The phrase “sorority recruitment” can come with a slew of negative connotations, and when I told my family that I was rushing they referenced Mean Girls and warned me about the ruthless process.
They said I would be judged from the moment I walked into the room based upon my appearance, my personality and my ability to uphold an engaging conversation. Excluding the Mean Girls reference, that is basically what recruitment is at its core – but there is nothing wrong with that.
In fact, the recruitment process is an excellent form of character development that prepares people for the reality of the job recruiting process. The whole point of both processes is to pitch yourself to a group and find the best fit.
When asked about her opinion on recruitment, a UM freshman who rushed this semester said that “the process was exhausting, but it taught me how to hold a conversation with different people,” further proving that recruitment can hone significant developmental skills.
According to an article written by Dr. Charlotte Hog, before all of her job interviews, Hog carefully considered what she wore.
“I’d be told to wear a neutral suit, but not so neutral there was no pizzazz… In the next moment, someone else would counsel me that what I wore was moot,” Hog wrote. Dressing up for any formal interview or occasion is important for presentation skills, so, while some make fun of the dressing-up aspect of sorority recruitment, at some point everyone has to pick an appropriate outfit for a formal occasion.
Handling rejection is also an extremely important part of life that sorority recruitment exposed me to. Getting dropped from a chapter that you may have liked is extremely hurtful, but it is important to experience rejection because it comes in so many forms, such as not getting the internship or a job you wanted or being denied the grant money you hoped to put toward your research.
In an article published by Teen Vogue, writers Cort and Shortsleeve, who both went through recruitment, express that, “rejection sucks, but it’s a necessary part of self-discovery and of growing up. It helps you learn to love yourself even more.” The writers express that although at the time they were hurt about not being invited back by some chapters, they ended up where they were meant to be and wouldn’t change a thing about their experience.
Sorority recruitment also teaches communication skills. I’m not necessarily great at talking to new people, but recruitment forced me to meet so many new people that I quickly improved my skills. Whether it was talking to the girls in line, peers in my recruitment group or the recruiters themselves, I was talking non-stop and made many new friends.
When asked about how recruitment impacted her social life, another UM freshman stated, “I was forced to meet so many people during the process. Now I walk to class and see so many of the people I was with during recruitment.”
While recruitment can be brutal and challenging, the process is ultimately beneficial. Women learn how to make appropriate conversation with grace while under pressure, honing their skills for the real world.