FROM RECRUITMENT TO NETWORKING

STRATEGIC GOAL AREA

CONNECT

“Recruitment gave me the ability to have meaningful

conversations and get to know people quickly at more than just the surface level.” - Anna Slaughter Wamack, BΘ

By: Christy Adams, DΗ, past director of collegiate services

Picture this. Two women standing in front of a decorated table, engaging with others passing by. A group stops and the two women begin a conversation that starts with thoughtprovoking but fun questions. After fifteen minutes, the youngest of the passers-by remarks, “Wow, you’re really good at conversation.”

I would venture to guess that you automatically placed this conversation in a crowded cafeteria on a college campus. But what you don’t know is that this scene took place at a home show geared for women consumers in Phoenix, AZ. Those two women standing in front of the table were my biological sister (who is an Alpha Gamma Delta) and I were at the home show to build the customer base of my brother-in-law’s remodeling business.

So, how did I answer that young woman who complimented our conversation skills? I told her simply, “You’re looking at twenty years of sorority recruitment experience.” To Alpha Sigma Alpha’s advantage, that young woman wasn’t yet in college, and that conversation hopefully opened the door for her to think about the skills she could gain if she joined a sorority.

This experience got me wondering about what skills our alumnae use in their personal and professional lives that are attributed to our collegiate days of recruiting. Not surprisingly, when I put a call out for some examples of how collegiate recruitment skills become networking and business practices, I got an overwhelming response.

Conversations

Every alumna who responded indicated that the conversation skills she learned as a collegian have helped her professionally. From science to sales, every career field will require a woman to hold a conversation with someone she does not know. Being able to make others feel comfortable is key to developing a relationship, but in recruitment we have a limited time to do so. Whether in a structured recruitment setting, or informally when we meet a woman, we must make the interaction memorable. “Recruitment gave me the ability to have meaningful conversations and get to know people quickly at more than just the surface level,” said Anna Slaughter Wamack, BΘ.

Alumnae also noted that the bumping skills they used during structured recruitment, translate well to a networking event or social hour. Chapters use bumping to move around the room and engage with as many potential new members as possible. Women can also use those same concepts at a work event. Jaime Vilsack McCaslin, ΓΨ, explains, “I’ve turned bumping into networking. When I am talking to someone at an event or conference, and someone else joins our group, I immediately tell them what we were talking about to help them join into our conversation seamlessly.” As Jaime notes, using skills to keep conversations flowing are essential in recruitment and beyond.

Connections

“The most important thing I learned [during recruitment] was the importance of meeting people where they are, finding common ground and looking for ways to connect,”explains Maggi Barge Rimel, ΔΗ. Taking the time to listen and make connections is important in business in many ways. Sharon Buscetta Moeykens, ΔΗ, has incorporated her recruitment skills into her role at church. She has developed community engagement director positions who use relationship/interpersonal skills to boost engagement of members at a parish level. Kat Burns Swatt, ΘΒ, provides an excellent example of how connecting with someone can make all the difference:

When I arrived to meet a facilities director for a nonprofit organization, I had not met him in person before. I was already walking into an awkward situation left by the previous sales person who’d since been fired from my company. I was starting at less than zero. Our mission as good recruiters is to be genuine in our care for the person we are engaging with (much like my mission with my clients) and ensure they leave with a good feeling. I want my clients to trust and invest in our relationship; much the way we as sorority women want our new members to trust and invest in Alpha Sigma Alpha.

“The goal isn’t to “convince” someone, but to show them what you have is appealing and lead them to that decision on their own.”

Making connections goes beyond simple conversations and can lead to building a network of connections. Having a professional network is important and the willingness to engage with other people opens up new opportunities. Maria Malayter, Ph.D., ΧΧ, credits landing her current job to networking. While an adjunct faculty member at Webster University in the late 1990s, she connected with Connie Fuller, a fellow teaching colleague. In 2012, when Maria was working in the corporate world, she received a call from Dr. Fuller inviting her to teach a Ph.D. course at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Maria started there as an adjunct in 2013, and has been a full-time faculty member since 2015.

Confidence

Ultimately, each alumna who responded to my request indicated that her involvement in recruitment helped her gain confidence. Feeling confident and being authentic is key to showing what makes a chapter attractive to potential members. The same goes for those interacting with others in a professional setting. As Naydia Spears Mills, ΖΩ, noted, “The goal isn’t to “convince” someone, but to show them what you have is appealing and lead them to that decision on their own.” Erin Kissick, ΔΝ-Β, had that exact experience. She interviewed with a company that set up a “gauntlet interview” and, not knowing what that was, she prepared for it like a regular interview. She developed answers to common questions, researched the company and even looked at the interviewers’ LinkedIn profiles. The interview, however, was nothing like she imagined. The group of a dozen people peppered her with random questions not related to anything she prepared for.

She says, “What helped me get through such an overwhelming, intimidating situation was finding personal connections with the interviewers and staying authentic instead of trying to force scripted answers into the conversation – both skills I learned in recruitment. I ended up getting the job and still work there today.”

Although it may seem cliché to say that sorority is for a lifetime, those lessons we learned as collegiate members pay off through the years. The conversation skills we develop, the connections we make and the confidence that grows within us are things that will always be grounded in our Alpha Sigma Alpha membership.

Alpha Sigma Alpha’s mission reminds me to strive for continued improvement every day - both individually and also to leave the world a little bit better than I found it. Random acts of kindness are free to give, and people can remember those small things for the rest of their lives. That is why I founded Fem(me)Power. Fem(me)Power provides supportive outreach to women globally toward realizing lifelong stability and autonomy through business ownership. We provide crowd-resourced free, low-cost and accessible tools to help you succeed. We provide tailored services to globally underserved, minority and marginalized female business owners and entrepreneursto-be with an aim to permanently lift women and their families from poverty. Our offerings are scaled to meet needs and tailored circumstances, culture and location. We support female refugees, survivors of trafficking, forced labor, domestic abuse, and enslavement and their families, by helping nurture growth from strong new roots to a place of independence and financial security via business ownership. We aid women experiencing life transitions to pave the path to security and success.

Woman of poise & purpose

LARISSA LOWTHORP, ZK founder and chairwoman of Fem(me)Power

Survivors face tremendous psychological impact, and PTSD, anxiety, depression and substance abuse can result. Fem(me)Power will work hand-in-hand with mental health professionals and legal case workers to aid in the healing and rebuilding process.

Fem(me)Power works hand-in-hand with crisis organizations to provide long-range aid to women and their families after safe environs have been established. Fem(me)Power is designed to support women and their families as they enter the next phase of their lives looking toward a bright future. We lay a network of roots throughout the world promoting freedom of education, free exchange of resources, positive change and growth.

I hope to be a source of inspiration to others and help them to recognize and achieve their full potential. Alpha Sigma Alpha’s values motivate me to seek more and to cultivate a life that serves a higher purpose.

Alpha Sigma Alpha's aims of intellectual, physical, social and spiritual development, serve as guideposts for me to uplift and elevate others. Alpha Sigma Alpha’s mission reminds me that through hard work, sacrifice, and service to others, we can achieve more than we ever believed possible.