If you know me, you know that I am terrible at dating.
In my four years of college, most of my dates started with a drink and ended alone. I would usually meet a guy that seemed pretty nice in class, and a few days later we would go out to dinner together only to discover that, like the rest of my previous failed relationships, it was not meant to be.
After several unsuccessful attempts at maintaining any relationship for more than a month, I realized that maybe the real reason I have remained single for so long is that it wasn't necessarily the act of dating I had approached incorrectly, but the way I found dates.
So, with that in mind, I decided to take to every college student's favorite late-night booty call app, the almighty Tinder.
In the world of dating, online matchmaking has become a big business, as in a 2 billion dollar one.
With over 49 million active users, I thought it was time to give digital love a chance. I had tried Tinder a couple times but never with the actual intention of finding a date. Most of my time spent with the app was laughing with some girlfriends about the cheesy and sometimes downright excruciating pickup lines sent to my inbox.
Never had I thought for a second that I could actually use this app to my advantage.
As of late 2014, Tinder claimed to have an estimated 50 million users per month with an average of 1 billion swipes and 12 million matches a day.
With those numbers, who wouldn't want to hand over their love life to a room full of coders turned matchmakers?
Before I logged on, I decided to come up with a game plan. I would approach Tinder like I would a business deal.
Unlike serendipitous dating in which I would hope to run into my future hubby in the grocery store checkout or in line at Starbucks when we accidentally touch hands while grabbing for the same latte ( a girl can dream, can't she?), I would take it into my own hands by looking for the best, most qualified candidate and reach out to them should they match with my profile.
After changing my profile description, I realized that I was quickly beginning to get A LOT of inquiries. Something about a girl asking for a resume and cover letter seemed to intrigue guys and they definitely wanted to know more.
When I began this experiment, I never thought that it would actually work, let alone work to the extent that it did. I soon began getting dozens of messages asking for more information about the "job title" and where to apply. I never expected the response that I got, or even that people would take it as seriously as they did.
I decided to post a job description, mostly because it had been requested by so many of my matches, and partly because I am a serious woman doing serious business.
After listing a job description, I received a flood of messages.
To my surprise, guys were being super professional about dating me. Like, why can't this happen IRL?
Pretty sure this is how I plan on dating now.
Some guys maybe took this a little TOO seriously...
I mean, just look at those bullet points!
After sitting down and reviewing my applicants, I was definitely impressed by the amount of work people put into trying to get a date with me. Several guys took the time to complete formal cover letters to someone they didn't even know.
Oddly it gave me hope for humanity and the idea that not all guys were jerks. In the world of sex-hungry college guys and internet creepers, there were genuine people behind the screen. After all of the work they put in for me, it was my duty to put in the effort for them by thoroughly examining every email and message they sent me.
Thus far I have narrowed down my list to two or three guys that I think may be the right person for the job and I have reached out to them to set up an interview.
