NY Times article on Sororities
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/13/fa...ORO.html?8hpib

I don't know how many of you are registered with nytimes.com, but it's the only way to read it. Discuss. :)

Very interesting article.
Thanks for pointing it out.

It was especially interesting to read this article since I have been job hunting. I assumed it MIGHT help me, but towards the end of my job search I decided to remove it. I began to think that maybe it was hurting me. I feared some might think I placed it there in order to get special recognition. Furthermore, I wondered if any of my prospective employers were anti-greek, furthering my chance of not landing the job.

You just never know. I think it helps if you know that you are being interviewed by a fellow greek, but whoever knows that for sure? The resume I faxed to the employer who just offered me a job did not have my sorority affiliation listed on it.

The article pointed out that networking through one's GLO is "elitist". I understand that point of view. And although I would love to associate myself with the finer things in life, I do not like the idea of being an "elitist" to the point that my affiliation with an organization lands me the job over someone who might be a more qualified candidate.

Thanks for posting the article!!!

That part of Legally Blonde 2 was definately my favorite!!!!

I definately think the issue is a double-edged sword.

Like the article mentioned it can definately help you out, but at the same time it might hurt you.

I don't have Alpha Delta Pi or Delta Sigma Pi (or other extra curricular activities) on my resume because there really isn't room for it if I want to keep my resume to one page. Depending on the job I apply for, I will definatley find a way to put it in. For example, if I were the webmaster for my chapter and I was applying for a job in the web design field I would definately put it in there. Or if I had a leadership position like for example a committee chair and had to work with a group of sisters to get the job done, I would find a way to put it in there if the job I was applying for required lots of work with others.

Thanks sooo much for posting the article!!!
I usually read the NYTimes, but my parents are on vacation , so no one has been buying it.
This came at the perfect time- we just got a new college president, and we're trying to justify putting our banners up in a very public place in school. But he wanted justification. I printed out the article and am sending it it- what better justification than the NY Times.

I've often wondered about this. I'm going into a career where (it seems) women look down on sorority membership, and I've often wondered whether I should list my affiliation on my C.V. However, I know that if I was ever in a position to hire someone, I'd love to know their greek affiliation, because at the very least, being greek teaches you how to work with a diversity of personality types, a valuable workplace skill.

Thanks for posting this!

HIJACK ALERT!!!!!

You are such a sweetheart, and that is a really nice attitude BUT! (there's always a "but", right? lol) This job market is probably at least as tough as the one I faced when I was about to graduate, so I am speaking from experience when I tell you that jobhunting time is not the time to be modest, or to worry that you'd be getting the job for the "wrong reason".

Believe me, the people you're competing against have no qualms about exploiting any and all advantages they may have so if you're not prepared to do the same, you may end up being the "more qualified candidate" who loses out on the position.

Use whatever connections you have to get the job (Networking is not a dirty word! lol), then wow the pants off of them once you're there :)

Just somthing that I have found when applying for jobs..


When I have put my sorority affliation on my resume, I write Pi Beta Phi Fraternity..

if they arent already greek most wont think of it as a sorority bc of the way its written... a lot of times they see it as a honor thing or something since I am a girl (they usually associate fraternity with guys) .. if they ask about it, I of course talk about all the good things I have gotten out of it and give them more details then..

What the hey, I'm gonna post the article! :D


How to Move Up? The Sorority Track
By RUTH LA FERLA


In "Legally Blonde 2," now in theaters, Reese Witherspoon stars as the relentlessly perky Elle Woods, campaigning in Washington for animal rights. After days of fruitless lobbying, Elle seeks respite at a fancy hair salon, where the woman in the chair next to hers is the very congresswoman whose support she needs to get a hearing for her bill.

When her candied banter fails to snare the old dragon's attention, a detail catches her eye. On the woman's ring finger is the gold and purple emblem of Delta Nu, Elle's beloved sorority. Elle promptly invokes the sisterhood's incantation: "When was the last time you wore the yellow tea roses?" she asks sweetly, and her words turn the steely legislator soft as custard. In an instant, the two are doing a ritual hand-clap, hip-bumping and plotting Elle's campaign.

