Soulmates & Salaries
By Marisol Vega
If dating is job hunting, then "soulmate" is the ultimate dream job—impossibly perfect, fully aligned, and likely to be found after a long, strange résumé of disappointments and false starts. We’ve been sold the idea that just like the perfect company culture or the “do what you love” myth, the right person will complete us, fulfill us, and require no compromise.
But the truth? Most of us don’t marry our soulmates. We marry someone we met during a stable hiring season. And some of us get promoted, while others get burned out and look for an exit package.
The Translation Table
- Soulmate = Dream job with mission alignment
- Marriage = 30-year contract with pension
- Marry for money = Golden handcuffs
- Mistress = Moonlighting gig
- Open relationship = Freelancing
- Polyamory = Portfolio career
- Monogamy = Traditional 9–5
- One night stand = Contract work or temp agency
- Sexual chemistry = Great office culture but poor benefits
When we talk about relationships this way, it’s not to be cynical. It’s to wake us up. Most dating advice still implies we’re shopping or selling. But what if we saw relationality as career design? As ongoing, skill-based, values-led practice?
The questions shift:
- Not “How do I get them to like me?” but “Is this a role I want to grow in?”
- Not “Are they the one?” but “Can we learn to do good work together?”
- Not “Do they have red flags?” but “What are our shared deliverables, and do we have the tools to meet them?”
If your love life feels like a job you hate, it might be time to rewrite your relational résumé—or maybe even switch industries.