Recruitment Week Roundup: How to Make the Most of the Start of the School Year
For each PRSSA Chapter, the start of the fall semester marks the start of recruitment season! This year, the process was made easier through the first annual PRSSA Recruitment Week, from August 17 to August 21. Each day, PRSSA provided Chapters with recruitment materials, tips and various ideas for ways to promote their Chapter across their university.
The first step to successful recruitment is to help students understand public relations and how PRSSA can benefit them. To assist with this, Chapters received a detailed toolkit of resources that will help introduce students to the profession, the impact they can have and why they should get involved with PRSSA. Additionally, the toolkit includes tips and templates to market and promote Chapters on campus and social media.
As many college students know, the first few weeks of the semester are the best time to table at involvement fairs, events or other high-traffic areas on campus. More often than not, a Chapter’s table is also the first time prospective members are going to learn about PRSSA, making these simple initiatives essential for recruiting new members. During Recruitment Week, Chapters were able to plan for tabling events with the provided materials, which included information on tabling practices and ways to stay connected with potential new members.
Another effective way to recruit new Chapter members is by reaching students directly through classroom visits. In these visits, Chapter leaders can present PRSSA to students, explaining what the organization is, the benefits, opportunities throughout the semester and how they can join. Similarly, Chapters can plan recruitment events for students to experience their culture and connect with current members, all while learning about PRSSA’s opportunities. To help Chapters implement these initiatives, PRSSA provided materials, guides and templates for planning classroom visits and recruitment events, which were shared on the PRSSA website and social media pages.
Recruitment Week concluded with what each Chapter hopes for most: retention. PRSSA provided downloadable resources for Chapters to plan retention strategies to maintain long term success such as a welcome email template, first meeting agenda, a semester engagement checklist and more. Overall, recruitment is an exciting opportunity for Chapters!
The beginning of the semester is a time to foster a supportive, informed and engaged community of pre-professionals, further providing opportunities for members to grow and learn. While PRSSA’s Recruitment Week has ended, Chapters can use the resources posted on the website, linked here, to better prepare for recruitment, community development and retention.
Emily Cerbone is a member of the 2026/2027 Publications Subcommittee and serves as President of Millersville University of Pennsylvania’s PRSSA Chapter. She is a senior at Millersville studying communications with a public relations concentration and a minor in management. Emily also works as a student writer/communications assistant for Millersville’s Office of Communications and Marketing, and serves as VP Media of Millersville’s CHAARG Chapter. Before attending Millersville, she earned an associate’s degree in communication with a concentration in public communication from Harrisburg Area Community College.
