“Sororities sort of sound like an air-headed field to be involved in,” said Devon Naftzger, an investment-banking analyst and the former CEO of Princeton University’s Kappa Alpha Theta chapter. “A lot of people who are on the outside picture sororities at every school, including Princeton, as just craft-making, hand-clapping, hair-braiding types of groups.”

There is certainly reason to criticize the Greek system—it has a long way to go in terms of nearly every aspect of diversity, among other serious problems. And the popularized images of sorority life that repeatedly elicit an eye roll from the general public can feel like a potential red flag during the job-search process. So for the women in Greek life who are entering male-dominated fields in particular, the stigmas associated with sororities could feel like a risky association to use as a resume builder.

“Sometimes, depending on who you’re sitting in front of or who you’re on the other end of the phone from, they may or may not be a big fan of Greek life,” said Jessica Long, an assistant director in the Office of Personal and Career Development at Wake Forest University. At Wake Forest, 51 percent of women are affiliated with National Panhellenic chapters. “We encourage them to focus not on the social aspect of their Greek involvement.”

Indeed, despite the caveats, career experts generally do recommend that women involved in sororities include it on their resume.

Naftzger graduated earlier this year, and for her part did include her sorority involvement on her resume when applying for a job. That decision was motivated to some extent by how formative she said her time as CEO was during college; she honed leadership skills, made meaningful connections, and considered her role to be a full-time job in addition to being a student. Naftzger also said her interest in finance was fostered by an older member of her sorority and she has made an effort to help younger members with similar goals.

And on a national level, Naftzger’s chapter is taking steps to legitimize and professionalize the experiences of its campus leaders. Beginning in the fall of 2011, Kappa Alpha Theta fully implemented changes to the titles of its chapter officers, moving from “president” to “CEO” and eliminating the general “vice president” name in favor of more specific “chief” titles like “chief financial officer,” in addition to other shifts in nomenclature.

Jenni Broughton Schmaltz, the chief operating officer for Kappa Alpha Theta, said in an email that these changes were not accompanied by an increase in responsibilities, but they do make the leaders’ duties “more transferrable to the ‘real world.’”

“[The change] allows members to include their Theta experience on their resumes without having to add extra explanations of their responsibilities in the role,” Schmaltz said. “The titles add credibility to the work our chapter officers are doing.” This work—which Schmaltz said could include managing a million-dollar budget or overseeing operations for a chapter with 400 members—is, in theory, granted a more professional air because of the nominal changes.