When thinking about sororities, usually the first things that come to mind are themed parties and girl drama, but most people don’t realize that Greek organizations are amazing places to learn skills that will help you throughout your career.
1. The friends you make can become great networking contacts in the future. A huge part of Greek Life is the social aspect — recruitment alone is an amazing opportunity to learn how to be a great networker. Also, when you’re in a sorority, one of the most important things is maintaining a peaceful coexistence with your sisters. The same goes for when you are working for a company — you have to treat your peers with respect, and as you would want to be treated. You never know, maybe one day one of your sisters will help you find a job or internship. Even the most brilliant people need help sometimes, and by joining a sorority, you’ll have access to a huge network of sisters and alumni that could offer you support when you need it. The unique inter-connectivity is priceless.
2. You’ll learn how to make conversation with just about anyone. Even the shyest of people will learn how to initiate conversation, and thanks to recruitment parties, talking to a complete stranger becomes routine. As a member of a sorority, you’ll get to interact with people from all different backgrounds. Not everyone will look like and have the same interests as you. You’ll learn how to work with people you might not like to make events and rituals successful. You’ll get to learn how to be a team player.
3. You’ll learn how to present yourself well. You’ll learn how to dress to present yourself in your best light, and sororities have rules to make sure you look classy when it counts. No tiny shorts that show your butt or bandeaus as tops.
4. You’ll learn to be careful about what you say. Here’s a good piece of advice, Reader: watch what you say all the time because you never know who could be listening. I’ve had the opportunity to live in a sorority house with 79 other girls — we all share a bathroom — and someone you’re talking about could be within earshot of you. The same goes for when you’re at the office, a boutique, or a restaurant. It’s not easy to network when you’re known for gossiping and backstabbing.
5. You’ll learn about different types of people. Being in a sorority will teach you that you have more in common with others than you think. We all have fears, strengths, and struggles. Being in a sorority has taught me that we’re all human, and there’s no reason to be intimidated — this has helped me be more comfortable opening up to different types of people. You’ll also have a sense of belonging. It can be hard to feel like part of a group if you don’t join a club or sports team, but when you join a sorority you won’t feel like a tiny fish in a huge pond; you’ll have your own home away from home.