It is a moment sure to resonate with thousands of young American women eagerly exploiting their own old-school sorority ties to jump-start their careers. A phenomenon all but unknown a generation ago, professional networking through college sororities has gained momentum in recent years, fueled by a rise in the number of women in management and professional positions who have influence over hiring — 21.4 million in 2002, compared with 14.7 million a decade ago, according to the Labor Department. The trend has been given further impetus by a tight job market that has many women employing every means to gain an edge.

"The guys have had this down for years," said Karen Chevalier, vice president for program development for Pi Beta Phi, a sorority founded in the Midwest more than a hundred years ago. "But it is only now that women are learning to use those connections."

They are indeed. Ask Feona Sharhran Huff. Ms. Huff, a member of Delta Sigma Theta, a prestigious 90-year-old sorority for black women, moved to Manhattan in the late 1990's, two weeks after graduating from Norfolk State University in Virginia. Within days she was introduced to a sorority sister, who arranged an interview for her at Essence magazine.

"The networking was unbelievable," Ms. Huff recalled.

Daphne Johnson, another Delta Sigma Theta, who was then the magazine's production editor, informed her of two available internships. Ms. Huff secured one. "Being a member of the same sorority definitely put me in a great position to be at a magazine I always dreamed of working on," she said.

Two months ago, Ms. Huff, who is an assistant editor at College Bound, an advice magazine for high school students and who publishes SingleMomz Magazine, offered a similar boost to another sorority sister, Angela Bledsoe, a financial consultant in New York City. When Ms. Bledsoe, a Delta Sigma Theta who graduated from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee in 1997, sent Ms. Huff an e-mail message asking for a writing position at SingleMomz, she was promptly signed as a contributor.

"She had the qualifications," Ms. Huff explained. "But my satisfaction was even greater because she was one of my own."

A generation ago, such relationships were rare. "A lot of people who got out of college in the 70's, the way I did, were so busy making their way they might not have had time to give new alumnae a hand," said Linda Urben Peterson, a retired advertising executive who was a president of New York Women in Advertising. An alumna of Pi Beta Phi, Ms. Peterson, who lives in Santa Fe, N.M., advises younger alumnae on résumé-writing and interview preparation.

The opportunity to trade on school ties may well have contributed to a recent surge in pledges at sororities. "Our membership is booming," said Sally Grant, chairwoman of the National Panhellenic Conference that represents 26 sororities nationwide. It reported a gain of about 80,000 members in 2001, a 9-percent increase from 1999.

"We certainly have noticed a greater reliance by women on these kinds of informal networks," said Sheila Wellington, the president of Catalyst, a nonprofit organization in New York that advances women in business. "That sort of relationship-building can be critical to career advancement."

The power of sisterhood was slow to dawn on Emily Blumenthal, a handbag designer in New York. In her senior year at the University of Michigan in 1995, Ms. Blumenthal became disenchanted with Sigma Delta Tau, the popular Jewish sorority she had joined. She considered quitting — until she learned that the organization had arranged for her to interview for an internship at Young & Rubicam, the advertising agency, in New York.

Her interviewer in the human resources department took a cursory glance at her résumé. "But when she saw I was an S.D.T., her eyes welled up and there was a heavy pause," Ms. Blumenthal recalled. "It turned out she had started the S.D.T. chapter at her own school."

Ms. Blumenthal's sorority sister introduced her to several senior executives, and even though Ms. Blumenthal was not hired, she credits her sorority sister with giving her a much-needed push. "Without that connection in my job search I wouldn't have had a talking point," she said. She eventually landed a job at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide in New York.

