We recently connected with Leighton Newberry and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Leighton, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a fun one – what’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

I believe that most people who hear about sorority recruitment at first thought disagree with me when I tell them the process can be used for good. My mission as a female founded business owner is to change the narrative and empower the high-school girls I work with tools that will provide them a happy bid day, but also equip them with skills that will serve them for a lifetime to come. What do I mean by this? I believe the girls I work with are really capable of accomplishing amazing things. Our practice focuses on how to succeed in the sorority recruitment process specifically, but we also teach valuable skills that girls will carry on for the rest of their lives. For example, we teach girls how to curate well-written resumes. They may not realize it in short, but two years later…the resume skills they learn will help them get that internship and ultimately that first job. We also focus on how to build confidence, how to introduce yourself, how to carry on conversation with strangers and how to dress in a way you feel most confident in. I fully believe these skills will help them succeed in the short term (sorority recruitment) and the long term (their first job interview one day). I get genuinely excited about the the platform in which our business helps equip young girls experience a happy bid day while also gaining life long skills along the way.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi there! My name is Leighton Newberry and I was born and raised in Knoxville, TN. I left one college hometown for another and graduated from Auburn University in 2019. I am the founder of “Recruitment Ready” which is an online course & coaching platform that helps high-school girls & their mamas navigate all things sorority recruitment (rush) preparation at Universities across the country.

This business started organically in 2019 when I had many mothers from my hometown ask me “How can their daughter “get ready” for recruitment?” “What should she wear?” “How should she make her resume?!” etc.

I started helping girls in 2019 on the side as I was interning at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta on the external events team. My team and I were planning the largest fundraisers for one of the largest Children’s Hospitals in the country. In short, I was super busy and sorority recruitment wasn’t always on my mind! I say this, but in the same breath, I still had many mothers texting me asking to help their daughter with the process. With a genuine desire to give back, I ended up taking on clients with 1-1 sessions exclusively. Fast forward several months and after helping a number of girls in 2020 make it though sorority recruitment during a pandemic, I recognized a gap in the market and kept saying “yes” to working with girls.

In 2022 I went “all in” and launched a website, Instagram and most popular a variety of online courses girls and mothers could watch from their hometown. I work with busy jet-setters. These girls are traveling and busy with sports and life!

The online courses provided a way for my girls to plan and prepare even from their Europe trip. It was a total game changer for my business.

What am I most proud of? For me, it’s about how the girls are becoming as a person along the way.
YES, I get excited for them on Bid Day, but what gets me most excited is watching young girls grow in confidence and start to believe in themselves along the way. We teach valuable skills these girls will carry on for the rest of their lives. For example, resume building, confidence building techniques, dressing in ways that make them feel good about themselves etc.

Due to popular request, we launched a seperate mentorship and coaching program for high-school girls of all ages and seasons. It’s different than sorority recruitment preparation and teaches young girls skills such as: growing in confidence, sending a RSVP for events, social media do’s and dont’s, dressing in ways they feel classy and confident in, navigating friendhsips & lots more!

I am proud of the approach our brand takes because empowering young girls and watching them start to believe in themselves is something I am super passionate about.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I could never do it alone! I absolutely love learning and growing my skill set both in business and personally. One key resource that I derive a lot of my entrepreneurial thinking is from a program called AchievingOptimal. It’s a life coaching program that helps entrepreneurs be successful in building wealth, with out having to sacrifice their faith, family or health. AchievingOptimal has really helped me focus on my goals and check in with myself. Every morning I perform the “EMSR” which is an “early morning success ritual” that sets my day with intention. I am a better person and business owner because of the program and it’s teaching.

Another resource I find to be super encouraging and informative is the “How’d She Do That Podcast” with host Emily Landers. It’s a podcast in which Emily interviews incredibly successful business women across the world. I love hearing of the humble beginnings so many entrepreneurs have. A lot of the times, all we see is the successful ending, but as true entrepreneurs know, there is so much to learn in the middle and building phase of a business. This podcast captures that venture super well!

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.recruitment-ready.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recruitment.ready/
• Other: [email protected]