Read I Heart Recruitment and you'll cringe every time someone says "quality over quantity" too.

Obviously, no chapter should have ovaries as the sole requirement for membership, but the point is that increasing the size of the pool of PNMs will no doubt increase the quality of new members. Quantity drives quality, so you can have both.

ETA: Sorry to sound obnoxious for always plugging this book, I swear I don't work for Phired Up. I truly think every sorority woman should read it.

Zetagirl, i hear ya! I totally agree that chapters should not take people just to reach total - that's a total disservice to the chapter, the national org and those low quality members that will eventually drop or be dropped. And it really bugs me when sorority reps tell chapters just to get numbers or else. I, in my idealistic mind, believe that they want their chapters with low numbers to get quality women, but they do not communicate it effectively and don't approach it the best way, which to me is something like: "the chapter is in serious trouble because numbers are low. Sustainability is the big concern. Given current chapter operations/practices, will this chapter be around in 5 or 10 years? Likely, it won't if major changes are not made. Let's talk about core areas that need improvement, like recruitment, new member education and member retention."

I just hate it when chapters I work with (either on my campus or those i advise in my volunteer sorority leader role) use that as an excuse to stay small and not work hard to get quality members.

I love you, marry me!!

I think that even if you are a person who likes being in a smaller group (I am), you still shouldn't join the smallest group on campus and hope they stay small - if you are not comfortable with being in a sorority that is whatever that campus's total size is, then sorority life is probably not for you. Don't join the sorority of 50 whenever everyone else is at 150 - because the way the system is running, you still will be in the mode (for lack of a better word) of sororities that run w/ 150 people. Does that make sense??

Also, I haven't read I <3 Recruitment, but I am hoping that it does explain that the 5 step model of recruitment takes more than 5 minutes. Sometimes it takes 5 weeks or even 5 months. I think too many people (including national volunteers) think you can crush all 5 steps into 2 open bid parties, and it isn't true...that's just regular old formal rush, except you're putting steps to it.

SassyPantsAGD, I was just appointed Recruitment Advisor for Gamma Tau! I'm super dorky and I love, love, love recruitment! I'd be more than happy to create new ideas with ya!

lol...sorry, i'm already married!:D I haven't read the book, but have heard about it and I agree with on the 5 steps. I did a workshop about just that a few months ago! It's amazing to see the lights suddenly click on when women realize how they can and should recruit year round and what it might look like!

I just finished reading I <3 Recruitment...that book is AMAZING!

I'm really excited now about this fall and working with some of those ideas with my chapter...

even more excited to be there long term to see if we can create new recruitment habits for the long term...

if you haven't read this book yet...you should definitely get your hands on it... :D:D

I agree - I also just finished reading I <3 Recruitment about a week or two ago and think it is absolutely fabulous. I'm encouraging the chapter I work with to adopt this way of thinking/recruiting.

Bump!

What's going on this fall? Have you guys had any get-to-know you or COB events?

I believe my sister (who is VP-Member Development at the chapter) told me that they have 3 girls new girls right now, but you'll have to check with SassyPants for confirmation.

I think the book does a good job of addressing the need to take your time with continuous recruitment. Locking in a PNM after two meetings only works for the "joiners." Every other PNM that is worth having may need more time to see the benefits of membership. Unfortunately, Panhellenic has always targeted the joiners, who are not always the best members in the long run.