Can Dating Help you Professionally

Can Dating Help you Professionally We all know the familiar saying, Its leid what you know, but who you know, and Social and Dating Coach Nick Sparks likes to add another important part to the old adageits also how much they like you. Sparks is the mastermind behind Sparks of Attraction, a company dedicated to helping people develop the necessary skills to find that oh-so-special-someone. From an infographic from SparkHire, weve recently discovered the parallels between speed dating and interviewingboth activities seek to find the one, whether it be personally or professionally.Yet, although Valentines Day has come and gone, we can still learn a thing or two from the romantic holiday, and Sparks is giving us the opportunity to do just that. Checkout what he had to tell Recruiter.com readers about the correlation between increasing your social skills, e.g. via a dating coach, and moving forward in your careerNick Sparks1. How long have you been a social and dating coach? How long has Sparks of Attraction been in business?Ive been a dating coach now for just over 6 years and, after working jointly with business partners, have been focused of my own ventureSparks of Attraction/Fearless Coaching for about 6 months.2. About how many clients have you had since Sparks of Attraction opened?Over the past six years Ive worked with around 200 men.3. Please briefly explain your process at Sparks of Attraction.After a brief application process, my time with my clients begins with an intense four-day clinic in which I basically reprogram their brains when it comes to socializing and women. This involves classroom sessions, drills with our female assistants in which their conversational flaws are highlighted and removed, and monitored time at the bar in which they practice their newly budding skills on real live women. This clinic is then followed by a month of focused follow-up work and a lifetime of support.4. Do you see a correlation between developing social skills (i.e. for dating) and advancing in your career?Absolutely. Only a small percentage of what we teach is focused on communicating with women. Being a confident and charismatic man is universal, regardless of who you are interacting with. Because of this, its not surprising that many of my past clients report success in their professional life directly because of the program.Some examples of clients who have experienced this correlation includeOne client, a gentlemen in his 30s who works in medical sales, reported a 50 percent increase in his business two months after beginning his work with me.Another past client, a recent college grad, told me that he would never have gotten his current job without putting these skills to work on the networking scene.Another past client, previously stuck in the same position at work for years, told me about a promotion he received to management in the month following hi s clinic. He told me people at work just started treating him differently. This list goes on and on.5. Why is developing social skills important overall?For better or worse, human beings evolved as a social species. There are very few aspects of your life, especially your professional life, that dont directly involve social interaction. Its impossible to be good at just about any job without being good with people.6. Final thoughts?Like it or not, your ability to get, maintain, and advance in your career is not solely dependent on your abilities related to that profession, it is also equally, if not more so tied to your social skills. When you interview for that position and are up against dozens of other applicants with similar qualifications the decision will be made on who they like the most. Luckily, this is something that can be developed and improved like any other skill in your life. Have you given it proper priority?