Some prospective employers look askance at sorority networking. Since the late 1960's, sororities have been intermittently viewed with skepticism, if not disdain, their members derided as airheads with no goal more absorbing than matching their pedicure to the color of their sandals. Moreover, some critics view such old-girl networks in the workplace as no better than old-boy networks — an impediment to hiring and promotion based on merit.

Barbara Rabinovitz, a partner at RabinTate, an executive search firm in West Orange, N.J., advocates some sorority networking, but said that hiring on the basis of such affiliations is "elitist without question." She said listing one's membership on a résumé could backfire if an employer perceived the applicant as a lightweight — "it's kind of like saying that you were a debutante."

And some alumnae are self-conscious about their pedigrees. In her job search, Jessica Rausch, a New Yorker who hopes to work in fashion, has been discouraged from advertising her membership in Delta Delta Delta, a sorority with old roots in the South. "I've actually had friends in the fashion industry tell me, `You may want to consider removing the Tri-Delt from your résumé," Ms. Rausch said. "Sorority girls are thought of as conformists, and that's not how you want to come across when you're looking for a job in fashion."

But other employers make a point of hiring Greeks, even those outside their own sororities. They stress the leadership and social skills that sororities are thought to promote. Kate Allen, an executive at Harrison & Shriftman, a public relations and events planning company based in New York, gives special consideration to sorority women from the University of Texas in Austin, where Ms. Allen was an Alpha Delta Phi. "We usually go after the social directors," said Ms. Allen, a former social director herself. "They have experience in events planning that we consider invaluable."

Her intern, Kourtney Kachler, 21, listed her fund-raising and recruitment experience as a Kappa Alpha Theta at the University of Texas on her résumé. "I considered they were social activities that maybe would help me if someone where I applied for a job was also in a sorority," she said.

Credentials like those of Ms. Kachler can help dispel the perception that sorority members are party girls, light on ambition and good sense. Ms. Allen, for one, maintains that women active in sororities tend to be active in other campus organizations. "It's a leadership thing," she said.

Some sororities are redoubling efforts to stress these more serious facets of membership. Last year, Pi Beta Phi commissioned a survey of its members. In the study, by Prince Market Research with Dye, Van Mol & Lawrence, a marketing firm, 83 percent of respondents cited opportunities for networking as a primary reason for joining and remaining active in their sorority.

"You need to sell this networking component" to prospective members, said Rachel Cohen, a regional president of Pi Beta Phi in New York. Ms. Cohen, who works in marketing and public relations for Straightline, a branding company, was herself sponsored earlier in her career. Ms. Peterson, the former advertising executive, helped Ms. Cohen land an entry-level advertising job in a package-design company her husband owned at the time.

Other groups stress future networking opportunities during recruitment, as rush is sometimes known. "We tell rushees that being in our sorority will look good on their résumé," said Marina Albright, a Kappa Kappa Gamma at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. "With the job market being so awful, they know that can be especially important," she said.

In fields traditionally dominated by men, such associations can be critical. As an investment banker with J. P. Morgan Chase, Ms. Bledsoe, the financial consultant, met colleagues who were sorority sisters from Delta Sigma Theta, among them several Chase vice presidents.

"We served as a support group for one another," she recalled. The more senior officials would "tell us how to negotiate larger bonuses for ourselves, whom to cultivate in the company hierarchy, and how to cover ourselves," Ms. Bledsoe said. "They were sharing many of the challenges we faced that they had already conquered, so we knew we weren't alone."

Fresh out of school four years ago, Stacey Gish, who manages information technology consultants for J. P. Morgan Chase, applied for a job at MetLife, the insurance company, in New York. As Ms. Gish told it, Rickey Palkovitz, an executive with the company, studied her résumé, then met her eye. " `So,' she said to me, `You're from Long Island; I'm from Long Island,' " Ms. Gish recalled. " `You went to school in the Midwest; I went to school in the Midwest. You were an A.E. Phi. I was an A.E. Phi.' When we finished the interview she told me, `I'd like you to come and work for me.' "

Ms. Palkovitz, who has remained friends with Ms. Gish, described what had moved her in the first place. "The fact that we came from similar backgrounds was almost a pre-screening mechanism," she said. "It showed we had an intellectually and culturally similar view of the world."

