If you've decided to sign up for dating app Hinge in an effort to increase your chances of meeting someone, simply being a member and scrolling through matches isn't enough. To save you some time and aggravation, Hinge has done some research on the best way to meet someone on dating apps, taking info from over 1,000 couples who have met on the app. What they ultimately found? When it comes down to it, 80 percent of all Hinge's couples had information on their profiles regarding their education and career, saying that these stats were extremely important when assessing whether they'd swipe right on someone else.
In case you haven't heard, the start of the new year is also a dater's paradise, as this month often means an extreme surge in the number of people using and joining dating sites and apps. Sites like Match say that the greatest amount of members will sign up before the start of January, with the most membership activity happening the Sunday directly after New Year's. Similarly, Hinge finds that more people than any other time of year download its app during the month of January in hopes of finding a Valentine by February.
As for Hinge's relationship findings, what this means for you is simple: Try factoring in career and education into your conversation, because it may help you to make a solid connection. Starting a conversation with the generic, "what made you interested in this field?" could work, but tailoring the conversation based on a person's job or past education will be even better.
Here are some convo starting ideas, based on the people I've encountered on Hinge.
1. Is This Your Dream Job?
When you see that a new match works in a really cool field, it's a great idea to ask them about it initially. Because they're most likely passionate about their job, they'll immediately strike up an engaging convo when being asked to talk about something they love.
Take this guy for instance: though I don't know if football is the true love of his life, it's safe to say that working for the NFL may be dream job territory. Asking him if working for the NFL was a long goal of his, along with what he does for the NFL will be sure to kick start something that will most definitely result in a date.
2. Have I Seen Your Work Anywhere?
If someone has a career working in the public sphere, like modeling, writing, acting, etc., ask them about their work right away. If they've contributed to something that received a pretty extensive audience, they'll likely be more than happy to brag about it, and tell you what life is like working at their job. The best part? You can totally stalk their work later if you want to.
3. What Was It Like Attending School Abroad?
Or, in this case, you may want to ask if this person is from Lima originally. If you notice that someone spent time getting their education overseas, or may have grown up in another country, that is a point to immediately start with. Asking the person what they thought about the culture, what they learned while they were there, and if they're dying to go back will definitely lead to a more in depth conversations about future goals, and possibly your own abroad experiences.
4. Are You Originally From This Area?
Instead of asking about their career from the get-go, try using the info on their jobs and education to deduce other facts about them. For example, this guy went to NYU, works in Jersey City, and went to high school in New Jersey, so maybe it's a good idea to ask him if he's always lived in the NY/NJ area. Does he plan on moving ever? What does he love most about the area? You can also take this as an opportunity to ask about cool places to visit in areas you've seldom gone to.
6. I Use That All The Time!
If your latest match works for an app, business, location that you frequent often, you have your conversation starter right there. And even if you've never used Foursquare a day in your life, why not ask your potential next date how it works? Finding that point that you automatically have in common, especially if that point involves their job, means the convo isn't likely to die any time soon.
Bring on the romance, 2016.
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Images: Fotolia; Hinge screenshots
