It’s never too early to start planning for recruitment! Recruitment leads to welcoming many new members that will become lifelong friends into the chapter. However, there is a lot more preparation and planning that goes into recruitment that meets the eye. It is important to start planning early!
Recruitment leaders will teach members the ins and outs of recruitment months ahead of time to ensure a smooth and successful rush experience. Each chapter aims to make Potential New Members, or PNMs, feel like they have found their supportive home away from home. Here are our Top 5 Recruitment Strategies to reach your chapter’s quota goals and attract valuable PNMs.
Plan Ahead for Recruitment!
1. Order recruitment materials early
Recruitment planning takes time. The budget, items to be purchased, the orders – these are all things that have to be thought of ahead of time. Some chapters report planning for September formal rush in February! Leadership should plan early to double check that everything has been done correctly and meets the budget. Otherwise, they may have not have the time to do so.
2. Establish committees within your chapter
Next, delegate responsibilities to other chapter members to provide assistance prepping for rounds. For example, in sorority recruitment, a round may take the title of “Open Invite Round”, “Philanthropy Round”, “Sisterhood Round”, or “Preference Round.” Divide chapter members into committees early, and assign each group to a round. This group will offer assistance with decorating for the round, cleaning in between rounds, setting up rooms to rush in, etc. Trust us, this is essential to making sure recruitment remains organized.
3. Lean on each other for advice
Formal recruitment can quickly become hectic for the Recruitment Chair. And, the leader may find themselves overwhelmed with questions. Many of these questions often stem from new members who have never been on the recruiter side before. If you are feeling flooded with questions and need to redirect your energy on other responsibilities, remind your chapter members to refer to Juniors and Seniors who have recruited new members before. Moreover, if these members cannot answer the proposed questions, then all inquiries can then be escalated to the leaders This will take a lot of stress off those who are leading the experience!
4. Run multiple rounds of mock recruitment
Then, it is of the utmost importance that your chapter performs multiple rounds of mock recruitment with another chapter. This is the time where any and all issues that may arise during rounds, will happen. The chapter then can make necessary changes and explain to their members how they should handle the situation if it happens again. Also, this practice is very helpful for the recruiters of the chapter. Recruiters can have practice with bumping, understand how long a round lasts, and make conversation with the practice PNMs.
5. Host pre-recruitment events for PNMs
These events vary based on the college or university, as each school has their own rules about speaking to PNMs before recruitment. But, it is a smart idea to start conversations with college freshmen and sophomores and spark their interest in Greek life. Your chapter could host virtual video game tournaments, live TV watch parties, game nights, etc. and promote the events online. For campuses with strict guidelines, encourage college freshmen and sophomores to come out to your philanthropy events. This is a great way to raise more money for your philanthropy while getting to know other students.
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