"It was definitely an indicator that we would be on the same page," she said.

Putting your sorority on your resume is great for that rare occurence that you happen to interview with someone who is in the same sorority as you. But, unfortunately, that is almost a one in a million chance. I've found that the other 999,999 times many people look at your participation in a sorority with a lot of skepticism and disdain. Many people still view sororities as an elitist organization full of airheads that have daddy's with money. We all know different but I'd be lying if I said the rest of America thinks the greek organizations are wonderful and do great things for the universities. It's just an old perception that won't die. There's even a few people who were part of greek organizations and view us as party-animals and nothing more. I went on an interview where the guy said to me, "I was an XYZ at FSU. Wow...those were the days. Joining that fraternity caused me to complete my degree in 7 years instead of 4 because I kept failing because of all the fraternity parties."
My uncle worked at a large, Fortune 500 company as the VP of Human Resources. Although he wasn't anti-greek, he still has the blind perceptions of us. He admitted to having negative perceptions of the potential candidates when he saw a sorority or fraternity on their resume. I promptly removed my affiliation off my resume after that. No matter how intelligent you come across in an interview, a person who is anti-greek will view you differently. On my resume, I focus on my other achievements rather than my sorority. Ever since I took my affiliation off my resume, I have noticed that I have gotten 5x's more calls for interviews. I'd like to think that it's just a coincidence but, after hearing stories of anti-greek sentiments in the work place, I can't help but think it's not.

I totally agree with Killarney-highjack or not!

Wonderful article and yes, men have used he fraternal network
as much as they have used their college's name. LSU-A&M-TX all really strong advocates of their graduates as I'm sure all those powerhouses across the country are.

Wouldn't it be great if the recruitment process looked to the future of their network? Maybe we could see MORE diversity in the sororities if we took a closer look at the future potential of an individual and not place as much emphasis on...High School!

edited 'cause I JUST read the previous post by ZTAngel.

Of course you mke an excellent point, but the way it CAN work is you KNOW who has the jobs to offer and THEY know who has other jobs to offer. There is an art to USING the network. You have to know how it works in order to benefit from it. If nothing else, it helps you get that foot in the door and some advice along the way.

I'm thinking I should interview with MetLife now, since one of their hiring managers is an AEPhi ;)

I've kept my sorority affiliation off my resume, although I've left Order of Omega on. It is for exactly the reason mentioned in the article, that sorority members are often dismissed as airheads. It also looks a bit like you can't let go of your college days - a lot of people, including a lot of greeks, subscribe to the idea that GLO membershp is just for college. Plus, I've been an alum for several years now, and I haven't done a lot on the alum level (she guiltily confesses) - if I were a national officer or chapter advisor, I'd probably list it.

Not to mention that your interviewer might have negative feelings about your particular GLO. She might have rushed your GLO years ago, was cut, and is still bitter about it... or he might have an ex-wife who was in your sorority... not a very mature attitude, but I'm sure it happens.

A friend of mine who is a SigEp mentioned the same thing. He doesn't put his affiliation on his resume and doesn't take his leather padfolio with his greek letters on it, just in case.

Just in case, say, the interviewer had a bad experience with a different chapter of his fraternity, or say the interviewer was a member of a "rival" fraternity.

(I couldn't really think of a word to use other than "rival" but I didn't want to imply that GLO's are gangs or anything! Just sometimes two different fraternities on the same campus might not be best friends or something :) )

Well being in ASA, with the strong educational background that we have, the "networking" aspect has always somewhat escaped me. Because we started as a social-educational sorority, and are at many schools that used to be "teachers colleges," a disproportionate number of our members are in education - a field I'm not affiliated with at all. I think that the networking aspect is great, but on the other side of the coin, I would hate to see someone joining ONLY for that reason. I mean, my sorority hasn't done jack squat for me in terms of my career, but I still would make the same choice. I know it's helped some of our sisters within our chapter, but truthfully I've never heard of it putting someone "over the top" in terms of getting a job.

