Quick! Call The Doctor For A Profile Makeover

Boston Globe Magazine

May 5, 2003
By Kristen Paulson

Mother will be so proud I finally met a doctor.

Now if only he had an MD.

The Boston-based "Profile Doctor" (www.profiledoctor.com) excises words and perfects the prose in online dating profiles, a form of surgery that is perhaps no less crucial than, say, a rhinoplasty.

David Evans, the site's 34-year-old CEO and founder, boasts expertise from several years of trolling match.com, boston.com, and matchmaker.com.

On a whim, he began helping female friends. After extensive research, he's a former research director at a boutique management consultancy, Evans launched the site last year.

If ho-hum response to your online profile disappoints you, call on the doctor. For $34.95, Profile Doctor will assess your profile and e-mail you improvement tips on spelling, grammar, and content. But don't mistake him for a miracle worker or a therapist or, as one client put it, "a magician that will turn me into a stud."

I asked Evans to minister to my colleague Lisa. He tactfully pronounced her profile, excerpts of which appear below, full of "excellent raw material." Doctoring tips follow.

She considers herself an "intelligent, witty, attractive, thirty-something female seeking someone thoughtful and caring for friendship first to possibly grow into something more."

The doctor's diagnosis: Lisa needs to be specific about the kind of intelligence she's seeking. Is she looking for a B-school grad, someone with a college degree, or a man who can recite Shakespeare?

"Sleuth your competition's profiles and use that intelligence to differentiate yourself," Evans says.

Never describe yourself as "attractive." Potential matches can view your picture and form their own opinions. Instead, turn each adjective into a sentence or two, then edit, edit, edit.

Lisa writes that she is seeking someone "caring." Caring about what? The environment? Puppies and kittens? " `Friends first' is good," says Evans, because it's a real sentiment. The trick, it seems, is to be real, direct, a little coy, and maybe a tiny bit more daring than usual.

"I enjoy traveling, reading, playing soccer, going to museums, the Boston Pops, theatre, and current events."

Traveling where? Instead of "I enjoy the BSO," Lisa could give it a personal spin like, "I wish Keith Lockhart were single." Does "current events" mean listening to NPR or to Howard Stern?

"Give them a reason to write back," recommends the doctor. Lisa might end with an inviting question like, "I just got a new mountain bike. Want to go biking?"

When you've fully edited your profile, come up with a catchy headline for it, and once you post it, prioritize to whom you want to reply. "Keep visiting the site, and listen to your gut," the doctor recommends. "Then sit back and watch the e-mails roll in."

The Single File next runs May 29; e-mail thesinglefile@yahoo.com