Matchmaking Services

By Joanne Elliott

Matchmaking services work through a simple process of bringing people together who have common interests and who are looking for the same things from each other. When you sign up to a matchmaking service you will be hiring the help of an independent party to help you find romance by putting you in touch with potential partners. Matchmaking has the aim of creating a long term meaningful relationship, possibly leading to marriage.

Matchmaking services use many different methods to help you find your perfect partner. Often different companies specialise in focused areas, for example geographically or for a specific age range. This helps them to compile more meaningful databases of potential dates as their clients are more likely to have similar interests and desires. This is especially important given the stage the client is within their lives, for example people are very different at eighteen to those who are eighty!

The most standard method for finding out more about a client’s needs in matchmaking services begins with a simple online survey. You will usually be required to take the time to fill out an online questionnaire that covers many different areas. This is to get to know you better, and the more information you give, the more likely it is that you will be paired up with your dream date. The biggest point to note is that you should always be honest when giving your answers. Don’t bother putting what you think people want to hear. This is not the point of matchmaking. If you give false answers then it decreases your chances as you will be matched up with people who are not compatible with yourself in real life – a waste of time and effort for everybody involved.

Once you have completed your online survey the matchmaking service will then introduce you to clients who may be potentially of interest to you. This is usually presented in the form of a searchable database where the individuals are ranked in order of potential compatibility to you. From this point it is up to you to read through the profiles at your leisure and then make contact with the people, or the person, who you would like to know more about.

Possibly the best way to initiate the first contact is via email. Remember to keep it short and snappy. No essays and don’t be over the top. Try to find a balance between being friendly and interesting. You want the other person to reply, so the better your opening email is, the higher the likelihood of a positive response

When you receive an email from potential dates that have chosen to contact you remember your manners if you don’t happen to be instantly attracted. It’s nice to be nice and important not to offend anyone. If you’re not interested then let the person down gently. It’s the only way to do it. And keep an open mind because sometimes opposites attract. Consider the fact you may be looking for the ‘wrong’ person by being too specific, or perhaps your perfect partner hasn’t quite got around to registering... yet!