I think I may have mentioned this before, but I can't find it so I will repeat it.

I have two resumes. Two completely different ones for two regions of the country. One, has my sorority affiliation and all of its related offices on it. It also has my high school listed before my University. Why? That's my resume for home. When I used my other resume (listing my college first, without sororities and with my environmental and women's issues-related activities), potential employers had never heard of my college. "Brown? Is that a black college or something?" :rolleyes: I knew that if I listed my high school first and my sorority, it was the only way to have credibility in my hometown. It opened doors for me, but I think mine is an extreme case.

So, I guess it's an issue of knowing your audience.

I don't have my sorority on my resume... but I wouldn't be opposed to wearing some inconspicous Phi Sig jewelery to an interview that would only be recognized if you knew what you were looking at... :D

Well there is networking and the vague cooncidence that someone with Greek sympathies are going to read your blindly sent in Resume and choose to give you a call.

People seem to be focusing on the resume. You don't need to put your affiliation down if you are being sent to talk to someone from your Org. by your Org. for a job.

That is superior networking. To use the commonality of your affiliation to have people make phone calls or open doors for you.

There are actually paid job search consultants that just teach people how to do that.

Its no different than your friends or their friends doing something for you. Only in the case of sorority, you have an enormous amount of instant friends that might be willing to help you.

IF YOU ASK.

Which is wron and which is right?

As YAM said, Fraternitys have done this for years.

But the rub of the question is in this Politicaly Correct time, who knows?

I for one am proud to list mu Fraternity affiliation. I got a job once and lost a job once. Well sactually the asswhole dated and marred my ex girl friend! So who knows!

The thing is, I for one would hire a Greek Member if I was in the real world of semi corprate world. Why, because I for one know what it takes to do what is needed while being a member of a Greek Org. Making Grades, participating in activities, being active in school activities, being an Officer and again making grades!

What being a Greek To me is that if you Graduate and have done ALL of This, then you must be a Great Person who can juggle and wear a lot of hats.

Hell, being a Fraternity Man, I damn sure did not look down my nose at any Soroity who did the same thing we did but did it looking better!!!!:cool:

Am I ashamed of my affiliation, NO! If they feel that being a Greek is not good enuff for them, Then Screw them!

I am sure that they are not good enuff for me!:p

when graduating from college, i did have phi mu on my resume. i highlighted my experiences as secretary and president to show my ability to work with others, be organized, be a leader, etc. i think it depends on how you use it. if it just says, member xyz, then that would be looked on less highly (regardless of affiliation).

i did not include phi mu on my resume when i was job hunting last year. first of all, it was already two pages, so i really didn't have the space. secondly, i had not been involved "enough" to highlight it on my resume. lol...i couldn't justify putting shows up to ladies' night out events on the resume!! lol. if i had to write a resume now, and if i had space, i would put phi mu bc i am a chapter advisor.

Well I have DG on my resume but now I don't know if I should take it off. I think I am in a special situtation over here but I don't know what to do now...

I have DZ on my resume-mainly b/c it was my first job out of college. Also, in my prior job, I had a some say in who got hired for my team, and I always pushed to interview people who had Greek affiliations on their resume. It was a foot in the door as far as I was concerned, but didn't guarantee that I would hire them...although, they were usually finalists, based on their interview skills & experience...just a comment.

Now that I'm back in the job market again, I was told by one recruiter to remove all reference to my sorority from my resume, but I refused. If someone doesn't want to hire me because of my affiliation with an organization, then I don't want to work for them. I know that's an over-simplification, and I may be limiting my career opportunities, but so be it. My sorority experience helped shape the person that I am and gave me many of the leadership & organizational skills that I have to offer. On the other hand-I'm over 10 years out of college, and have a pretty detailed resume given my prior professional experience, so I can probably get away with it more. Plus, I'm looking for work in the legal world, and if that's not a fraternity in itself, I don't know what is....

