Love & Relationships

If there was a crash course in dating, would you be the first to sign up? You already have what it takes to improve your love life - and you learned it at work. According to Match.com, the skills that get you ahead professionally can do the same for you personally. Here they are: 

• Listening. The U.S. Department of Labor ranks listening as one of the top three skills needed to succeed. According to David and Claudia Arp, authors of the 10 Great Dates book series, it’s the number-one skill for a great relationship. They say that you should listen to your date the same way you listen to a customer. That’ll prevent you from making mistakes such as interrupting and offering unsolicited advice.  
• The 2nd work skill that’ll improve your love life: Flexibility. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a short-order cook or Vice President of Sales - companies value flexibility. Dating expert Gail Prince says it’s even more important in your social life. Prince is the author of Soul Dating to Soul Mating: On the Path to a Spiritual Partnership. She believes that seeing a variety of people and “dating outside the box” stop you from getting involved with the wrong sort of person over and over again.
• The last work skill that can improve your love life: Professional phone etiquette. David Wygant is a columnist for Yahoo personals and the author of Always Talk to Strangers. He believes you should quit worrying about things like the 3-day rule and treat potential dates the same as a business associate. Think about it.  When someone calls you at work, calling them back promptly doesn’t make you look desperate - it makes you look like someone who’s polite, courteous, and values other people’s time. Who wouldn’t want to date someone like that?