During my college career I spent three and a half years in a Greek letter fraternity. During that time something we discussed weekly was RECRUITMENT. I've decided to write about this now because if I was still a college student I would be participating in fraternity recruitment right now.
First off, I'd like to say that many organizations take a completely incorrect approach to recruitment. I know from my experience that one of the biggest methods of recruitment at the University of Central Florida was with bribes. Now I'm not saying that anyone is offering a brand new Corvette for joining their organization. It was always little things that never seemed to make sense to me.
Before I go any further let me explain how recruitment at UCF works. Fraternity Recruitment is pretty much every day all year round. Officially it is normally the second week of classes on Wednesday through Friday every fall and spring semester from around 6-11pm on Greek Row and at a park across the street for the fraternities without houses so they can set up tents. This is unofficially called Formal Rush. All students at the University are invited out to come meet the members of each organization where they may or may not be extended a bid. A bid is an invitation to join the Pledge or New Member Program. This is the one and only time that the new recruits are supposed to meet and hang out with the members of the organization.
During the period of Formal Recruitment each organization's goal is to make the best impression and to look the most attractive so they can get the most high quality recruits. Let me repeat that - the goal is to make the best impression and to look the most attractive so they can get the most high quality recruits. Simply put, you must look impressive and give your potential members a reason to want a membership.
Most fraternities bribe these potential candidates for membership with food. Everyone has to either order a hundred pizzas to hand out slices, or bring a grill out to barbecue, or ask the ladies that come around to make baked goods. Another bribe I've heard is that you can compete with the other new members for scholarships. Some guys have even gone as far as promising to spend time with a particular girl or two if they get to wear the letters. That is completely unethical and disrespectful! Do not bribe potential members with competitions for money or with promises you cannot keep. Give them a real reason to want to join and stick around for the next four years.
Now the Greek system at UCF is an unhealthy one. There are twenty five (social) greek organizations on campus. There are twelve houses. Only four of those houses are occupied by fraternities. How do all of these fraternities without houses keep recruiting?
Luckily it is because dues cost a lot less when you do not have a house. Each organization is required to have a certain amount of insurance coverage by their headquarters and by the University. When your organization does not have it's own house, that insurance costs less. This is something that potential members always ask about at recruitment. The problem is you are still competing with other fraternities that have that same opportunity!
So here are my views on how to attract new members to come to recruitment and how to impress them so much that they decide to join and stick around. First off, make yourselves look good. It is always good to dress to impress, but if any one person looks sloppy then it will bring the entire organization down. Fraternity guys are supposed to be improving themselves to become men. So put a shirt and tie on and go out there with a smile on your face. If you don't look happy to be there why would they?
It is always a good idea to have some type of music playing. It is there to make the location seem like the place to be. It can also bring up some opportunities to discuss music if you find they enjoy a particular song. The music doesn't need to be any particular genre and it should only be loud enough to be considered as background music. That is its primary purpose. It is mainly there to make the awkward situations seem less awkward. Bands are cool but they are for parties. They key to recruitment is being able to communicate with people. If music is blasting out of your tent then the potential members will stay far enough away so that it is only background music to their ears.
Another important thing is to always bring as much as you can to show off your your organization. Items such as awards, trophies, posters, banners, pictures, videos, and even information pamphlets are great. Decorations help out too. If you've got a large sign or big wooden letters then display them. The bigger they are, the better they will make you look. And make sure not to display anything that is obviously ugly or broken.
The last item I will bring to attention going to be listening and communication. Find out if there are any similar interests between the two of you and discuss them. Make sure you are doing around thirty to forty percent of the talking too. You don't want to come off as shy. You are supposed to be social, but at the same time you do not want to overload your recruit with too much information at once. If your candidate is participating in conversation that shows signs of comfort. If you're doing all the talking then you are forcing your recruit to process too much information at once which can be intimidating. Just make sure to have fun and meet new people. If you are not seeing a positive light then part ways or introduce him to another recruiter who you think might be able to spark something based on what you've already discussed.
If any member of an organization comes across this post I hope you find it helpful and I hope you consider using these strategies to get your organization the best new members. It is these candidates that will be there when you are gone and that is how your organization stays alive after all.
