Advantages of Greek Life in Your Post-Grad Career

Pi Kappa Alpha Greek House, Florida International University, Miami FL. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

More than nine million college students wear Greek letters as members of Greek chapters today. Whether they join to build their resumes or make friends, Greek life can change the students’ lives after graduation for the better. Greek life has become a key point of success for students after they leave campus. Studies show that Greek students have a 10% higher success rate than the non-Greek students. So why exactly do students involved in Greek life feel more prepared to enter the real world upon graduation?

Preparedness

Preparedness results from constant meetings with their Greek chapters or managerial positions that are a mimic of what happens in the real world. This means they already know what to expect after they leave campus and will be able to easily adjust to their responsibilities within their chosen career paths. Students involved in Greek life are used to setting and attending meetings, which in turn results in setting goals and agendas for meetings and being well prepared for each one.

Leadership skills

From their Freshman year, students in Greek chapters are given the opportunity to assume leadership positions within the organization. Leadership opportunities give them a solid foundation that may help separate them from their peers later on. Running various pieces of the chapters helps Greek students build important skills for their careers after graduation, opening multiple doors of opportunities and growth in their industry of choice. These are skills that can be translated into quickly climbing the corporate ladder.

Learning new skills

Upon entering the real world, students will need to be able to take on different challenges than they are used to from college life. Throughout Greek life, they will be interacting with peers of different and varied backgrounds. Constant interactions with the members help them acquire important social, listening, teamwork, and public speaking skills as they are given the opportunity to present their ideas. All this will be evident in the environment they are working in, and they may be quick to volunteer their opinions and ideas.

Academic excellence

The ideals of most Greek chapters fosters academic excellence, an important sign they are taking what they are learning seriously. This ability to crack open the books and achieve in the classroom can translate to a positive work ethic later in life. They will know what it takes to work hard and achieve difficult goals.

Relationships

Due to the activities that they carry out in their fraternity or sorority, Greek students have many opportunities to build relationships not only within their own chapters, but with other Greek members as well. These relationships turn into important connections when all of these people are starting their own careers within a number of different industries. These connections are useful in their post graduate career search as they will have a preexisting network of contacts that will inevitably help in various ways in their own careers. Additionally, with the network of Greek alumni only growing, this can create a personal connection with new coworkers or at other industry networking events.

Interview skills

The Greek chapter requires the same ability to relate with people as you would in real world business organizations. To be a member, they need to sell themselves on why they should be a member of that organization through rush. It is a similar situation to later on when they go through job interviews. However, due to their Greek experience, the interview process will be easier as they have a better understanding of what is expected of them, making them more confident. Throughout their years in Greek life, they build confidence in themselves socially, personally and professionally, which may reflect positively during an interview.

Being a member of a Greek chapter is not just a fun time as you see it in TV and movies. These chapters are serious organizations that are interested in grooming these young men and women into confident and prosperous people, which can have very positive effects on their careers after college.