While guys aren’t necessarily professionals when it comes to putting together amazing dating profiles, there are some things we don’t want to see on women’s—especially if we’re actually thinking about dating you.
- Obvious spelling errors If there are obvious spelling errors that even someone who’s not a professional writer will catch, you’ve made a mistake by not proofreading your profile. It’s not a big deal, but it does paint a picture of someone who doesn’t care that much about making a good first impression.
- Group pictures Unless you’re on a polyamorous dating site, enough is enough with group pictures. Nobody wants to try to guess who you are in a picture of you and four of your friends. That may come off as lazy, but no one said online dating had to be work. Make sure whatever pictures are of you and only you. We don’t want to see your friends and we don’t want to see you posing for a pic with another guy, even if it’s your brother. Is that asking too much?
- Height requirements We get it, you like tall guys, but if things had worked out for you by exclusively dating tall gentlemen, you wouldn’t need an online dating profile, right? Isn’t online dating supposed to be a way to meet new people and explore new opportunities? Why paint yourself into a corner right away by saying you won’t respond to messages from anyone shorter than 6’1”? It comes off as being just a little shallow.
- Single moms Sorry, but being a single mom is a dealbreaker for a lot of guys. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that you’re open about that rather than trying to hide it until your 10th date with a guy, but it’s going to be a non-starter for some people.
- Too much seriousness Yes, you’re a serious person who doesn’t want to play games and that’s fine, but dating is supposed to be fun and enjoyable and your profile should reflect that. Most guys are going get turned off by a dating profile that reads like a term paper. In the end, you’ll just come across as being a little too uptight.
- Listing going to church as a hobby Religion doesn’t have to be a deal breaker, but unless you’re on a religious dating site, no guy wants to hear right off the bat that you really love Jesus and spends your Sunday mornings at church. It’s nothing personal, and you should definitely mention your faith on your first or second date, but seeing it in print on a dating website is not going to encourage a guy to message you.
- That you love guns First of all, if you love guns, that’s cool—well, for most guys it is. Still, it’s not something that guys necessarily want to see on your dating profile. Reading that you love guns—or even worse, seeing you holding a gun in your profile pic—will just make us think that we’re one wrong move away from you hunting us down and shooting us. For most guys, that’s a bad thing, and it’ll make us too afraid to contact you.
- Your interest in money I’m not saying you’re a gold digger, but your online dating profile definitely raises some questions. Look, all of us can appreciate the finer things in life and all of us want a comfortable lifestyle, but please don’t mention that you’re looking for a guy who has money. Even if you find a way to subtly mention it, we’ll figure out what you really mean and move on to the next girl.
- A long list of deal breakers. If you don’t want to date a smoker or someone who is into drugs, that’s fine, but most of the time, one thing doesn’t define a person. Forget your laundry list of deal breakers and be open to meeting different kinds of people. At least get to know someone a little before deciding you aren’t a good fit. Is that so hard?
- Must love pets This is almost as much of a deal breaker as being a single mom. Pets aren’t children, so please don’t act like you and your pet are a package deal; it’s insulting to single mothers who actually have to think about the best interest of their children before getting into a relationship. Seeing someone demand on their dating profile that their next partner be a pet person just means they’ll always love their pet more than the guy in their life, and that’s not something guys want to see.
- A novel about yourself There’s definitely a sweet spot between saying too little and too much about yourself. We might enjoy reading, but we’re not going to read paragraph after paragraph about you when you’re just going to repeat all of that stuff on our first date. Keep it simple.
- A parade of cliches We all want someone who’s “special” and someone with a nice smile, and we all like walks on the beach. Please have an original thought and say something that makes you stand out from all the other dating profiles men look at on a regular basis. Reading the same five cliches on 12 straight profiles is just frustrating and doesn’t help anyone find a viable partner.
