Is online dating for you?

For a young professional such as you it could do the trick.  If you find you do not have the time to spend out at the coffee shops, restaurants, malls, bars, or clubs; online dating could work wonders for you.

Before you jump in with both feet you should have a few things ready to use one of the many sites available online. [Skip to the FREE Section]

So now that you are partially armed it is time to review your options.   There are so many sites on the web these days that we will only cover the most popular.

First up is Match.com (Match also owns Chemistry.com)

Free to join and review profiles.  You can “wink” at others but you are not able to communicate. This is a typical get you into it, then it is pay to play. Match probably has the most singles online, primarily due to the heavy amount of advertising they do.  One good thing about Match is that the user interface is pretty simple to navigate and even a novice can have a profile up and running (especially if you covered the list above) within an hour.  From the feedback I have received from this site it would appear match has a slight male majority.

Match Advice Tip #1

Personalize your e-mails and you will get a better response. If you just do the normal numbers game and use the same lines over and over it may work but showing some personalization will count in the long run.

 If you are having no luck try a TRUE online dating service try great-expectations.

www.great-expectations.com

Next is eHarmony.com

Also free to join and review matches.  This site is a little bit more complex and time consuming than many others.  It takes a couple of hours to to fill out personality profile tests as well as create an about me section. The majority of people are accepted, while a few based on their answers are rejected (my guess they are not ready for a real relationship).  This site is very different than a personals site as you do not get to browse all of the members. You will receive an e-mail every time the ‘match compatibility’ computer has found a suitable match for you based on the personality profiles.  This is when you have to pay up to start the communication process. The next part is also a little different instead of communicating directly with your match you go through a guided communication process. You actually send a set of first questions back and forth to each other that are multiple choice. Then you send a list of mush haves and can’t stands to each other. So you can see if something you really love to do is on her/his can not stand list. If you make it through this stage the next one is a set of three mini essay questions that you exchange.  Then if you both agree to go past this stage you are in a privacy protected e-mail system on site. During this phase is when you will start to actually communicate, but you do find out a lot about the person prior to this. The feedback on this site is that has a slight female majority.

eHarmony Advice Tip #1

This site takes awhile to get through the process so do not join on a Thursday thinking you may be able to score a date for Friday.

eHarmony Advice Tip #2

When you have made it to the sites e-mail system within the first two communications you should try and exchange personal e-mails as this makes it much easier then having to log in to write back and forth.  

Yahoo Personals

If you have read the Match.com description above Yahoo is very similar.  You sign up, create a free profile with pictures. You can review and browse all members and also send an ice breaker for free. This site is also pay to play, but free to look. This site is pretty popular and has a pretty good balance between both of the sexes.  Like many sites it uses an internal e-mail system so you must log in to communicate.  An advantage to this site is that if you are using on a work computer it is not as blatantly obvious as going to eHarmony or Match as you go through the Yahoo portal to get in.     

Yahoo Advice Tip #1

Before you pay make sure to take a look at when the members you are interested in were on last.  If it is over a month for a lot of them you should probably go somewhere else as dormant profiles abound.

True.com Dating & Relationship Web-site

This site is kind of a mix between eHarmony and Match/Yahoo. The biggest difference is the background check they do to make sure you are not married or a convicted felon. This site is not really geared towards the young professional the way this site is.  If you have been burned before by someone who is married or you are keenly aware of safety concerns due to events in your past this site may be just the ticket for you. 

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