Never Get a Second Chance
You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression-- As cliché as the adage sounds, it’s a great piece of advice for composing your chapter’s recruitment letter. This letter is often the first – and only – impression of Phi Sigma Pi that students have when deciding whether to attend an information session. This narrow window of opportunity requires a chapter to give considerable thought and effort to producing a quality letter that will both inform and interest the recipients. Every recruitment letter should have three basic components: a brief description of the organization, a schedule for the interest sessions, and contact information for someone who can answer prospective members’ questions. But the difference between an okay letter and a great letter lies in how these components are presented.
Three Simple Questions
- Does your letter read professionally? Phi Sigma Pi is a professional honor fraternity. While it’s fine to talk about the fellowship your chapter does, you should give equal mention to scholarship and leadership through service. Students can find fun anywhere; so your recruitment letter should address what other unique and rewarding experiences our fraternity has to offer its members.
- Does it stick to the basics? It is possible for a letter to have too much information. Remember – provide enough information to grab their attention, but not so much that you have nothing to share at the interest sessions! The recruitment letter should be merely an introduction to what Phi Sigma Pi is.
- Is everything correct? This sounds obvious, but chapters make this mistake every year. The times, dates and locations mentioned in the letter should be double- and triple-checked for accuracy; and it’s equally important for the contact information to be correct. Don’t let misinformation be the downfall of an otherwise fantastic recruitment!
Once you can answer “yes” to all three questions, the final step in creating your chapter’s well-written, purposeful recruitment letter is to seek feedback. By asking other people – such as your fellow members, your advisor or even your region consultant – to read the recruitment letter before it’s mass-produced, you can ensure that the letter your prospective members receive will be effective at garnering their interest.
Disclaimer
All content submitted to the Phi Sigma Pi Wiki-based Resource Guides is considered the shared property of Phi Sigma Pi and its members. Please do not submit content unless you are comfortable that it may be edited, amended, altered or removed by other contributors. Malevolent destruction of content and/or posting of blatantly inappropriate content may be considered conduct unbecoming a brother.
Content that is likely to be considered unacceptable and inappropriate includes, but is not limited to: content relating to illegal activities of any kind, or activities prohibited by Phi Sigma Pi or University Rules or Regulations, references to (legal or illegal) use of alcohol or drugs, sexually explicit material or references and/or content describing or promoting hazing, discrimination, or harassment of any kind.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by Phi Sigma Pi of the linked web sites, or the information contained therein. Phi Sigma Pi does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Any external hyperlinks should conform to the rules as outlined in Editing FAQs otherwise they may be removed. Inappropriate adding of external hyperlinks may be considered conduct unbecoming a brother.
All content in the Resource Guides should be considered as advice only, and no content or advice should be followed if in conflict with the Phi Sigma Pi National Constitution, University Regulations, or state, local, or federal law.
