5. I already know which chapter I belong in
“If I had any advice about going through recruitment it would be to keep an open mind. This year we really challenged the PNM's and asked them to simply focus on ‘going Greek,’” Michelle said.
You might falsely believe you know which chapter you belong in, but recruitment will show you there are a lot of things you didn’t know about your campus’s Greek community before recruitment began. It could show you that you are wrong. Just as you need to keep an open mind, you need to help the active members you meet to keep an open mind about you as well. By telling an active member you know where you belong, she will instantly lose this openness, and your chances to be invited back to that chapter may disappear as well.
6. Money, money, money
Believe it or not no one really cares. Just because your dad has a private jet does not mean you get a free pass into the chapter of your choosing, and just because you go to school on financial aid does not mean certain chapters will cut you. If an active member brings up finances with you, it is probably to explain that there are financial obligations to fulfill as a member of a sorority. Certain schools even require in their recruitment rules for this to be a topic of conversation. Don’t feel you have to work your financial situation into a conversation.
“When we are looking for a sister in our sorority we are not looking at what amount of money she will be able to bring in, but instead what personality she will bring in,” Jen, a recruitment leader for her chapter, said.
7. She has a mouth like a sailor
While a lot of sorority symbols are things like sailboats (Sigma Sigma Sigma) and anchors (Delta Gamma) that is where their sailing themes end. No chapter wants a member who goes through recruitment with a mouth like a sailor. Dropping the f-bomb or other bad language into conversations is inappropriate. Both active members and PNMs alike should act professionally and formally during recruitment conversations. Wait until you get to know active members better before you start to talk like Cee Lo in his song “F#@k You.”
8. Personal Problems
Do you think you sweat an abnormal amount? Did your dress from the day before give you a weird rash? Have your boobs grown since you started college? These are all personal problems you might discuss with your best friend, but not something you want to discuss with a new friend. Don’t take the “getting to know you” conversations of recruitment down to the micro-level. Save your personal problems for discussion with your roommate and not for the active member you just met.
“This girl kept talking about her sweaty hands, and it was right after I shook her hand while meeting her. It was all I could think of the rest of our conversation, and it ruined it for me and I guess for her chances of making a good first impression on me. You don’t have much time with every PNM who comes through so every second is pretty important,” Katie, a senior who has been through recruitment for four years, said.
9. Debbie Downer
No one likes a complainer and, unfortunately, during recruitment there is often a lot to complain about. Weather can be bad, the days are long, and running around in high heels is never good on your feet. But if you let this all come through in your recruitment conversations, active members will think of you as a Debbie Downer. Everyone is going through the same thing, so try to keep your spirits up and look for all of the positives about the experience.
“A recruitment goal for our chapter was to find new members who would be positive people. There is a lot of work involved with sorority activities, and we wanted to find members who would make this work fun and not look at everything as a burden. If PNMs were already complaining during recruitment, then they already didn’t meet this membership goal,” Courtney said.
10. Liar, liar pants on fire
Just because you are at a new school with new people does not mean you can create a completely new identity for yourself. Active members have spent weeks, if not months, preparing for recruitment. They have your transcripts and often your resumes as well. Don’t say you have a 4.0 GPA when you really struggled to get by with a 2.5. If you get caught in a lie you are a lot worse off than if you just told the truth.
