Recruitment
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      1. Brigade Knowledge Base
      2. Recruitment

      Recruitment Examples

      Examples of successful recruitment types and events

      Practice Your GB Elevator Pitch

      • Create your pitch. Collaborate with your E-board to create a concise and comprehensive GB Elevator Pitch.
      • Practice, practice, practice! You will probably be repeating your spiel over and over again to potential volunteers, donors, family and friends, etc. so it’s a good idea to practice a lot!
      • Keep it brief. Your pitch should be between 30-60 seconds. Give enough information, but don’t ramble
      • If someone is interested they will ask follow up questions that you can expand on
        • Be persuasive. Try to convey the passion you have to your audience by explaining why you believe in the cause and providing factual information.
        • Be flexible.  You don’t have to say the same thing every time and you can make adjustments to gear your pitch towards your audience and what you’re asking of them
        • Keep it simple.  Use words your audience will understand and avoid using several buzzwords that require explanation.
        • Provide a call to action. What do you want your audience to do? Donate? Join your brigade? Sponsor your fundraiser? Be sure to let them know “what,” “how,” and “why.”

        Social Media

        • Inform your potential volunteers! Let everyone know what Global Brigades is all about and share your passion for the organization.
        • Engage with Global Brigades social media accounts. Make sure to share interesting posts from your Chapter’s social media accounts and the official Global Brigades accounts!
        • Share your #MyGBStory after your brigade so potential volunteers can see what they can participate in in the future! Check out this blog post on tips for writing your story.
        • Utilize GB Branded Templates. Want to up your social media game, but not sure where to start? Check-out GB’s Marketing Kits for Instagram story/post and other templates!

        Post Flyers

          • Get the word out there! Create flyers advertising your Chapter meetings and post them around your campus.
          • Make your materials look professional and polished. Be sure to use GB Marketing Materials, which include several flyer, powerpoint, and social media templates. Also, refer to our Branding Guidelines.
          • Be strategic. Think about the locations where your hanging your flyers - try to post flyers in common areas with a lot of foot traffic, such as student unions, dining halls, departmental bulletin boards, lecture halls, dorm halls, etc.
          • Don’t limit your audience. If you’re recruiting for a Medical Brigade, consider posting flyers in Public Health, Engineering, and other departments as well.
        • Include details! Make sure your flyers include meeting dates, times, locations, and contact phone numbers/email addresses

        Attend Club Orientations and Fairs

        • Research university-sponsored recruitment events. Many universities host organization fairs, club days, and Freshmen orientation. All of these are great opportunities to attract new members! Make sure you are proactive and figure out how you can request a table/spot for your Chapter.
        • Make your table inviting and try to engage interested students. Create a tri-fold or poster with pictures and information about your brigade, hand out candy or pens, and/or have an activity that table visitors can participate in (i.e. a “What kind of brigader are you quiz” or prize wheel)
        • Put your Elevator Pitch into use! Let potential volunteers know why they should get involved and how.
        • Collect names and contact info. Have table visitors fill out a sign-up sheet on either paper or a laptop, including their name, major, and email.

        Lecture Hall Announcements

        • Use your network. Ask your professors if you can have a few minutes at the beginning of class to talk to your fellow classmates about your Chapter.
        • Utilize your elevator pitch! Professors typically only allow announcements for 3-5 minutes. Get your point across quick and leave time for questions.
        • Collect student contact info. Pass around a sign-up sheet for interested students and send a follow-up email.
        • Leave concrete information. Either write your contact information on the board or pass around flyers with detailed information.
        • Engage your current members. Have leadership and existing members do lecture hall announcements as well to reach a larger audience.

        Email Blasts and Listservs

        • Create your own listserv. Include all prospective volunteers by having interested students sign up at all of your events and adding emails as the year progresses.
        • Utilize departmental listservs (Pre-Med, Pre-Law, etc). These listservs usually have a large reach and utilizing them can create visibility among large sections of the campus population. Share information about your next meeting or event.
        • Make use of key buzz words. Words and phrases such as “International Development,” “Sustainability,” “Alternative Spring Break,” and “Service” target a certain demographic and peak people’s interest.
        • Keep your emails clear and concise. Make sure that your communication in the email is not too lengthy and includes a call-to-action (i.e. “Sign-up here!”, “Attend our next meeting!”, “Check out our social media!”)
        • Avoid sending too many emails! Try to only send emails at most once a week. 

        Network & Collaborate

        • Collaborate with other student organizations on campus. Check out your office of student organizations to see if there are other orgs with similar interests/missions (i.e. Pre-Health/Med/Dent/ Law Societies, Fraternities and Sororities, Rotary Clubs, Doctors/Engineers without Borders, etc.)
        • Work together with GB Chapters on your campus! Reach out to your Campus Chairperson or directly to the other chapter presidents to see if your chapters can tag-team a recruitment, fundraising, or engagement activity.
        • Host “Bring-a-Friend Events.” Encourage current members to talk about GB to their friends, professors, and family. Also, reward current members for bringing a friend to a meeting or event.

        Chalking

          • Identify high foot-traffic areas. In order to reach more students, make sure you are putting your messages in places that are frequented often (i.e. the entrance to the library, the sidewalk outside the student union, etc).
        • Make it a group activity. Chalking around campus can be an exciting group activity. Use it as a way to show new members/students around campus, while getting the word out.
        • Lead students to your social media. In order to ensure that viewers don’t lose track of the information, mention your social media accounts! If they follow your accounts after seeing the chalking, they will receive reminders of upcoming meetings and events.

        Information Sessions

        • Expand on your elevator pitch. You were able to get students to your meeting, now is your chance to share more details about GB, the Holistic Model, and your specific program. Try to refrain from detailing donation goals, deadlines, etc (it can wait until the 2nd or 3rd meeting)!
        • Utilize GB Templates. Don’t have time to create an engaging, visually appealing slide deck that has all of the information? Take advantage of the Info Session Templates in the GB Marketing Kit! 
        • Get the word out. Make sure to sufficiently advertise your information sessions via email, posters, departmental listservs, and social media (check out previous slides for specific tips and tricks).
        • Give people another reason to attend! Students are always looking for free food, merch, etc. Try some of these other tricks to up attendance: Provide pizza or snacks, give out free t-shirts, invite guest speakers, hand out free MCAT or GRE prep material, etc.