The Time to Pounce is NOW

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - There is no chapter in Tau Kappa Epsilon that would not benefit substantially from developing an effective summer recruitment program. In the Midwest and the West, some chapters recruit nearly 80% of their new members for the coming year in the summer preceding the fall term and recruit better quality and higher quantity of new members than competitors. In the chapters where summer recruitment is rare or non-existent, any chapter smart enough to seize this opportunity can completely blow the doors off the competition.

The most important purpose of summer recruitment is to secure new men for the chapter long before the “rush competition” even knows they exist. For a chapter that is fighting to climb to the top of the ranks, summer recruitment provides the opportunity to recruit men before the other fraternities are even beginning to think about recruitment. A prospective member can be targeted, recruited, and join long before another fraternity ever contacts him. Remember, YOU need to meet as many men as possible to find those that can be Fraters. Don’t be the one to complain and sit idly by as your recruitment numbers and quality dip. You can be the difference in the amount of success the chapter sees. The chapter can totally dominate a recruit’s time, making TKE the fraternity of choice. For an already strong chapter, summer recruitment will ensure continued excellence.

Even if summer recruitment is not currently being used on your campus, the need to develop a summer recruitment program is obvious. In the summer months, Fraters typically have free time, the recruits have free time, and the chapter doesn’t have to schedule functions around school events or exams. Conducting recruitment in the summer also provides the opportunity to work together on a common goal. Any chapter who honestly wishes to be successful must make use of the summer.

Even if your university or IFC does not allow the chapter to sign bids before the formal “rush” period, an effective summer recruitment program can still be utilized. Recruitment is simply a process of making friends, and no regulation can stop you from making friends. Potential members can be targeted and recruited and throughout the summer; you can wait until the formal recruitment period to give out bids. If the chapter has several men who are only going through “rush" as a formality and you already know that they will join, you can use these men to help recruit other prospects during formal rush.

For more resources and ideas on recruitment, see the section on tke.org. You can also look at past issues of The TEKE Magazine and become a fan on TKE’s official Facebook Fan Page. This is a great forum, along with Twitter, to share and learn new best practices. In addition to these, be sure to contact your region’s director for questions.