Online Dating and LinkedIn Profile Writing Advice
I regularly critique excerpts from random dating and LinkedIn profiles (for anonymity). By pointing out dos and don'ts from actual profiles, you too can look at your own with a critical eye and improve on your personal branding.
The worst time to be online dating (it’s not what you think).
The other day a neighbor said she was going to start online dating. A boyfriend had just ended their relationship and, according to her, she needed an ego boost. An ego boost? That’s oddly conceited for someone whose self-esteem is suffering (not to mention shallow, insincere and presumptuous). More importantly, it’s misguided. If you’re suffering from low self-esteem then you’re also suffering from low expectations for yourself. The two go hand in hand. As such, going online at this time… read more →
Dear Boomer: Is your online dating profile getting old?
Dating profiles plastered with clichés are never interesting to read. I’ve seen “life is short”, “loves to laugh” and “live love laugh” fill up more dating profiles than pink slime bulks up burgers. People of all ages do it and boomers are no exception. Yet of all age groups I’ve worked with boomers are by far the ones with the most interesting anecdotes and experiences to share. After all, they’ve lived longer and overcome more. Still, despite having years of… read more →
Online dating and why “favorites” can make you unpopular.
Here’s the thing about being added to someone’s favorite list: you’re not really a favorite. You’re one of that person’s favorites and that’s significantly less flattering. This is especially galling when the person adds you as a favorite and then doesn’t get back to you for a while. When this happens, it gives the impression that he or she will “get to you” once they’ve contacted their other, more favorite, favorites. Can you see how labeling someone a favorite could… read more →
3 big online dating profile mistakes women make (and how to fix them).
When I was online dating I saw a lot of online dating profile mistakes that men make. Now that I write profiles for others though, I find myself regularly reading the dating profiles of both men and women.As such, I catch a number of mistakes that my beloved gender makes. Here are the top three and how to correct them. 1) Shots of you and all your friends. Many women post too many photos of themselves surrounded by their girlfriends.… read more →
3 big online dating profile mistakes men make and how to fix them.
As an online dating profile writer with an advertising background, I know a lot about selling yourself and standing out against the competition. And men, online dating certainly is competitive.You can’t afford to make mistakes. So let’s review some of the worst online dating mistakes men make followed by advice on how to correct them. 1) Dressing like you don’t care to hide the fact that you do. A lot of men fill out their dating profiles feeling a little… read more →
Dear Online Dater: I think you found the love of your life – and it’s you.
Tall, dark, handsome and intelligent man looking for compatible partner. People who meet me always tell me I’m beautiful but, what you can’t tell from looking at me, is that I’m beautiful on the inside too. Those lines you just read? I actually saw them on a dating site I scanned the other day. Both dating profiles were tremendously appealing, but probably only to me and for all the wrong reasons. I love bad marketing. It gives me private self-satisfied… read more →
Online dating profiles and the appeal of nose pickers.
A former client of mine wrote to me the other day to say that she saw an online dating photo of a guy picking his nose. She wondered if I had an opinion about this and, of course, I do. First, you don’t tend to see this kind of nonsense on paid dating sites. Generally, when single men or women invest their money, they also invest of themselves. Though I think sites like okCupid are fun, and people have found… read more →
If I don’t have cleavage should I still online date?
The other day, a client sent me a link to an article that outlines data collected by okCupid. In it, the article says that 32-year old women with cleavage shots garner 79 percent more hits than, presumably, those profiles of women without cleavage. My client’s small-breasted. These stats made her frantic. But first, let’s think critically – though the article uses words like “research” and “statistics”, and though the founders of okCupid are mathematicians, this is hardly what anyone would… read more →
Dear Jerry.The Hooter Girls on your dating profile aren’t working.
Today I went onto Plenty of Fish to scan a few online dating profiles. I clicked on one of a middle-aged man who I was certain would be a buffoon. The photo was of him, beaming with pride, while surrounded by a group of Hooters Girls. It was tacky for two reasons: 1) half-dressed waitresses don’t conjure up even a modicum of class 2) older men being lavished by young women can appear creepy. That said, when I read his… read more →
3 online dating profile mistakes women make and how to fix them.
When I was online dating I saw a lot of online dating profile mistakes that men make. Now that I write profiles for others though, I find myself regularly reading the dating profiles of women. As such, I catch a number of mistakes that my beloved gender makes. Here are the top three and how to correct them. 1) Shots of you and all your friends. Many women post too many photos of themselves surrounded by their girlfriends. There are… read more →
