7 Sins of Sorority Candidates (and 15 helpful recommendations)

	SIN: Going into recruitment without knowing what makes you a valuable potential member.

• Be sure that you are able to predetermine your main strengths and isolate them into your position or brand.
• Be sure you know any of your personal hurdles that might become apparent during sorority recruitment.
• Adjust your online profiles to support your positions of strength.

	SIN: Demonstrating poor listening skills.

• Avoid interrupting the sorority member while she is talking, or talking too much about yourself. Convey your message about yourself in three sentences, then ask a
  question about her so you can listen.
• Demonstrate a genuine interest in the woman in front of you. Care about her hopes and dreams. Empathize with her struggles and heartaches.

	SIN: Not clearly having several examples ready to provide evidence of your main strengths.

• Be ready to humbly tell stories featuring you; in these stories, talk about skills or experiences that will be valued in a sorority environment.
• Be ready to drop some of your example accomplishments into the course of regular recruitment conversation.

	SIN: Ignoring the principle of first impressions: appearance matters when snap judgments must be made.

• Wear these: clothes that are not too casual, racy, or odd; makeup that makes you look alert and healthy; stylish, comfortable shoes.
• Know the nonverbal signals that you should and should not display, like making eye contact (yes) or crossing arms (no).

	SIN: Not taking advantage of the boost that your resume and recommendations can give you. *On some campuses.

• Get recommendations that support the strengths you possess which are valuable in a sorority environment.
• Provide a polished, concise, compelling resume that could refresh sorority members’ memories of your conversations or tip the scales in your favor if needed.

	SIN: Allowing your conversations to blur together and being unable to make clear selections at the end of the day.

• Keep track of your conversations and impressions of each woman and her sisters after visiting each sorority.
• Use a number or grading system to rate each conversation so you can see how the sororities stack up at the end of each day.

	SIN: Demonstrating a lack of tact and maturity by talking about taboo topics.

• Keep your conversations away from race, religion, politics, alcohol, drugs, sex, money, (poor) health, other sororities and fraternities.
• Know how to quickly and diplomatically recover if you find yourself - or the sorority member - going down a taboo conversation path.