Recruitment Counselor Advice

[LyonLuv]

Hi! I'm a recruitment counselor for formal recruitment Spring 2007, I was wondering if any women out there who have previously been recruitment counselors have any advice for me in terms of keeping PNMs spirits up and interest in tact. I appreciate any feed back of any kind! I'm also sorry if a thread like this already exists, I couldn't find it.

Greek Love,
Emily





<3Sigma Nu Sweetheart <3

[aephi alum]

I was a rho chi for my senior year. It's so rewarding to see your charges go running off to their new homes, whether or not it's your sorority.

You will have to be prepared for anything: PNMs cut before pref, PNMs who attend pref and then are not matched, PNMs who get their second or third choice and are upset.

I had a very insensitive rho chi who told one of my fellow PNMs, "You didn't get any invites to pref, NEXT!" The PNM walked out of the room crying in front of all the PNMs waiting to hear about their invites (including me).

My advice: Make sure your PNMs know how to get hold of you by phone and email, and give them accurate advice as to how to dress and what to expect at each round of recruitment.

[MaggieXi]

I was a Rho Chi my senior year and I absolutely loved it! Not only did I have a great time with the PNMs I also had a great time making friends with other Rho Chis from other sororities who I may have not gotten to know otherwise.

The best advice I can give is be there for your PNMs as much as you can. Some of them may have questions that they don't want to ask in front of the group or may have a hard time when they get back their invites. Be the best shoulder they can lean on and celebrate with them when they are at their happiest.

Good luck to you!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

If you plan to direct any of them to greekchat for advice, you may consider changing your screenname. Obviously I don't know what campus you are on, but I am guessing you are a Phi Mu or an ADPi.

[adpiucf]

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page of this thread, you will see linked threads with similar content about being a recruitment counselor. Good luck!

Tips:
Don't give them more information that they need to know on any given day. It is very overwhelming. Terms like snap bids and single individual preferencing don't need to be addressed until the very end.

Have a little "Welcome" Present for them when you meet them-- maybe a cup decorated in paint pens that is filled with candy.

Write a motivational note to them to hand out before the first party at Prefs telling them that you are proud they have made it this far and to go in with an open mind and open heart to each of the events.

Don't torture them too much into trying to guess the affiliations of you and your other counselors. It is fun the first time. It's harrassing and annoying the 5th time.

Give out your cell phone number, and emphasize and re-emphasize again that they each need to be near a phone from 7 AM and on in case of any last-minute changes that may affect the recruitment schedule. That they can be dropped for being late! Also tell them that if they have an emergency, they need to call you ASAP so you can get them excused from events so they don't get dropped for being a no-show!!!!

Teach them to sing the Greek Alphabet. For those who join a GLO, this will help them a lot. You might even come up with a group song.

Do icebreakers each morning--- like sitting in a circle for a group massage, Get up and Move, etc. It will get them pumped up and put them in a great mood. A resident assistant or your VP of Membership will have some fun ideas.

Stay after each days' events conclude for anyone who wants to talk and let them know you are available to talk. Some may want to gossip, others will have concerns. If you don't know the answers, be truthful and say, "I don't know," but DO follow-up and find out for them.

Warn them ahead of time and each day to not go in with preconceived notions, to not spread gossip, and to have the expectation that they will be cut from at least some of the sororities, no matter how wonderful their GPA and campus activities or overall beauty. Emphasize that being cut is the unfortunate outcome of having so many qualified PNMs and not enough spots to accomodate every one of them, as well as a limited period of time to meet with all of the PNMs. Also tell them that it is ok to be disappointed if you are cut from a chapter you liked, but that membership selection is a private matter exclusive to each sorority and each recruitment. Selection can not and will not be discussed with non-members or outside of the sorority members who were part of membership selection decisions during that specific recruitment cycle.

Before you hand out schedules from the first round of cuts, remind them that inital cuts can be made for GPAs, class rank and a number of factors, including their attitudes and past behavior in high school or in the community. Remind them again that virtually everyone gets cut from sororities, and that it is ok to be disapppointed. But think of it as way to help cull down a list of many choices to a few-- remember that you are cutting sororities from your list who may really have wanted YOU-- and that through this mutual selection you can see where you are most wanted and what you want the most. Stick it out and see what happens!

Good luck!

[PeppyGPhiB]

If you get a rushee who's upset about not getting invited back to her favorite(s) and is thinking about dropping, remind her that she's got nothing to lose by staying in. She can even go to preference night without signing anything if she decides the remaining chapters aren't for her.

Be honest about financials if a PNM asks you about it. They deserve to know the committment that will be expected of them.

I baked my girls chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies on the first day of open house, to help calm their jitters. They may have looked lovely and polished, but they pigged out on the cookies. Freshmen that are missing home especially love the comforting, homemade treats. I also carried breath mints, cough drops and other things like that around in my tote bag.

[LyonLuv]

Thank you SO much for all the advice, tonight is round 1!

[Blue Violets]

I was a Recruitment Counselor last year (my senior year) and I had a great time. Here are some of my suggestions/thoughts:

-Having a good relationship with your fellow R.C. is crucial! I had never met mine before recruitment but we are still friends (she was a junior in another sorority and we had never crossed paths before, but it turned out one of her best friends was dating one of my good friend's roommates, anyways, small world!) Being able to talk openly with each other is key - we would come up with strategies when we'd think there would be an "issue" with one of our girls and where she was invited back (e.g. someone we thought might get upset and/or try to quit recruitment).

-Be sensitive to any cultural issues that might be a factor for some of your girls. For instance, we had a few girls who were First-Generation American and Greek life - and the recruitment process - was totally foreign to them and they needed a little extra support/clarification throughout the process (and NO, I'm not saying all First-Gen Americans do, we also had a few girls who grew up in areas where Greek life was not prevalent and also assisted them too, but just in general).

-STRESS that decisions about where and in what order you fill out your pref card should be made solely by the girl filling out the card and/or the recruitment counselors (for advice). We had a few pairs of friends in our group and we had to work hard to prevent "groupthink."

-Give out advice and/or suggestions as far as you can in advance on things like correct attire, nametags, etc. Everyday stuff can be explained as it comes up, but especially for those girls who are unfamiliar with the Greek recruitment process, it can be startling to hear the day before recruitment that they need to make a nametag, find suitable clothes (not necessarily NEW clothes, just have them clean and together, lol), et cetera.

-Bring lots of supplies. Things that my fellow RC and I were asked for EACH day (and sometimes multiple times a day):
"I lost my nametag between the last party and this one, do you have anything I can make a new one?" (get those stick-on blank nametags for these last minute solutions)
"My name tag is falling off, you do have a pin?" (bring pins, tape, and a pen)
"I lost my schedule. Where am I supposed to go?" (make sure both you and your fellow RC have the master copy for the day and don't lose it!)
"Do you have any mints?" "I think I am going to faint I am so hungry!" "Do you have a ponytail holder? Mine broke" "I have blisters all over my feet from these heels"
You're not there to solve all of their problems (they are, after all, supposed to be self-sufficient college students!) but I'd suggest carrying around a granola bar, some pins, tape, a pen, blank stick-on nametags, some mints, some band-aids, and some ponytail holders. It sounds like a lot of stuff, but I promise it'll even fit in your purse!