A Different Kind of Live Recruitment Story

[OPhiAGinger]

I was a founding mother of an OPA chapter and we were in your same situation when we held our first recruitment event. We were delighted, but overwhelmed, to discover the interested PNMs outnumbered the active members.

So, if that continues to be the case (and it looks likely so far), how will you decide how many new members to take? Theoretically you could accept 28 to get your chapter up to total, right? But do you think you could integrate that many into your chapter all at once?

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by OPhiAGinger

I was a founding mother of an OPA chapter and we were in your same situation when we held our first recruitment event. We were delighted, but overwhelmed, to discover the interested PNMs outnumbered the active members.

So, if that continues to be the case (and it looks likely so far), how will you decide how many new members to take? Theoretically you could accept 28 to get your chapter up to total, right? But do you think you could integrate that many into your chapter all at once?

Well, that's what we were thinking. How many is too many? With so few sisters, and each one already holding at least 2 positions (on top of school, work, and any other activities), it would be hard for everyone to constantly be involved in new member education and activities. And when new members outnumber actives, the learning process after initiation becomes difficult also. And while it would be great to have a large number of girls come in, to alleviate some of the work put on the shoulders of the sisters, there's also only so much you can do as a small chapter. Handing things off isn't that easy when there's so much to teach to such a large number of people. But... in a little while, I will update my story, and you'll see how things are panning out for us this semester...

[ASTalumna06]

So last night I showed up at the recruitment event a half hour early to help the Recruitment Director set up. We talked as we worked, and she told me that she had a random girl email her earlier that day, asking questions about the sorority. So she gave the girl some information and invited her to come to the event that night. She did. And she brought a friend!

There were a lot of girls there that night. Some familiar faces, some new ones. And one girl had to work a half hour after the party started, so she just stopped in to say hi, and then left. I thought it was nice, and showed that she cared enough to make an appearance. Even if it was only for 30 seconds.

So it was game night, but we kind of left it up to the girls as to what they wanted to do, as we probably had at least 10 PNMs who attended, and everyone already seemed to be involved in conversations from the very beginning. We received the names and semester standing from the new girls that showed up.

As the Recruitment Director and I looked down our list, we counted. We realized that we now have… 22 names!!! And all but 4 of those girls attended at least 2 recruitment parties. Those 4 were the new ones who showed up last night for the first time.

Now… of those 22 PNMs, 8 of them are second semester freshmen or older, so because of deferred recruitment, those 8 are the ones who would be eligible to receive a bid. It’s kind of frustrating, because for the rest, they will have to stick it out until next semester to see if they can receive one. But at the same time, there won’t be so many new members this semester that the sisters can’t handle it, and that’s 14 people who could potentially become new sisters in the spring. Not a bad place to start.

The sisters are still trying to get a few more PNMs to come to an event, as they have said they would, but some people you literally have to drag to a recruitment party before they realize they want to get involved. I know that was my experience. Before I joined, one of the sisters, after I said, “yea, I’ll be there,” called me and said she’d be at my dorm to pick me up. Sometimes, that’s just what you have to do.

So they’re trying, and the hope (if they can get these few more girls to come) is to have between 8 and 10 new members for this semester. And if you read my first post with all of our stats, the most new members we’ve had for a Fall semester in the past 5 years is 4. So things are definitely looking up.

I’ll be back to update you on Thursday’s recruitment event.

(Bid day is in 1 week!)

[ASTalumna06]

So the meeting was held to decide on a couple more PNMs. While recruitment went really well this semester, because of deferred recruitment, they ended up having a lot of first semester freshmen attend events who were not eligible to receive bids. While the sisters are disappointed that they only had a handful of girls to select from this semester, they are looking forward to a large new member class in the spring.

In the meantime, they are VERY excited about their 4 new members this fall! Different from previous semesters, their new members attended numerous recruitment parties, including extra activities like the movie night and sister lunches, so all of the sisters feel that they know the new members very well already.

Over the past two weeks, the sisters have worked out a system in order to keep in touch with PNMs who attended recruitment events this semester. And after convention this summer, a re-vamped new member process, and practicing for ritual, the girls are headed in a positive direction. And I’m very excited about that.

[ASTalumna06]

It's baaaaaaaaaack.....

Recruitment starts up again on Thursday with our annual Kick-off Recruitment Event, where PNMs will meet with all three sororities together for a short information session, and then break off into three separate recruitment parties, with PNMs rotating and visiting each chapter. From there, COB events will follow for the next two weeks (and beyond if desired).

The schedule:
Thurs, Jan 15th - Kick-off
Tues, Jan 20th - Game Night
Thurs, Jan 22nd - Philanthropy
Mon, Jan 26th - More informational/icebreakers and games
Wed, Jan 28th - Informational
Tues, Feb 3rd - Bid Day

Dates will stay the same, but the “theme” for each night might change.

Following a presentation by Phired Up Productions in the fall, the sisters have decided to focus a lot more on making closer connections with PNMs by inviting them to do smaller activities, outside of scheduled recruitment events, that will foster more personal relationships between the sisters and PNMs.

The girls have also compiled an extensive names list that they will work with to try and communicate with more PNMs throughout the entire school year.

In talking with my sisters, and with members from one of the other chapters on campus, I already imagine there’s going to be a very large number of interested PNMs that come out for recruitment this semester, as compared to previous ones. While this would be a good problem to have, it also might create some complications later in the process. But we’ll see what happens and I’ll keep you all updated as we go along.

[ASTalumna06]

And so it begins...

Last night was the Kick-off Recruitment event and it went exceptionally well! About 25 PNMs showed up which is close to twice as many that have showed up for this event in the past. I was happy to see Panhellenic implementing a system that restricted girls from leaving and only seeing one or two chapters, so that was a plus. The whole thing ran smoothly, and I’m hoping to see many of the PNMs come back for more!

Anyway, when I walked in to our designated room, all of my sisters were already hard at work to decorate. We had 3 looong tables full of mascots, jerseys, paddles, pillows and pictures, half of which I had never even seen before... I felt like I was rushing!

When the PNMs entered, everyone was quick to approach them, introduce themselves, and start in on the conversations. There were some familiar faces from last semester (those PNMs who were 1st semester freshmen in the fall), and a lot of new ones.

I watched as the sisters brought PNMs over to the tables and showed them some of the things that we do as a chapter. They seemed to be very interactive with everyone.

At one point, I overheard a few girls talking, and one of the PNMs said, “Ah, the green ones.. you girls seem to be everywhere I go around campus.” With only 14 active sisters, this was a good thing to hear. My girls are obviously very busy, very involved, and very visible.

The sisters had also made packets for the PNMs that had short bios for each sister, along with their pictures. It was really cute and a way for the PNMs to get to know more about them outside of the recruitment parties. While we’re trying to keep track of all of them, they can keep track of all of us.

But I think there are still some PNMs that my sisters loved, but who might already have their hearts set on another chapter. But we’ll see.

Overall, I think it went well. I was impressed with the way the sisters interacted with the PNMs, and I hope that all of the chapters do well.

I definitely see it being a very successful semester!