1. The Headline – If your headline is boring, old, or just plain standard issue, make 2012 the year of the clever, witty, attention grabber. Use a song lyric, one liner, or famous quote. If creativity isn’t your thing, try an online headline generator such as www.myprofilewriter.com .
2. The photos – The single most important thing on a dating profile is the photo(s). You don’t need to provide “proof of life” by posing with today’s NY Times to prove your photo is recent, however; if your photo originated last decade, you may consider a refresh. If your photo is not accurate, you are starting a potential relationship with a lie. Lastly, a self portrait that involves no shirt (or an overly revealing one), a cell phone camera, a mirror, a bizarre angle or some combination of those was never in style.
3. Be “All-In”-Remove anything in your profile that says, “I’m just trying this out” “I can’t believe I’m doing this” or anything similar. Remember, you are attempting to meet people who are also online dating. If you include anything that gives the impression that you think online dating is taboo, sketchy, or not for you, you’re sending the wrong signal to potential suitors.
4. Drop the resume. If your dating profile could be hot-swapped with your LinkedIn profile, it’s time to invest in your creative writing skills. Being selected for a potential relationship is an emotional decision, being selected for a job is a data-driven analytical one. To appeal to potential suitors you need to provide basic information in a creative way but not over do it. The goal is to initiate contact. If you are successful there, you’ll be able to hit on the finer points of your resume later.
5. Hit the sweet spot on length. It should be as long as necessary and as short as possible. Someone who puts forth no effort on their profile will get that in return. If you use all the allocated space you will also turn off potential suitors. You want to provide enough information to prove that you are interesting and provide some conversation starters for interested suitors. Any more information is superfluous.