It's funny to find this thread just as I'm starting to update my resume. I've been out of the paid work-force for over 7 years and am a 'retired' banker. I can explain a couple of those years during a job hunt because I was back in college. The other 5 years are best described as "Professional Mom" years! So, to avoid a big resume gap, AOII stays on my resume. Luckily for me, my current AOII volunteer position is serving as the local House Corporation Board President. Yes, it's a volunteer position and not a salaried job. What I've learned about landlord/tenant relationships, interviewing and hiring employees, and running a property (for starters!) as President are all resume-worthy experiences.

James has it right-everyone seems to be focusing on te resume.

This is how it works-A letter is written or a phone call made.
The person receiving the request WANTS to help because he/she is a brother or sister and KNOWS that he can trust YOU. From that point another phone call or letter is written and because the third party trusts THEM a connection is made. This type of referal
goes on ALL THE TIME. It happened last night. From ONE contact, I was put in touch with a person who's MOTHER was a DG (my daughter) and who's GRANDKIDS were AXO (me).
Now, don't you think this person might put in a good word for someone with these connections?Well, they did. This was the second line of contact. Two more followed. In the end, it all boils down to the individual, but it does place a little star by the name so the person or people you want to meet can take a closer look.

I honestly don't have any real opinion about mentioning it on a resume. Good points on each side of the issue. I DO believe the network is a fantastic opportunity to be put in contact with the right people, the ones who can really help.

I think you've just got to know your audience and go from there.

I mention on my resume that I was a chapter president, and on a few applications that I was a alumni relations chair (if the job had a PR slant to it). The fact that I am a Kappa Sig isn't played up large, the fact that I held important positions is.

If you get the job through Greek connections; more power to you, as James and others said, it's connections that make the world go round, and it's great to have good people like that who are willing to help you out.

Everyone has made excellent points.
I really have no objection to networking.
In fact, I would have loved to had the
oppurtunity to be helped along by a
fellow Sigma Kappa.

However, I'm still indifferent about placing
it on my resume when I'm faxing or mailing
it to a potential employer (from the newspaper
and what not).

AGD has always been listed on my resume. Fresh out of school it was listed under my "Leadership" section--- and while my affiliation was not listed, it was named and the offices and the assocaited rolls were played up.

Now that I have been out of school 7 years it is still listed. This time however, it is listed in the "Personal / Volunteer" section. I am the finance advisor, my duties are outlined there. I also list my other volunteer activities.

When I applied for my current job, AGD was listed. No one made reference to my affiliation--nothing was ever said. I interviewed with the plant manager, hr manager and the controller. I know the job was between me and one other guy. I report directly to the controller. After working there about 2 years she mentioned she was an AGD. Did my affiliation have anything to do with me getting the job? I am not sure-- I have never asked and my boss has never said. Maybe somewhere it was an influencing factor.

-wendi

Alpha Gamma Delta is listed on my resume in a sneaky way--under awards, I mentioned that I recieved a AGD Foundation Award for highest GPA in my chapter.

Never underestimate what your membership can possibly do for you. During one interview, I was asked something to the effect of, "Can you tell us about a time when you exhibited leadership on a project? What were the results?"

I answered that I was a College Panhellenic Rush Chair. It raised the interviewers' eyebrows, but I told them, "When you are trying to ensure that 200 independent women are at 4 different parties, at 4 different spots on campus, at 4 different times, and you repeat that process over the span of one week, you learn to provide leadership very quickly. Anything can--and will--happen. I'm very proud that recruitment ran smoothly and everyone found an organization for themselves at the end of the week."

There were over 900 other people interviewing for four positions that year. I got one of the positions. Another young woman who landed a position is a Delta Zeta. Coincidence? Maybe. I think that if you "spin" it correctly, it can be very positive.

