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Home / If You Are Part of a Fraternity Does It Continue on Resume After Graduation

If You Are Part of a Fraternity Does It Continue on Resume After Graduation

The stigma of a fraternity understandably leaves students or post-graduates with a debate: 'Do I bring it up or not?"

When portrayed by movies or TV shows, fraternities are seen as not-so-nice with actors playing to unprofessional stereotypes like wild partying or heavy drinking.

However, in reality, being a part of a fraternity means you gain valuable skills like teamwork and leadership and that you can adapt to a group setting.

You can also achieve great accomplishments and bring awareness to important issues, solidifying your good effort.

With this in mind, let's see if you should include it in your resume and where it should go!

Should a fraternity be included in a resume?

It is better to include professional or academic fraternities, rather than social ones, but regardless, a fraternity should be included in a resume if you have had notable roles such as President. Apart from leadership roles, add it if you have philanthropic achievements or transferrable skills that help support your membership. Do your research! If you notice that the hiring manager is affiliated with your particular chapter, definitely add it. It will help you network, break the ice during the interview and even increase your chances of getting hired.

Where to include a fraternity in a resume?

There are three ways of adding a fraternity in a resume. The first one is in the 'Work Experience' section. A fraternity is an organization and many parts of being a member translate into corporate culture. The second way is in the 'Extracurricular Activities/Volunteering' section. Make sure to include any awards won and important achievements. The third way is in the 'Affiliations' section. Add it here if you did not hold any significant positions or receive awards but would still like the recruiter to know you were a member.

Now let's move on to the most important part: the 3 best ways to include a fraternity in a resume.

How to include a fraternity in a resume – Top 3 ways

1. List important achievements – Don't leave it blank

Be sure to include any accomplishments from your time at a fraternity.

If you have philanthropic experiences such as volunteering at a charity event or hosting a fundraiser, make sure to add that involvement with the amount raised, especially if the subject of the event is in line with your target company's values.

Most organizations have a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) page on their website where they mention their selected charity or other ways that they give back to the community and why that resonates with their corporate values.

If your fundraising experiences contributed to something similar, they will see you as a good fit for their company as values play an important part in the recruitment process.

Another achievement you can put is event coordination. If you have organized social events for networking or sports events as fundraisers, it is great to add it to your resume.

Event organization requires teamwork, time management and preparation- qualities that employers look for in a candidate.

An additional accomplishment could be situating and mentoring new members.

If within your fraternity, you were tasked with welcoming and showing new members the ropes, list it. This shows good leadership ability.

All these achievements reflect experiences similar to professional work experiences and will be appreciated by a hiring official.

Examples:

Volunteer Experience

Pi Kappa Alpha

University of Virginia | 2015 – 2018

  • Organized fundraiser that raised $23,000 towards cancer research.
  • Assisted fraternity in receiving Philanthropy of the Year campus award (2018).

Work Experience

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

University of Alabama | 2017 – 2020

Secretary (2017 – 2018)

  • Provided mentorship to 25 new members.
  • Planned all networking events with collaborating organizations.

2. Mention transferrable skills gained and use examples to demonstrate results

The most important thing that recruiters are looking for when reading extracurricular activities or volunteering experience on your resume is what transferrable skills you gained that are relevant to the job position and organization.

Most fraternities help build teamwork, leadership and interpersonal communication skillsets, along with other useful skills like training and recruitment.

Mention these by using examples.

Just listing skills is not enough on a resume.

Recruiters want to see how you acquired them and what resulted from these skills. Otherwise, it is simply a list and is not impressive.

Examples:

Work Experience

Delta Chi

Cornell University | 2019 – Present

  • Directed a fundraiser that raised $35,000, the highest amount in its history.

Extracurricular Activities

Beta Theta Pi

Miami University | 2019 – Present

  • Conducted study tables that improved members' GPA.
  • Worked with faculty to provide members with outlets to different tutors.

3. Use proper titles and terms

A resume should always be professional, and you should always keep in mind that you do not know who will be going through it.

Not everyone knows fraternity lingo and it is not a good reflection on the candidate if they are using informal titles or terms.

If you were President but your fraternity called it Consul, you should list it as President.

Instead of using common fraternity terms such as 'brotherhood', use teamwork.

Not only will it look more professional, but it will also help you surpass the Applicant Tracking System by catering your resume to specific words it may be looking for.

Examples:

Work Experience

Tau Kappa Epsilon

Illinois Wesleyan University, 2018 – Present

President, 2020 – Present

  • Advised Tau Kappa Epsilon Vice President about teamwork development events.
  • Led the executive board members of the chapter on all operations.

Always tailor your resume to your audience which are the hiring officials of your desired company.

It can never backfire to include a fraternity on your resume and even looks good that you were involved in your university life.

You should just research what will impress the recruiter more and tailor the resume accordingly.

Make sure to list the fraternity as you would any other professional organization and include the activities that resulted in notable accomplishments for the fraternity and collaborating organizations.

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Source: https://linguaholic.com/linguablog/fraternity-on-resume/