Running to the sorority house on Bid Day or accepting your bid to your fraternity is often based on friendships made in the process — and when you finally make it to senior year, those friends can help you in the networking process if you know how to utilize your Greek benefits.
“One of the recommendations I always tell people is to tap into your alumni network locally or nationally,” said Natalie de Rojas, assistant director of the University of Miami’s Toppel Career Center.
De Rojas, a member and adviser of the Florida International University Phi Sigma Sigma chapter, said these alumni associations are willing to help recent graduates. She suggests hosting an event with your chapter to bring current students and alumni together. Her chapter hosts a yearly career panel during which members come in and speak about their chosen career path.
“It’s a great way to contact recent alumnae and older alumnae as well,” de Rojas said.
Christian Garcia, executive director of the Toppel Career Center and founding member of the FIU chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha adds that it’s also helpful to start making contacts at events where alumni will already be attending.
“Tap into current events like Homecoming and create events during that week, since they’ll be here already,” Garcia said.
Networking has also moved to the Internet and members are connecting using Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media outlets. The organizations are creating pages and groups on these new sites to keep members connected.
“We’re first, finest, forever and if the forever component is not there, we’re not doing our job,” said Ashlyn Stallings, marketing and communications coordinator for Alpha Delta Pi.
Stallings said she’s seen an increase of members using social media to contact other members. Alpha Delta Pi is an international sorority with more than 140 active college chapters and its LinkedIn page boasts over 6,000 members, double from where it was a year ago.
Stallings said that Alpha Delta Pi is on par with other sororities in the National Panhellenic Conference, an organization of support for 26 sororities.
“Ours is a reflection of what most NPC groups are trying to do right now,” Stallings said.
Garcia said LinkedIn’s search feature is especially helpful in these types of connections because one can search members by group affiliation.
“If students are looking for specific alumni, LinkedIn is a good way to find them,” Garcia said.
Chris Levin, a recent UM graduate and member of Phi Delta Theta said he’s used LinkedIn to connect with his fraternity brothers.
“I know Phi Delts have gotten jobs or internships from other Phi Delts, so I’ve seen it happen,” Levin said. “It’s a great network to have.”
He said the Greek community as a whole is a great opportunity. He found his current job because of a connection to a woman in Sigma Delta Tau via Facebook.
Garcia said students should be prepared before networking with potential contacts, which means having a complete LinkedIn profile and appropriate social media profiles. He also stressed that one should follow LinkedIn etiquette while using the group.
“Once students get a hang of it, then they should get involved with the discussion board,” Garcia said.
He suggests not only using the group to look for positions but to also use the discussion boards to post helpful articles, which will heighten your online profile and increase the chances contacts will assist you in the future.
“People will start seeing your name more and more,” Garcia said. “It’s more of a conversation.”
