It's Just Lunch :: The Dating Tips Blog

Dating for Busy Professional Singles

A new dating survey from It's Just Lunch revealed that 41% of respondents always make time for dates--even if it means eating lunch at a nice desk or right outside of your office building. Only 2% of the busy professional singles who responded said they canceled on dates due to work-related activities. Are you one of them? If not, where's the most unconventional place you've ever had a first date? Follow It's Just Lunch on Facebook to share your most memorable first date story.

Are You In The Right Profession for Dating?

Can mixing business with pleasure lead to romantic opportunities? While some professional singles try to keep them separate, others can’t help but mix the two. In the latest It’s Just Lunch Survey, we asked more than 4,000 singles how they mix business and pleasure from their preferred first date activity to how much time they devote between work and play.The results revealed an interesting trend indicating the role reversals of men and women in their attitudes toward dating.

Did you know that 45% of women are more likely to talk about business or work-related topics than their male counterparts, fifty-five percent (55%) of which stray away from such discussions? Despite the fact that one quarter of the singles we surveyed prefer dating an entrepreneur or business owner, one interesting thing It’s Just Lunch discovered was that 26% of men had a higher preference for dating someone in the medical field, while 31% of women showed a higher preference for dating business executives. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it.

Women like talking about business so dating a business executive would be ideal. The problem for these women, however, is that most of these business executive types would rather talk about something completely unrelated to their profession, which makes dating someone in the medical field a much more attractive option. But men aren’t the only ones who prefer diversity in their relationships.

In fact, most of the singles we polled (69%) prefer dating someone in a different industry altogether. One possible reason for wanting to date someone outside your profession is to avoid competition or jealousy. When you run in the same professional circle, it’s hard not to bring work home with you. Besides, diversity is what makes relationships fun and exciting. It can also keep conversations from going dull.

The least desired professions to date included real estate, finance and law since professionals in those field are considered most likely to bring work home with them. Women especially have a hard time drawing the line between work and play while men seem to be hardwired with an easy on and off switch.

If you happen to be among the handful of people who have trouble making time for dating, then the best places to meet other professional singles are business networking events. You can kill two birds with one stone as you build meaningful relationships with potential business partners, clients and even romantic interests. While 39% of singles who attend networking events keep it strictly professional, there are still 21% of singles who attend for business and personal reasons. If even only two of you are there with a similar romantic ulterior motive, then you just might cross paths with your ideal match.

As far as first dates are concerned, most business-oriented singles prefer cocktails after work over coffee anytime. Perhaps it’s that dash of liquid courage that calms most first-date nerves, but then again perhaps the 22% of singles who preferred coffee simply don’t drink alcohol in favor of sobriety.

Regardless of what profession you’re in, no one wants to be or date a workaholic. The more you make time for dating, the more successful you’ll be at it in much the same way you’ve become successful in your current profession with all the time you’ve made prioritizing your career over love. It’s time you started rewarding yourself for all your hard work by inviting the relationship and love you seek to enhance the quality of the life you’ve built for yourself.

So are you in the right profession for dating? Maybe, maybe not, but as long as you have a job, have your own life outside of a relationship, and don’t mind driving the next town over for a date, the odds are still in your favor.

How Do I Get A Date?

We can get a fabulous dinner easily enough...thank you Open Table®. We can pick out the perfect car and get a great deal...thank you promotion at work. We even can get new living room furniture WITHOUT leaving the living room.

So, in this day and age of convenience and in a time in our lives when things are running just fine, why is it so hard to get a date?

The problem certainly isn’t that there AREN’T any potentials out there. We see plenty of attractive, well-dressed, successful looking individuals out there. So why don’t we get to meet them? The folks that we really want to meet that is, not the guy who still lives at home with his mom, or your friend’s trainer from the gym who is “really hot”. 

Now, more than ever it can be more difficult for successful people, particularly successful women, to find dates who measure up to their expectations. 

So how do we solve this dilemma? Well, at It’s Just Lunch®, we’ve known how important it is to match our successful clients with quality individuals for more than 20 years. The secret of our success lies in knowing that creating lasting relationships is based on a date with someone who you really want to date again. So, let us set you up on a great date. All you have to do is just show up and enjoy. Mission accomplished. 

Politics On A First Date??!!!

Whoa, really? Aren’t there enough obstacles to get through....

What (not) to wear, where to go, what friend is gonna answer your 911...etc. Do we really need to add politics into the mix? Can’t we just stick with high-school nicknames and favorite stories about our pets? 

Maybe for the first thirty minutes. But if you really want to make it to the second drink, or even a second date, reality has to set in at some point, right?

So, we at It’s Just Lunch® decided to poll this awkward topic out to the daters all over the country, to see how they felt about tackling politics while they’re figuring out if they even like the person across the table from them yet.

Surprisingly, almost an even percentage of women (21.4%) and men (19.6%) said that bringing up your favorite animal in the middle of cocktails is perfectly fine on a first date and was good way to connect on an intellectual level. They agreed again, nearly 36% across the board that broaching the subject was risky, however it could make for some good conversation. Only 15% of all those surveyed said talking about politics on a first date was absolutely taboo. 

Our take? If you feel like taking a slight risk to find out more about your date, you could end up connecting on a much deeper level than you ever had before on a first date!

Dating Like a Super Hero

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it’s that time of year again. Comicon is taking over San Diego (some say the world) and the parade of capes, spears, masks, and magic wands strolling around is endless. For those of you not in Southern California or residing in the realm of geekdom, picture your favorite caped crusader behind you at the grocery store, or a Storm Trooper driving a Subaru next to you in traffic. After a couple of double takes, (or a couple years of this phenomenon) you start to not get so freaked out, and just take it for what it is. Folks living in the adventure and excitement of the unconventional. At least for a couple of days...

Hey, different can be good, right? Not doing the same thing all the time, can open you up to new experiences, new people, and new foods. But can this same sense of adventure work with dating, even a first date? 

To get to the bottom of this question we at It’s Just Lunch® surveyed a group of single men and women.

And the results? 

Our group overwhelmingly voted for the unconventional, versus traditional first date by, 61.8% to 38.2% . And within that, women were up for an adventure on the first date more than men, with 65.3% to 56.3% saying that forgoing dinner and a movie for say, karaoke, was a good thing and not necessarily dooming the date for failure.

 So, what does this mean? Is it OK to meet your date dressed as Spiderman and surprise them with a rock climbing adventure for your first date?

OK. Maybe during Comicon-in fact, it’s probably required. But for the rest of us mortals, who want a little adventure without risking a restraining order, we can get that same excitement from going against the grain just a bit. Maybe it’s some line dancing and beers, a championship of Monopoly, or even sky diving. Be yourself and be comfortable of course, but you don’t have to play it so safe all the time (except with any activity with major vertical drops). Hey Clark Kent eventually shed the monotony of the day job, and things worked out pretty well for him and Lois.