So instead of finding out later that the person you’re dating may have some mental health problems that you didn’t sign up for, here are a few questions you should ask and they should answer early on. Plus, these are great questions to ask your mate after some time has passed to see if he/she still feels the same way or if anything has changed.
1. Do you like your job?
Why: Is the person about to make any major life changes e.g., leave their $200K/year job to go back to school? What’s their attitude to their work? Do they see it as just a job, or are they primarily motivated by climbing the career ladder? It also gives you a peek into their work ethic and what goals they have for themselves.
2. What sort of vacations do you like to take?
Why: Different vacation preferences or amounts of vacation time can be a major source of ongoing incompatibility. For example, if one person likes to take very long trips and the other person has a more standard two weeks vacation time.
3. How was your day?
Why: This question helps establish if your date has a positive or negative attitude. If asking this question leads to five solid minutes of them complaining, you’ll know the person sees the glass as half empty.
Also, if anything out of the ordinary has happened that might be affecting your date’s mood, it’s good to factor this in.
4. Tell me about your friends?
Why: When you enter a relationship with someone you’re also entering a relationship with their friends. Also, it’s nice to give your date an opportunity to answer a question that isn’t directly about them.
5. Are you a dog person, a cat person, or neither?
Why: If one of you doesn’t like pets and the other has 3 dogs, that’s likely to be a problem. Science has shown that depending on your preference for a pet, you are prone to get along with certain types of people. Sometimes, very strong “dog people” don’t get along with very atypical “cat people.”
6. Would you like a bite of my food?
Why: This question shows you’re open to sharing. On a first date go for a friendly tone rather than an intimate tone when asking this question. If the person is against it, he or she may be against sharing in life or have some sort of issue with sharing from his/her past.
