Days in the Life of Mo

You know how dating apps promise to help you “find your perfect match”? So do job platforms. Both lure you in with glossy interfaces, persuasive copy, and the faint scent of algorithmic hope. “Just be yourself,” they say… as if either recruiters or potential partners want the unedited version of you.

It’s all the same performance, really. Just one is for love, the other for labor.

And at this point, I’m not sure which breaks hearts faster.

Swipe Right on Your Career

Let’s start with the basics: profiles.

On Tinder, you curate a selection of your best pictures, throw in a line about loving “sunsets and sushi,” and hope for the best. On LinkedIn? Same story, just swap “sunsets” for “cross-functional collaboration” and “sushi” for “strategic innovation” and “I work well under pressure”

Both are digital billboards of self-worth, one promising emotional value, the other professional.

And both hinge on one terrifying truth: someone is always swiping past you.

According to data from Indeed, the average corporate job posting receives over 250 applications. Now tell me that doesn’t feel like the dating pool on Hinge after a long weekend.

It’s not that people don’t like you. They just… didn’t feel the “fit.”

Ghosting: The Universal Language

If there’s one thing both job seekers and daters understand, it’s ghosting.

You pour your soul into a carefully crafted message (or cover letter), only to be met with silence. Maybe you reread it, thinking, Was I too eager? Too chill? Too “let’s circle back in Q4”?

You refresh your inbox like a heartbroken intern refreshing WhatsApp. Nothing.

A 2024 study by Greenhouse.io found that 75% of job seekers have been ghosted by employers after interviews. On the flip side, 80% of online daters admit to ghosting someone.

It’s a digital epidemic of avoidance, the modern art of disappearing gracefully.

The Algorithm Decides Who’s Worthy

Both industries swear their algorithms are here to “help.”

But let’s be honest: whether it’s Bumble’s “For You” tab or LinkedIn’s “Easy Apply,” we’re all at the mercy of the machine. These algorithms quietly assess your desirability; your looks, your experience, your keywords… and decide if you deserve to be seen.

You might have the most beautiful portfolio or personality, but if your metadata’s off, you’re invisible.

It’s not personal; it’s just machine learning.

And yet, here we are; updating our resumes like profile bios, tweaking our photos, rearranging our “About” sections, desperately trying to make the algorithm love us back.

Interviews vs. First Dates

Both come with the same pre-date jitters. You rehearse your lines in the mirror, question your outfit choices, and Google “how to sound confident but not desperate.”

Then there’s the post-interview breakdown:

“They said I was a great fit — so why haven’t I heard back?”

Replace “fit” with “vibe,” and it’s the same existential dread.

Psychologist Dr. Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist at the Kinsey Institute, says both dating and hiring trigger similar reward circuits in the brain — that dopamine-driven anticipation of potential acceptance. So when we get rejected (or ghosted), it’s not just our pride that takes a hit; it’s neurological withdrawal.

Basically, your brain doesn’t care whether it’s a job or a date; rejection hurts.

The “It’s Not You, It’s the Market” Talk

Eventually, you hear it:

“We went with someone whose experience was a better match.”
or
“You’re amazing, but I’m just not ready for something serious right now.”

Both mean the same thing: we liked you, just not enough.

It’s corporate-speak meets emotional diplomacy.
It’s feedback that soothes nothing and explains even less.

You tell yourself it’s fine, that “something better” will come along.
And maybe it will. But you still open your inbox every morning like it’s Tinder — hopeful, half-dreading, but still looking.

Because that’s the thing about hope, it swipes right even when you shouldn’t.

Closing Thoughts: The Human Algorithm

Whether we’re job hunting or dating, we’re all just trying to be chosen. Trying to be seen. Trying to convince someone somewhere that we’re worth the “match.”

And while the systems may be broken, maybe the fix isn’t more optimization. Maybe it’s remembering that behind every ghosted email or unmatched profile is just another human, also trying to figure it out.

So here’s to all of us… the job seekers, the daters, the ones still refreshing.
May your inbox and your heart find peace one day.

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