out during the rest of the semester. They need to see the brotherhood and what it's really like to hang out with your chapter. Find the other members who feel like you do and get them to work with you. Does your campus allow you to give out bids throughout the semester? Find out.

It can get discouraging, but don't give up. It's guys like you who can turn a chapter around.

We've mentioned Phiredup.com on here. Go to their website. They have some great ideas.