COB strategy
 

For the first time in several years, our chapter is below total, even though we quota + 2 quota additions during Formal Recruitment this fall. I'm the chapter's VP Membership, so I'll be supporting our Continuing Membership Chair who will be in charge of COB. We're planning on doing this individually since we only need a few girls by having their point of contact (a sister who they are friends with) introduce them to more sisters and we will decide whether or not to extend a bid. I just have a formality question...do you tell the PNM you are informally recruiting? I think it's a bad idea in case you decide not to extend a bid, but my CMC thinks it's necessary. What has been your chapter's policy on this, or what is your recommendation?

Thanks!!!

When I was COBed.... mind you it was 10 years ago, I was told. I was approached by an acquaintance who had stumbled upon my legacy status by accident. She asked me if I was interested in joining a sorority. I said "heck no", she suggested I let 2 of them take me out to dinner to explain what it's like. They also wanted to show me the house quickly. I agreed, mostly because it was my favorite restaurant they wanted to go to, and I was completely won over by what they had to say. I was offered a bid later that evening.

So while I knew the dinner was to inform me about the sorority, I didn't know that they would be extending me a bid based on just that meeting, if that make sense....

If it's going to be a prolonged process, you may not need to tell them immediately. Meeting other sisters can be pretty laid back, but at some point, someone will need to find out if the women you are approaching are even interested in becoming members otherwise you may be wasting a lot of effort. We used to do COB for just a couple spots but would just invite those few women over for a small party at our chapter room. It'd be like a mini rush party. Afterwards we'd vote whether or not to offer bids to these women after allowing them to mingle with a bunch of sisters. It was a lot less formal or stressful than formal rush, but we filled our spots in one night.

We do it informally at first but then we have to tell them as we need them to sign a grade verification form. So,if you have check their grades, you'll need to let them know.

DISCLAIMER: My chapter has not recruited this way before, though I would like them to in the event they need just a few NMs. We've just had informal recruitment parties. I do advise, but I'm not the recruitment advisor.

I'd say the best thing to do would be to have the sisters gauge their friends' interest level in joining your chapter before inviting them to meet more sisters. You don't want to waste your time on women who aren't interested, but you don't want to seem pushy or desperate by telling them that immediately.

I think it'd be a good idea to have the PNM hang out with a sister she already knows and 1 or 2 sisters she doesn't know . You can do "normal friend activities" with her (as long as they facilitate conversation; going to the movies is a bad idea) and then decide who to offer bids to.

Have you talked to your advisor? Your advisor, ABC, and CPO are there to help you and they may be the best source to offer a strategy tailored to your campus.

Come on over to the Sigma Kappa forum, btw. :)

I think this depends strongly on what you know already about the PNM and her level of both knowledge and interest in sorority life. In fact, if I could post powerpoint slides to GC, I'd make you a little chart.

In words, if she has high knowledge and high interest, you tell her right away. High knowledge, low interest, she's probably not the right PNM to be going after. Low/low, delay telling her, and low/high, tell her soon.

The Chapter that I advise at just went through COB for 14 women and we told every one of them that we had spots available to fill so they knew that we were looking for potential new members. I think the good thing about telling them up front is if they are not interested they will let you know and you wont waste your time. The bummer is if they really want that bid and you don't extend it to them it can be awkward especially if they are friends with girls in the house.

But the point is they might BE interested once they get to know the sisters. Of course it all depends on the school. If it's one with a lot of Greek interest and a lot of great girls that for one reason or another just had an unsuccessful rush and would be great sisters, then yes, you can do the above.

But if the school is one where Greek life is NOT big and where outright saying "we have spots open to fill" can leave you open to any number of freakazoids or letter pimps walking through your door, then no, don't tell them right away. The girls who may be the best members may have been the ones most turned off by formal rush or the stereotypes, and if you straight up say "we're looking for members" not only might you lose a potential member, you also might lose a friend. ("Oh man...Jessie was only being nice to me to get me to join her stupid sorority. Screw her.")

We basically did what AOIIAngel outlined - got to know people by inviting them them to sit w/ us at lunch, hanging out with them in other contexts, maybe inviting them if we went to a campus theater production. We then had an open bid party so all the sisters and all the girls we'd been getting to know could meet each other at once. Then we voted on who to give bids to. THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS and you should be working on it all spring if your formal rush is in the fall, or vice versa, so that if your formal rush doesn't go well, you have those girls you've been cultivating to fill your pledge class. NO, everyone you meet will not be a fit, but if you confine yourself to formal rush only at a school like in my second example, your Greek system will eventually disappear up its own butthole.

So much win in these statements, especially what's bold. I think that you're completely correct in saying this and this has to be something my chapter has to tread lightly around as we are starting to really get into informal recruitment mode.