You've spent four years working hard to earn a college degree. You've filled your free time volunteering, excelling in the classroom and partaking in many campus and community events. If a big part of these experiences are due to your membership in a nationally recognized social fraternity at your college, listing your fraternity involvement can look good on your professional resume when applying for a job. When done correctly, your fraternity life can display many positive qualities that attract potential employers.
Framing Your Experience
Being a fraternity brother may have been a big part of your college experience, but it is just another campus organization to potential employers. If you are an active brother, but you haven't held an office or been on a committee, simply list your fraternity with other extracurricular activities. If you held an office or gained any relevant skill while a member, include a brief bulleted list. If you were simply a member, list your fraternity along with other extracurricular activities.
Including your Relevant Skills
Many Greek organizations require that members partake in community service and philanthropic causes while active. Including this service on your resume shows potential employers that you are capable of displaying a level of responsibility to yourself and others. Personal accomplishments or experiences that have helped your learn and grow are relevant to your resume. Highlighting leadership and teamwork experience, as well as your ability to practice time management, are all acceptable.
Your Fraternity As a Reference
Utilizing your chapter advisor as a reference on your resume can be helpful because in most cases he will be a good-standing member of the faculty or college staff. Fraternity involvement also provides you with the opportunity to meet former alumni of your Greek organization who may already be successfully employed in your desired field. These references will be able to explain to potential employers how your role in your fraternity helped the organization.
What To Avoid
Fraternity involvement shows that you are a socially successful person who is capable of juggling many different obligations. While it is good to include your Greek membership on your resume to show your diverse interests, remember that employers are more interested in what you've achieved in the classroom than during Greek Week. Including that you are the president or secretary is sufficient, but leave out insignificant information that is only relevant to your fraternity brothers.
