======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====
1. How to look presentable in 15 minutes.
This one is extremely crucial to life in general. No one likes to be left waiting, and quite frankly, spending hours getting ready for work or just a night out is highly overrated (unless it’s a special occasion–then go ahead and spend those three hours straightening your hair, only to have it look good for about three pictures). I acquired this skill by running to class, to meetings, to Greek events, and then to that pregame at 8 p.m. All you need is 15 minutes to reapply your lip gloss, slap on some mascara, and throw on a mini skirt. Then you’re good to go shotgun a beer, and you’ll look damn good doing it. This will help in the real world when you either went out the night before and woke up way too late or you just had a Netflix binge until 2 a.m. and woke up with 15 minutes to spare before leaving for the daily commute.
2. A blazer will be your saving grace, so always keep a plain black one in your car.
This helpful item goes along with my first point. With your constant running around and hectic schedule, there will be a time when a surprise meeting with the administrator of Greek life occurs and all you’re wearing are black skinny jeans and a V-neck T-shirt. Oh, but wait, you have a black blazer in your car. Boom! Throw on that bad boy over your outfit and now you are business casual and perfectly presentable for a quick, impromptu meeting. This is helpful in the real world because everyone wears blazers. They will become a “basic staple” in your wardrobe.
3. Never mix business and pleasure.
Let’s face it, being the president of your organization means that you’re going to be watched and judged by others whether you know it and like it or not. The same goes for any position in your company–there are eyes and ears everywhere. Your business that happens on company hours becomes their business. I have unfortunately learned this the hard way; what happens in Greek life at a mixer does not stay there (college parties are not like Vegas). Do yourself a favor and avoid that rendez-vous with a coworker in the utility closet, or that “bathroom incident” with the recruitment chair of your favorite fraternity on the dance floor. Unless it’s going to potentially lead to actually dating, DNDH (do not do him).
4. You are a great bullshit artist.
This is acquired when you speak with the national adviser and you don’t know what the hell she’s talking about, but you seem like you do just so your meeting can end and you can go to happy hour. The same exact situation will occur with your boss at your first job. Chances are, like your presidency, you bullshitted your way into getting that role. If you actually earned it the right way, then kudos. As for the rest of us, keep on BSing life away. It’s a skill that will save your ass time and time again.
5. You know how to deal with crazy.
You were in charge of at least 30 girls between the ages of 18 to 21…’nough said. This will help in the workplace, because you will soon find out that your coworkers are crazy and the longer they’ve been with the company, the battier they are. Crazy is just normalcy to you at this point.
6. You know how to pick up the slack for others.
Yes, being the president can be fun and sound glamorous, but everyone forgets to mention all the grunt work you have to do to save the sorority’s ass. Oh, your community service chair forgot to collect the service hours of each sister, report it, and hand it in to be accredited for chapter of the year? Looks like you’re going to run around in between classes collecting each sister’s hours to hand in by the 4 p.m. deadline. When you’re new in the workplace, this will happen more often than you think, and unfortunately, the best way to deal with this besides by drinking wine is just to expect it and accept it.
7. You know how to get things done quickly and efficiently.
This skill goes along with the prior item. It’s because you’ve had to pick up the slack that you’ve learned how to make deadlines and get shit handed in on time. This will help in life, so get used to it now.
8. You know how to seem genuinely interested, even though you’re not.
This skill goes for the majority of sorority girls who have had that awkward moment during early rounds of recruitment. You’re stuck with the girl who doesn’t know why she’s going through recruitment, but she likes to talk to people anyway. She is borderline crazy, and she’s carrying on about her cat that has a weird medical condition where its knee caps always pop out of their sockets. No sisters have noticed the desperate “I need help, save me” hand single, so you end up being stuck talking to this girl for a solid 10 minutes, because it’s rude to just walk away from her, and that’s not a good look for your sorority. This will happen many a times with older coworkers–yes, the stories with cats having rare medical conditions will become a common factor in your work life.
9. You can take constructive criticism.
This is another main factor of life, and after being the president of a sorority, you know you can’t please every single member, and that there is always someone who thinks she can do your job better. Knowing how to take this “constructive criticism” without being defensive will absolutely help you in the workplace. Particularly when you move up the work ladder and are no longer considered “entry-level,” there will be an “entry-level” person or intern who thinks he or she can do your job better. Luckily for you, you’ve been down this road before and know how to act. My go-to is smiling and saying, “Thank you for your input. I never thought of doing it that way–I’ll have to try it next time,” and continue doing my job the way I see fit.
10. Wine cures all and nothing.
Yes, it’s a paradox, but it’s so true. As the president of your sorority, you have learned this time and time again, and going into the real world will only make this statement even more true.
Respond
Rowdie_Rio
is a twenty-something post-grad, trying to not be "that alumna" in her sorority. She is the Queen of "filler jobs", and "dicking around". Basically she is just waiting for some sort of divine intervention to hand her the life of her dreams, which consists of being able to drink without having a hangover, and eat Shake Shack everyday without getting fat.
@Rowdie_Rio
Need a fraternity version of this.
Hubris.
Being president of a fraternity taught me to never sign up to be the guy who takes the blame for all my asshole friends.
That’s true! Nice article!
If you are looking for tricks to manage your sorority, there is one just here: https://www.rowshare.com/blog/en/2016/04/15/How-to-manage-and-organize-events-for-a-Student-s-Organization
I used it on mine. I noticed that the organization of annual events could be far more effective. I finally found a solution. It’s a tool that saved us several times (as a student, I think you know like me how precious it is…) There is no use for me to keep this trick secret and it’s free. Enjoy!
Hand single?
All the qualities of a recruiter. Shocker.
Cue the anti-greek comments. . .
Standards taught me how to deal with HR.