Summer Recruitment Part 1

Ah it's almost summer - which means no more classes, fun in the sun, eagerly awaiting college football season and a huge wasted opportunity. That wasted opportunity is summer recruitment.

Think about it. Summer is the perfect time to get a head start before the thought of recruitment crosses other chapter's collective minds. If you have never done summer recruitment it may feel a little bit strange. The goal of this series of blog posts is to take out the guess work and give you a path to follow.

On to the basics:

Rules
Acquire a copy of your IFC Bylaws or set up a meeting with your Greek Adviser to learn what you can/cannot do for summer recruitment. Sometimes there are restrictions on contact, bid distribution or eligibility. Make sure any and all plans abide by the appropriate policies.

Names List
The Names List is probably the single most important tool available to you for Summer recruitment. It allows you to keep track of the potentially hundreds of Potential New Members that you will be interacting with. It also serves as an additionally layer of accountability if used correctly in the sense that you will be able to keep track of which members are recruiting.

Motivation
It's going to be hard to convince every member of your chapter to recruit over the summer. My advice: take baby steps. Rally your horses and create a committee of members who are dedicated to the cause. As the saying goes "the first step is the hardest". After one successful summer recruitment period (which you'll have if you keep reading these posts) it will become a habit.

Planning
Your summer recruitment plan should be completed before members start their exams. It should clearly lay out member expectations, a rough calendar and a budget. All these aspects should be distributed and understood by your horses, if not your entire membership. Chances are your Leadership Consultant, Alumni Adviser and/or Greek Adviser can look over your plan and give feed back.

Coming up later in the week I'll cover structure, expectations, strategy and how summer recruitment can make fall recruitment that much easier.