I'm confused. Is this an interview for a job or a date?

I've found many similarities between finding a new job and finding a date. Both start with one submitting one's qualifications in some manner.

Job hunting: Here is my cover letter and my resume.
Dating: Here is the car I drive and my resume.

Then comes the Q&A period, usually starting with a phone call.

Job hunting: This is an initial phone screening before we move on to an interview (in person).
Dating: This is an initial phone screening before we move on to an interview (in person).

Then once one has said all the right things and has struck a balance between knowledgeable, charming, and humble, the next step can happen.

Job hunting: Thank you for meeting with us so we can talk more in person about what we're looking for regarding this position.
Dating: Thank you for meeting me so we can talk more in person about what I'm looking for in a potential boyfriend/husband.

What's even more ironic is the line of questions that follow almost become interchangeable.

What can you do for me/us?
Why are you looking for something new?
What relevant experience do you have?
Can you provide references?
When are you available?

This is all leads to further exasperation because there are many applying for the one position, whether it be a job or as a boyfriend. With the advent of the internet coming into both of these practices it's even worse when the initial contact is via on-line. With a resume, if certain words don't match up  to some recruiting database you'll likely be passed over. With dating, if certain words don't match up with prospective mates, you'll likely be passed over. What has developed is what I refer to as the "Buzzword Bingo" approach.

To give an idea of what I'm talking about, here is an example. If I listed everything I've done (of some significance) on my resume it would come in about 8-9 pages long. I've done it and decided it was just too overwhelming. To put it into perspective, technical resumes tend to be longer because of some of the detail that might be necessary, such as the aforementioned "Buzzword Bingo". Further example, I could fill almost half a page if I listed all the types of networks I have designed, engineered, and/or supported. It can be a bit much.

So I choose a few of the more common types and summarize the rest under broader terms. But if the recruiting database, often used by recruiters who don't understand what they're looking for anyway, doesn't "understand" this then I'm passed by. It's like saying you know how to drive a stick shift vehicle, and that's what your resume says, but the database is configured to look for words or phrases such as "manual", "clutch", or "standard". See the problem? So what? The resume also becomes a thesaurus? Stop the insanity.

The same thing happens in the dating world. Everything is online these days, and I'm not even talking about online dating sites (Match.com, eHarmony, Singles.net, jdate, American Singles, whowantsaslut.com, etc.), I'm talking about MySpace, Facebook, and even Linkedin, can all be used to vet potential dates. All you need to do is enter your prospective date's name into a search box and voila! There you will find everything you want to know without actually talking to this person, but more on this in another rambling.

If we focus on the online dating sites (ok, I made up whowantsaslut.com, or did I?), the same approach applies. There is no sense of discovery. Each of these profiles has check boxes next to certain activities and damn it...gnome bowling is a real sport! As is midget tossing! As is curling! (Ok...one of these might be made up). But that's my point.

We are reduced to entries in a database, whether it be for a job or a date. We're rapidly losing whatever individuality we have left, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. The rejection in either of these scenarios is just as frustrating. Some companies will reject your resume out of hand because it didn't have enough of certain "key phrases" based on a database match. Even though "stick shift", "manual", and "clutch" all describe the same operation. Dating? Same principle applies. Dwarf tossing might as well be midget tossing but if there isn't a check box to match these two prospects up it becomes another missed opportunity and you end up being "rejected".

Einstein once defined insanity as "performing the same task in a repeated manner expecting a different result each time." With this in mind, I'm confused. Is this an interview for a job or a date?