Focus

Romantic advice

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-21 07:55

Romantic advice

Provided to China Daily

Debbie Mason, co-host of Beijing Radio's dating talk show, The Love Hour, offers advice for young professionals looking for office relationships.

The first thing is to check they're not married. People in other relationships are fair game, but those who are married are just too much trouble.

Aim high. Don't bother with anyone below at least middle management. There's no point in embarking on an office romance if it won't further your career at the same time.

Start smoking. Often the most important people smoke and in today's smokeless offices, they have to take smoke breaks outside. It's a great way to rub shoulders in a non-work environment and you can also bond over the fact that you are both doing something so stupid.

Get up 10 minutes earlier every day so you have time to look okay. It's too easy to crawl out of bed and stagger to the office looking like a dog's breakfast, but ten minutes could transform you from an invisible colleague to one that stands out from the other dog bowls.

Become the office social organizer and arrange things that you know the object of your lust is into. Then you can arrange outings and gatherings that they are likely to come to without making it obvious you're after them.

Take a comb, some makeup and a toothbrush to work so that you can top up your good looks whenever you need to. It's a long day, keep appearances up.

Read the newspapers so that you don't appear dim. Better talk about a couple of news items within earshot of your target so they can't fail to realize how up with it you are.

And finally - don't worry about the stigma of office relationships. Many people meet their partners this way and end up married. Sure, many end up in disasters too, but that's just a fact of life.

Todd Balazovic