Any advice for someone trying their hand at the dating scene for the first time?
There are several pieces of advice that often get given to people in your situation, and I'm not really sure how much difference the individual pieces of advice make. (I mean, they may not make much difference in a "Big Five" sense, but may make difference in an "I feel better/more comfortable/etc." sense.)
Clean up or dress nicer than you would normally. At the very least, wear something that shows that you care about how you look. You'll feel better if you have clean clothes on and you will probably make a better impression (and feel better and more comfortable) if you dress up a bit
If you're in your 20s and are going out with 20-something people, there's a good chance that they'll be talking about sex at some point. If you've never had sex, now would be a good time to fill them in on that, but there's no shame in not telling them if you're not comfortable telling them (and even if you're comfortable telling them, not everyone is comfortable hearing that kind of information). I know from personal experience that a lot of the time you can tell when someone isn't comfortable. Just say "no," or "I haven't," or whatever. They'll probably continue talking as if you've had the experience they're talking about and they probably won't care. There is nothing especially funny or revealing or whatever about having not had some experience or other.
Don't drink too much. Especially if you get shy, which is very common and very understandable. This can be hard, since people who are kind of nervous at first will tend to have lots of drinks to calm down, but it's a mistake.
Don't take rejection too seriously. People have very different tastes. If you're not used to being flirted with or talking to strangers, you may be surprised to find out that even people who seem "out of your league" might be interested in you — they're people, after all, not some Platonic ideal or set of preferences. At the same time, take them at their word: if someone says "thanks but no thanks," they're not stringing you along, and saying "but I thought you liked me" is a bad idea. (Not because you shouldn't, but because in practice you're asking for heartbreak.) That said, I'd definitely take rejection more seriously when the person is the one flirting with you than when you're the one flirting (say, if you're one of two men trying to hit on a woman), since the situation is less of a 50/50 thing
Try to read into subtle social signals. Look for signals of interest, as well as disinterest. This can be tough at first, especially since a lot of sexual/romantic interest ends up being subtle. That said, it's not impossible. Pick up a book or two about human interaction and how to read social cues, or ask around about this kind of stuff. Don't take all social cues as indicative of interest/disinterest. For instance, if a person smiles but doesn't blush when you flirt with them, that's sometimes a sign that they're interested but embarrassed to admit it, rather than a sign that they don't like you
