consultants for your headquarters....

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by 33girl
suntzu,

A consultant (they have slightly varying names) is a recent graduate who travels from chapter to chapter and acts as a representative of the national organization. They help the chapters with rush, officer transition and things like that. They do this for one year.

More specifically, they represent the operational side, and not the governing side of the fraternity. Consultants are paid staff. In the case of Phi Psi, which is where Josh applied, consultants rarely provide direct help for rush, as that is counter productive. They do perform recruitment workshops. Consultants are rarely, if ever, involved with officer transitions, but do help with operational training.

The full title for Phi Kappa Psi is Educational Leadership Consultant (ELC), and this is more than semantics. Part of the job description involves activities that are educational, and therefore, part of the consultants salary and expenses are underwritten by our Endowment Fund.

A better way of looking at it is like this; ELCs either visit chapters with no known major problems (most visits) or visit chapters with problems (rare, but it happens.) Also, one ELC will be on the ground for pro-active extension projects to help our Director of Expansion.

In the case of visiting a chapter with no known problems, the visit happens once per year, and usually lasts 3-4 days. The ELC will visit with relevant administration officials, local involved alumni, and, of course, the chapter. A chapter evaluation is done covering a broad range of chapter operations. Also, workshops are performed for the chapters based on each chapter's needs.

In the case of problem chapters, we send staff based on need. Sometimes this involves an ELC. On rare occasion, it may involve sending our Executive Director. It depends on the problem.

[33girl]

Russ, our LCs actually help with rush and officer transition quite often, especially if there has been a high amount of turnover in the chapter. I just wanted to clarify this - I'm sure every GLO's program is different in exactly what the consultants do.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by 33girl
I'm sure every GLO's program is different in exactly what the consultants do.

I agree.

[moe.ron]

We called it Regional Directors

[ISUKappa]

Originally posted by 33girl
Russ, our LCs actually help with rush and officer transition quite often, especially if there has been a high amount of turnover in the chapter. I just wanted to clarify this - I'm sure every GLO's program is different in exactly what the consultants do.

Yes, and I think it's also another difference between sorority and fraternity consultants. Many of the sorority consultants do help with recruitment and membership in chapters along with other aspects--organization, education, morale, scholarship, sisterhood, etc...

Each of our 131 chapters is visited by a Traveling Consultant (TC) at least once a year, some chapters may have a TC visit two or three times depending on need.

[Tom Earp]

While many have Trav. Sec, Trav. consultant, ELCs or what ever name is PC at the moment, there are some who dont have that many to cover their whole territory. There are some who have volunteer Alums who do the same thing.

A friend of mine who is a K S Alum was doing this but to much for him to do and got tired of the many problems that were involved, well and a new marriage.

Usually, LXA has at least for sure a once a year visitation, unless there is a problem.

LXA does have extra visits, but money has to come from the Chapter as itteneraries are made out in advance for at least a year.

Would it have been a job I would have loved, damn skippy when I was younger!

It is an experience of a life time. If you show something like that on a resume, any Greek Member will realize, that you are a special person with training and back ground!

All I can say is The Very Best Of Luck if you can get a position like this. It is not easy at all and be very stressfull! Oh, but Rewarding!

[josh8o]

ok so life for me has been busy as hell....

my flight yesterday was delayed and i got back to sd 35 minutes before my last final. talk about stress.

anyway, i had such a great time at my 2nd interview. it went really well, and i hope i got the position. it was a good experience for me too because i had never been to my fraternity headquarters, and it was a nice treat seeing that i graduate on saturday.
axwhoah: yeah i met him, he is chill. there were 4 of us interviewing, so we all bonded. he missed his flight on the way back too...kinda funny

[suntzu1963]

Thank you to everyone that contributed to the clarification of what exactly the position of "consultant" entails.

[TxAPhi]

I was an ELC for Alpha Phi. We used to call them Field Consultants.


Phi Fact from www.alphaphi.org -
1894 - Alpha Phi became the first women's fraternity to use "traveling delegates," now known as Educational Leadership Consultants.

I had a great time - visited chapters in Missouri, Virginia, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Kansas.

[TxAPhi]

Originally posted by josh8o
anyway, i had such a great time at my 2nd interview. it went really well, and i hope i got the position. it was a good experience for me too because i had never been to my fraternity headquarters, and it was a nice treat seeing that i graduate on saturday.

I may have missed it if it was posted somewhere else. How did it all work out Josh?

[TxAPhi]

Originally posted by Tom Earp
Would it have been a job I would have loved, damn skippy when I was younger!

It is an experience of a life time. If you show something like that on a resume, any Greek Member will realize, that you are a special person with training and back ground!

All I can say is The Very Best Of Luck if you can get a position like this. It is not easy at all and be very stressfull! Oh, but Rewarding!

I can testify to this. Interviewing for my first job after getting "off the road" with the GM of the division who said, "so you were a 'field frog', i always wanted to do that' -- the rest of the interview went great after that and I was hired the next day. Being a consultant gave me so many real examples to tell of what I had accomplished.

While at that job, I applied for a new position in a different job function. The VP of that area had started a chapter of her sorority at Princeton I believe and had great things to say abot her experience with their consultants. She said she brought me in because the greek experience on my resume impressed her so much. I didn't get that job because it was a more senior level position, but I was invited to interview in that area again and got the inside scoop on positions because of that connection.

I hear stories of some employers being biased against greeks, but I have yet to experience it.

[SDTSarah]

Ooohh....I want to be a TC so badly! One of the girls from our chapter was one, and now she's in Jacksonville helping with our recolonized FSU chapter. I still have another 1 1/2 years to go, though...

[hannahgirl]

One of my good friends and biological sister of one of my chapter sisters will be a Traveling Consultant for Alpha Gamma Delta next year!!! I'm so excited for her!

[TxAPhi]

when you know who your new consultants are post them here if you have a link; if you are going to be traveling, let us know

[BetteDavisEyes]

I wanted to be one but I had way too many other things going on. I heard it's pretty competetive though. You have to be someone amazing to do that kind of job b/c it involves a lot of traveling.