NY Times article on Sororities

[GPhiBLtColonel]

Originally posted by greeklawgirl
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.

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!

[Eirene_DGP]

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".

[Little E]

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.

[wptw]

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

[33girl]

Originally posted by wptw
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.

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.

[Eirene_DGP]

Originally posted by wptw
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.


wptw

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.