Recession. Unemployment. Home foreclosures. It seems everywhere you turn these days, the news is filled with stories about how tough the economy is across all income levels, locations, and professions. And while there’s no doubt that it’s a terribly tough time for those who are out of work, a small glimmer of good news is coming out of the online dating industry.

Online dating is one of the few really strong growth industries around; by some estimates, it’s poised to expand as much as 20% to even 30% in the next one to two years. With all of this tremendous growth, then, it’s not too surprising that the online dating industry is one sector that has experienced (and continues to experience) steady job growth.

What most people don’t stop to think about is all of the “behind the scenes” stuff that goes on at an online dating website. From programmers to customer relations to marketing to web designers and more, there are lots and lots of jobs available for those who are interested in pursuing them. In most cases the jobs are clustered in whatever city or location is the headquarters (or major regional hub) of the dating site itself, but in some cases you may be able to work remotely.

For instance, Match.com and Chemistry.com have a number of jobs posted for their Dallas, Texas, location, while eHarmony.com lists several diverse types of jobs for their Pasadena, California, location. There are even a number of international online dating sites with plenty of job openings, including DatingDirect.com (France), Shaadi.com (India), Lavalife.com (Canada), and FriendScout24.com (Germany).

So if you’re looking for a job and feeling frustrated, it might be a good idea to check out job postings at a variety of online dating websites.

Dating Essentials Dating Business, Economy, Jobs

You’ve seen all of the commercials promoting certain online dating sites and their supposedly “advanced” matching of singles based on a large number of compatibility factors. These same dating sites show lots of examples of couples matched up through their programs that have gone on to get married, the idea being to convince you to spend your hard earned money to join their site.

While these kinds of online dating services, such as eHarmony and PerfectMatch do have a lot of success matching singles up for dating, the evidence on whether or not those matches actually end up creating lasting and stable marriages is somewhat murky. It turns out that some areas of compatibility are more important than others, having a much larger influence on the long term success of a relationship.

Age – Although some online dating sites will tell you age alone is not important, recent research tells us otherwise. It turns out that large differences in age (greater than three to five years) is a major factor in whether or not a long term relationship and/or marriage will survive.

Drinking – Whether or not either person drinks alcohol also has a major influence on long term relationship success. If one person drinks and the other does not, the chances of that relationship ending in divorce more than doubles.

Smoking – Smoking is also a major factor on relationship success; if one partner smokes and the other doesn’t, research tells us the chances of that relationship ending in divorce more than triples.

So what’s the lesson here? Certainly there is a lot of value to matching up with other singles whose values and other preferences parallel your own, so from that perspective it can be helpful to use an online dating site that looks at those things. However, those same web sites very likely don’t have success rates that are dramatically higher than if you were to pay attention to critical compatibility factors on your own.

Dating Essentials Age, Compatibility, Smoking

Online dating sites have evolved from being the playground of losers who couldn’t get a date any other way to a modern, mainstream, and well-accepted staple of dating and the singles scene. What makes online dating so exciting, though, is its ability to serve smaller groups of singles that might otherwise be left out of the mix. For rural singles especially, online dating has given a new hope to their search for a significant other.

For generations, those living in rural areas faced unique dating challenges simply because of their location. Relatively isolated areas with small populations, long distances to traditional cities, and a lack of easy access to modern technology all combined to make it really tough for singles to meet and date. Think small town where everybody knows everybody else and it’s easy to imagine how hard it can be for rural singles to meet a variety of other singles for dating.

The tremendous growth of online dating sites has changed all of that; now more than ever, rural singles are steppin’ out in the dating world and enjoying the kind of access to a broad range of other singles that they haven’t had previously.

Some of the top dating sites for rural singles include:

• RuralSingles.com
• CountryPassions.com
• FarmersOnly.com
• MuddyMatches.com

These sites specialize in bringing single together who otherwise face a lot of isolation and separation due to the rural lifestyle they live. Now more than ever, rural singles are able to access the same variety of singles and enjoy the same kind of dating success that their city-dwelling counterparts have taken for granted for many, many years.

Dating Essentials Lonely, Niche, Rural