The summer days are growing shorter, and you can almost feel the fall air starting to come in. It’s that time of year again, when thousands of KDs are returning to college! The prospect of moving back onto campus with your sisters is getting you through the many hours you’ve invested in packing and planning your living space. With a new school year also comes recruitment, new sisters and best of all, Bid Day!  

Recruitment is exciting because we invite amazing women into our circle of sisterhood, but the skills we learn recruiting will also help us later in life. Here are five lifelong skills recruitment teaches you! 

First Impressions: It’s true, first impressions make a big impact. Recruitment helps you learn how to put your best foot forward from the get-go. Time and time again, you introduce yourself to a new PNM with a smile and warm energy that shows you’re interested in what she has to say. Like they say in the professional world, “dress for the job you want,” you learn how to present yourself with confidence, and yet on the flip side, you also learn as recruitment conversations get deeper with each round, that while first impressions are important, it’s who someone is on the inside that truly matters. 

Communication: Have you ever heard the phrase, “She could have a conversation with a brick wall?” Recruitment helps you acclimate to be able to talk to just about anyone about anything. You learn to make people comfortable – even when the PNM or you might be a bit nervous. You’re able to find common ground and translate another person’s interests into benefit and potential impact. All these communication skills are invaluable in a job search and career!  

Professionalism: “You’re always wearing your letters!” We hear this in our new member process, but it really is true! This is all about how once you join Kappa Delta, you not only represent yourself, but also your sisters, your chapter, your Sorority and its values. During recruitment – and even in your online presence and actions on campus and beyond, you’re representing Kappa Delta by showcasing how your sorority experience has enriched your life. This is exactly what you’ll do in your career when you’re representing the company you’re employed by!  

Interviewing: It’s the big moment, you’re speaking to your first PNM of the day! But oh no, you totally freeze up and organic conversation just isn’t flowing. Luckily, prior to that round of recruitment, you came up with a trove of questions to have on deck to spark conversation and learn more about each other. You ask them, and voila! You find a commonality and dive deep into a topic that the PNM is passionate about. Asking good questions is key in employment interviews, and in the future, potential employers will love it when you’ve thought deeply about questions that relate to the job, company/organization and team! 

Stress Management: So much preparation happens before primary recruitment begins. From event planning to conversation workshops, from marketing the KD experience to even finding the perfect outfit that helps you feel confident, you’ve spent a lot of time and energy preparing. Learning how to prepare for major things in life will set you up to be calm, cool and collected in the face of challenges or obstacles! Bid Day is getting rained out? Won’t faze us … we’ll set up shop indoors and grab our ring lights for those cute photos! A conversation isn’t going exactly as you thought it would? No worries, you won’t panic, you can get right back on track. You know how to prepare for big events so that you can easily navigate any unforeseen challenges!