ATTENTION POTENTIAL NEW MEMBERS ATTENDING A LARGE UNIVERSITY IN TEXAS.
If you attend a large university in Texas [like the University of Texas, Austin], you want to create recruitment packets to send to each sorority.
Why do you want to create recruitment packets?
Recruitment packets are additional information an alumna sends to the sorority. This information helps the sorority get to know you beyond your recommendation letter. They can read your social resume, see your ACT scores, view pictures of you, etc.
Editable and customizable social resume templates.
DOES EVERYONE NEED A RECRUITMENT PACKET?
No. Many colleges and sororities have moved away from using recruitment packets. With that being said, if you attend a competitive SEC college, Big 12, or college with a competitive fall sorority recruitment, you can have the woman who submits your recommendation letter submit a packet.
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR PACKET TO THE SORORITY?
The woman writing your recommendation letter sends the sorority your packet. You need to tell her in your cover letter to submit it.
You cannot send your packet to the sorority. You are not allowed to send any information to the sorority.
DO YOU NEED TO BRAND YOUR FOLDER OR USE A COLOR PALETTE? Should you pay someone to make your recruitment packet?
I encourage my CRUSH clients to not buy these templates.
Why would I suggest not buying these templates?
The social resume templates are designed to look pretty. The color and design of your social resume will not get you a bid. Let me explain.
You are about to take a HUGE math test. This test is 90% of your grade.
Do you stress out about what color your pencil is? Do you really care if it is purple, green, blue, or yellow?
Most likely, you do not care about the color of the pencil. You are spending time studying and making sure you are prepared for the test.
This same idea applies to sorority recruitment.
Let’s look at the University of Alabama. On average, 2,5000 women go through sorority recruitment each year. The recruitment team is not going through 2,5000 social resumes and picking the “prettiest” social resumes to invite back to Round 2. They are looking at the information to find the potential new members who are good fits.
Main takeaway. Your social resume will NOT get you a bid. You want to think of it as the ANSWER KEY to your recommendation letter. It needs to have the right information on it. That way, you communicate to the sororities that you are a good fit.
Many of the templates on Etsy are designed to look pretty, but they do not have the right information on them. When creating your social resume, you need to answer this question — Is your social resume the answer key for your recommendation letters (does it hold all the necessary information?)
If you need help creating your social resume, check out The Ultimate Guide to Sorority Recruitment. When we created the guide on how to write your social resume, we look at most of the recommendation letters for the Panhellenic sororities. We wanted you to have a step-by-step guide that helped the recruitment team know who you are and why you would be a good potential member. The goal of the social resume is for it to be a tool to help the woman writing your recommendation letter.
Click here to get The Ultimate Guide to Sorority Recruitment on Amazon
Click here to get The Ultimate Guide to Sorority Recruitment as an ebook
Editable and customizable social resume templates.
What do you need to include in a sorority recruitment packet?
There are several documents you need to include in your sorority recruitment packet.
#1. A copy of your social resume
#2. A cover letter (addressed to the woman who is writing your recommendation letter) The sorority will not receive a cover letter.
#3. A copy of your high school transcript [it can be an unofficial copy]
#4. 3 professional pictures of you
#5. If sending your sorority recruitment packet in the mail, you want to include a pre-addressed envelope to the sorority with stamps.
Once you gather all of these items, you want to put them in a folder. You can get folders at an office supply store, Walmart, Target, or Amazon. This step is only needed if you are sending in your recommendation letters through the mail.
Online Recommendation Letter
If the woman writing your recommendation letter submits it online [through the sorority national website or email], you email her all of the documents above. The body of your email is cover letter. Your pictures need to be saved as jpegs or or pngs. All of the other documents need to be saved as PDFs.
She will attach all of the documents to the recommendation letter.
Let’s talk about a digital sorority recruitment packet
With sorority recruitment going virtual in 2020, many colleges have moved to accept (and prefer) all recommendation letters sent in through email or the national sorority website.
If you create a digital sorority recruitment packet, you want to save all of your documents as PDFs and photos as jpegs.When you save the documents, you want to make sure your name is included in the title. For example, save your social resume as “Sally_Sue_Social_Resume”. It is easier for the sorority to locate your documents.
Then, email to the woman writing your recommendation letter. The body of the email serves as your cover letter. Do not forget to attach all of the necessary documents to this email.
How to make your sorority recruitment packet
Most of the items in your sorority recruitment packet do not need to be customized.
One document you can customize is your social resume. I recommend using canva.com to create your social resume. It is a free graphic design website, and it has hundreds of templates for resumes.
If you are sending your sorority packet in the mail, you can also pick the color folder you want to use and make stickers with your name on them.
To customize your stickers, you can use websites like Moo.com or Vistaprint.com
You can also make your stickers in Canva. If you use this option, you want to buy sticker labels (via office supply store, Walmart, Amazon, etc.) and print them out at your home.
WHEN TO SEND OUT RECRUITMENT PACKETS?
Every time someone is willing to write you a recommendation letter, you need to send her your packet.
You can get recommendation letters before you register for sorority recruitment. Some Texas Panhellenic Associations have cut off dates (such as May 1st). If you use Panhellenic Associations to get recommendation letters, you need to see if there is a cut-off date.
HOW MANY RECRUITMENT PACKETS DO YOU NEED TO MAKE?
For each recommendation letter you submit, you need to submit a packet with it.
Conclusion
Again, I want to reiterate MOST COLLEGES DO NOT ACCEPT RECRUITMENT PACKETS! You need to look at your college’s Panhellenic website and see if they are recommended. Most sororities only accept pictures and social resumes.
DO YOUTUBE AND TIKTOK HELP YOU STAND OUT DURING SORORITY RECRUITMENT?
When you depend on Youtube and TikTok for advice, you prepare like everyone else. When you look like everyone else, you do not stand out. If a sorority can only invite back 30% of all PNMs, how will you show them that you deserve to be in the top 30%?
Instead of using advice and being the Overlooked Potential New Member, you want to use a step-by-step plan to gain Rush Crush status -- stand out, have options, and run home to a sorority you love. Click the video below to see how CRUSH [sorority recruitment coaching] can help you create and implement your plan.
You have a math test in two weeks that is worth 90% of your grade for the class. You want to get an A. You are looking for guidance on how to get your A.
First, you ask a friend, not in your math class, “How do I get an A+ on my test?” She says, “You need to study.” This answer leaves you frustrated.
Then, you ask your teacher, “How do I get an A+ on my test?” She gives you a step-by-step plan.
Who was more helpful?
Your teacher, right?
To get an A, you need to know the right information and have a step-by-step plan.
To get a bid to a sorority you love, you have to communicate you are the right fit for the sorority before and during sorority recruitment. A step-by-step plan tells you how and when to communicate.
BUT… why do so many women going through sorority recruitment ONLY use the advice they find on Youtube and TikTok? Does it help them stand out and get a bid?
Click the video below to see how The Ultimate Guide to Sorority Recruitment can help you create and implement your plan.
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https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Sorority-Recruitment-sorority/dp/1674072309
$24.99
https://www.gettingthebid.com/store/the-ultimate-guide-for-sorority-recruitment
$14.99
https://www.gettingthebid.com/store