I think the article was well written and balance. Putting a fraternity or sorority on a resume is a good idea in my opinion. You never know who's watching.

I also think a good rule is if you put your GLO affiliation on your resume, only do so for no more than 1-2 years post graduation.

I think after that, it looks silly.

Unless you're very active on a national level of course - especially with things like fundraising or rush workshops (aka motivational speaking).

Greeklawgirl recommends exactly what I would recommend to those who are reluctant to list their affiliation in a more direct way -- e.g. under leadership, organization, time management, cooperative/team spirit skills etc

And of course Tom Earp nails it right on the head with his blunt yet oddly astute comment:

Am I ashamed of my affiliation, NO! If they feel that being a Greek is not good enuff for them, Then Screw them!
I am sure that they are not good enuff for me!

Well-put Tom!:D

My mom who is very anti-greek used to work in personnel for the school district and she looked down on applicants who put their sorority or fraternity affiliation on their resume. So I guess it depends on who is reading the application and whether or not they are part of "our generation".

I don't know if I would put my affiliation down in the Midwest. The south more likely. I think where you live and are applying are extremely important! It is worth contacting your nat'l hq and seeing if they'd do a search for you on alumnae in your job interest area.

I would like to point out that people still carrying a grudge after 20 odd years have major issues other than letters. They shouldn't be too much of a concern.

edit-
Ok...um...I wasn't refering to anyone's mother who is anti-greek having a grudge, rather the people that were mentioned on previous pages as having grudges towards other houses or colleges. Maybe my post isn't clear enough, in which case I apologize, but please read the whole thread before posting, I was refering to a previous page.

This is interesting: Eirene says her mother is anti-greek, and Little E automatically assumes she has some kind grudge. I see this a lot. Someone makes a statement critical of greeks, and we immediately retort to the effect of “well, he must not have gotten a bid and that’s why he hates greeks” or “well, her boyfriend must have cheated with a sorority girl and that’s why she hates greeks”. Very interesting.

Eirene’s mother may well be carrying a grudge of course, but why jump so quickly to that conclusion? The word grudge implies some specific past incident. Isn’t possible that she is just a smart woman who judges greeks based on her personal experience with them when she was college age?

Think about it. The vast majority of people interviewing you for a position are between the ages of 30 and 65. 30 is sort of the typical age where one becomes a midlevel manager and is put in a position of interviewing prospective employees. 65 is obviously retirement age. That means these people were college age in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

Fraternities and sororities were not cool in the 60s and 70s because they were seen as establishment. In the 80s they were seen as elitist playgrounds for rich kids. Hell, talk to someone who was greek themselves in the 80s and they’ll tell you that college was one long beer and coke binge punctuated by a little hazing spree here and there.

Right or wrong, that’s why the odds are against you. Know your audience. And don’t automatically assume people with anti-greek views are bitter and unreasonable. Greeks haven’t always put their best foot forward. It’s hard to fault others for noticing, and for building an opinion based on what they noticed.

And finally… If in a nation that sports a 6.4% unemployment rate you can afford to be idealistic and say things like “I would never work for an anti-greek person”, then more power to you. But I have to assume that either A) you are independently wealthy, B) you don’t have a family to support, C) you have no shot at the position in the first place, D) you’re just kidding yourself, or E) you’re delusional.

wptw

Oh, come on, you are more intelligent than that. I had a hell of a lot of fun, but I certainly wasn't rich or elitist or hazed or snorting coke on a regular basis. If anything, the spectrum of people in Greek orgs was wider in the 80's than it is today.

Some people are anti-Greek no matter what you do. Some people are pro-Greek no matter what you do.

Good point...I would venture to say the majority of us on here who are in our early 20's have parents who are 50 or close, which would put them right smack into the period when being greek was not cool. My mom went to Montreat College in NC and they didn't have sororities and fraternities then...so like you mentioned the people who are anti-greek could be so for a variety or reasons or lack of exposure.