I am sure you have heard of sorority formal recruitment by now, either through Her Campus, tik tok, or movies, but have you ever heard of Continuous Open Bidding (COB) or Informal recruitment? This is a way for girls who either chose not to go through the formal recruitment process or were still deciding to still join in a more chill environment. It is still typically in the spring for most schools as their formal is in the fall, but some schools are swapped.
Informal recruitment is just as exciting as formal recruitment- but calmer. Instead of the week of back to back to events, each organization throws their own recruitment events individually. The events are normally more sisterhood oriented and set up similar to sisterhood events, where you just sort of hang out. It is an easy way to ask whatever questions you may have in a less rushed environment, as most formal parties are timed to make sure you can make it to each organization. Informal recruitment can also be more intimate in that way, as the more time you have to converse the deeper the connections can go.
Most schools have a time limit for continuous open bidding, and it normally lasts 2 to 3 months. Some schools allow COB for the whole semester, it really depends on what the The Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC) and your school decide. CPC is the organization that is made up of a few people from each organization that run recruitment and sorority bylaws for all of the 26 CPC orgs that may be on your campus.
The best way to find out about recruitment parties is to follow either the Panhellenic Instagram (this is normally the instagram for CPC) or the orgs that you directly are interested in. During this time a lot of organizations may reach out to you, which can be a little intimidating at first, but honestly give them a chance and maybe meet up for a cute coffee date on campus! The worst that can happen is you make a new friend! Going and hanging out with people from the organizations does not mean you are automatically interested in joining and have to, but meeting the sisters is a great way to see if you fit, and with COB you get more of a chance for one-on-one interactions!!
Now as someone who went through formal recruitment myself freshman year, I have collected some words from my besties (my sisters) and some panhellenic pals to give you more of a perspective of someone who has been through it! Before reading these though (in case you decide to click off :( ) The overall message of this article is go greek, give it a try! It’s a great way to meet some of the best people in your life, gain scholarships, and leadership opportunities.
Katherine Light joined Chi Omega in Spring 2022 through COB. Since she has served as recruitment chair, personnel chair, and now President!! She says “I was recruited into Chi Omega in Spring of 2022! The recruitment chair had reached out to me and said a sister had recommended me. I wasn’t sure who it was as I didn’t have many connections on campus, but I figured I would hear more about the organization anyway. The timing of her message was perfect. She had messaged me when I was at home with COVID and was reflecting on how frustrated I was with my college experience. I had just started my second semester of Winthrop, and I was extremely discouraged because I had not made any of the lifelong friends everyone promised I would make as soon as I got to college. I didn’t know what my major was going to be. I felt trapped and like I was wasting my time by attending college. I grew up thinking I would never be in a sorority. I heard the stereotypes and always had a negative perception of Greek life. Agreeing to meet with her and learn more about the organization was definitely strange. But I knew I needed to do something new and step out of my comfort zone. Before meeting up with her, I had some time while in quarantine to think about whether or not I could see myself as “the sorority type.” When I was back on campus and finally got to talk to her, I was immediately interested. It was definitely intimidating to rush into it, but I figured I owed it to myself to try it out. But I’m glad I did! It was an adjustment to go from having no friends to suddenly being surrounded by a big group. I won’t lie and say it was an easy adjustment- I have anxiety and really struggle to talk with new people. But after warming up, I knew I found my place. I finally found my lifelong friends. I think COB is really important to find members who maybe never considered Greek life to be for them. They might’ve heard negatives about it, or maybe they didn’t know there was a service aspect and thought it was only social. Sometimes people need that push to try something new! Recruiting through COB can be an opportunity to disprove misconceptions of Greek life. It’s intimidating and strange to have someone you don’t know slide into your DMs and ask you if you want to hear about their organization. And as someone who has served as recruitment chair, I promise you that the recruiter is intimidated too! I was (and still am) always worried about making a bad impression or coming off too strong. It’s scary to be the one reaching out or to be the one being reached out to- but it can bring in some amazing new members”.
Zosia Gordon joined Alpha Delta Pi through informal recruitment in Spring 2023. She has since served as Operations Specialist and VP of panhellenic relations! Zosia says “I loved informal because it allowed me to get to know the organizations on campus on my own terms and be able to have more personal one on one conversations with multiple different people! I am so happy I went through informal because it brought me to ADPi and some of my best friends. Thanks to the opportunities that Greek life has brought me, I now serve as Operations Specialist as well as am on exec as Vice President of Panhellenic Relations.”.
GO GREEK!!!