Cosmetic Surgery for Career Advancement
Attractiveness at Work
By Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca
"There’s no doubt that attractive people tend to do better in life than less-attractive people - nobody ever said evolution was supposed to be fair." - Dr Alan Slater
So if fifty is the new forty, sixty the new fifty – how does age relate to career, and most importantly, career advancement? What’s the connection?
Apparently, there’s a big connection. In a recent Monster Canada poll of 4,397 people, 47% of respondents said that yes, definitely – they believed having plastic surgery or cosmetic dental work would help advance their career. A lesser 38% disagreed, while 14% were unsure. A similar poll ran in the United States by Monster.com in which 53% of people agreed that having cosmetic surgery or dentistry would advance their careers, while 31% disagreed, and again, 14% reported they were unsure.
It’s no surprise that people connect attractiveness with career success. After all, career counselors are the first to admit that image has a lot to do with whether or not you might be hired. Colleen Clarke, Monster’s resident career expert, says that counseling clients about their image is very much a part of preparing for an interview. “I have suggested to some men that they trim their mustaches or shave off their beards and for some women to dye their hair so their roots aren’t showing. I talk about what kinds of glasses to wear because glasses go out of style just like the length of a skirt does. Same with men’s ties…”
Dr. Dmytryshyn agrees. “When I’m hiring, usually I can make my mind up in the first fifteen or thirty seconds whether I really like this person and want to continue the interview or not. Part of it has to do with how they look… it is the way it is. I mean, this is the way it is in life. It’s probably not the correct thing to do, but it’s what’s done.”
Here are just two small samples of how plastic surgery Web sites are targeting career advancement through cosmetic surgery:
- From Plastic Surgery Portal:
"Is Plastic Surgery Right for Your Career? Unfortunately, because we live in a youth and beauty fixated culture, very often it's survival of the 'prettiest'. Whether it's a new promotion, new job, larger raise, or improved overall career path, studies have shown that the better looking you are, the more apt you are to receive those things.” - Here’s one targeting men from Cosmetic Surgery for Men:
“Being qualified isn't enough anymore. You have to look qualified, too.
“In today's extremely competitive business world, men wear their resumes on their face. Worn down, tired looking executives who appear 'over the hill' may get passed over for promotions and raises for younger-looking, healthier colleagues.
“Of course, cosmetic surgery is no guarantee that you'll get a raise, a big promotion, or that corner office you've been working for. But it can help. It can help keep you looking young and physically fit. It can help you let the boss know you're still ready for any challenge and up for any opportunity. It can even boost your self-confidence and self-esteem. The rest is up to you.”
Just how big a role does “attractiveness” play in your career and life?
Scientific research not only reinforces the findings of our Monster polls, but has some fairly shocking results. Numerous “attractiveness at work” studies have shown that:
- A person with below-average looks tended to earn 9% less per hour, and an above-average looking person tended to earn 5% more per hour than an average-looking person, after controlling for other variables, such as education and experience. This ‘plainness penalty’ and ‘beauty premium’ exist across all occupations. (Study by Daniel Hamermesh & Jeff Biddle)
- Unattractive men earned 15% less than those deemed attractive, while ‘plain’ women earned 11% less than their more attractive counterparts. What’s more, the possibility of a male attorney attaining early partnership directly correlates with how handsome he is. (“Beauty, Productivity and Discrimination: Lawyers’, Looks and Lucre.” Study by Daniel Hamermesh & Jeff Biddle)
- Tall people earn considerably more money throughout their careers than their shorter coworkers. Each inch adds roughly an extra $1,000 a year in pay, after controlling for education and experience. In other words, if you’re six feet tall, you probably earn about $6,000 more than your equally qualified 5-foot-6-inch colleague down the hall. (Study by Timothy Judge & Daniel Cable)
- Overweight women are more likely to be unemployed. Employed women, who are considered obsess (according to their Body Mass Index) earn 17% less than women within their recommended BMI range. (“The Economic Reality of the Beauty Myth.” Study by Susan Averett and Sanders Korenman)
A lot of us have seen one of many network ‘attractiveness stings’ in which a hidden camera captures just how much looks matter in day-to-day life.
In one such particular situation, Dateline staged two models and two regular network employees in situations requiring the help of others. One scenario required each of them to drop a folder filled with papers on a busy New York City street. Not surprisingly, when the models dropped their files, they were immediately flooded with help. When the regular-looking female employee did the same, at least a dozen people passed by before, finally, one woman offered to help. Interestingly, when the male regular-looking employee dropped his files, the sidewalk cleared and people just walked on by, none offering to help.
While the Dateline expose was certainly not scientific, experts agree that more controlled studies show exactly the same phenomenon: people go out of their way to help attractive people of the same and opposite sex because they want to be liked and accepted by these good looking people. "Good-looking men and women are generally judged to be more talented, kind, honest, and intelligent than their less attractive counterparts," said expert Dr. Gordon Patzer, commenting on Dateline’s findings.
The Attractiveness Effect
Remarkably, this behaviour is innate – something with which we are all born. Studies of babies show that they will look more intently and for longer periods of time at more attractive faces. Dr. Alan Slater, a psychologist at Exeter University, conducted a study of 100 babies up to the age of three days old. His team of researchers showed photos of white female models and non-models to babies for up to five minutes. They found that babies would spend 60-65% of the time looking at the attractive face.
"It used to be thought that new-born babies came into the world as a totally blank sheet of paper on which experience will then write," he said in a report published by FuturePundit.com. "But what we are finding more and more is that babies are born with a number of in-built mechanisms that help them to organise and make sense of their newly-perceived world - and one of these is that they display an attractiveness effect."
"Attractiveness is not simply in the eye of the beholder,” he continued. “It is in the brain of the newborn infant right from the moment of birth and possibly prior to birth.”
Dr. Gordon Patzer, Dean of the College of Business Administration at Roosevelt University, has spent thirty years studying and writing about physical attractiveness. In an interview with The Scotsman, he explained that “in a nursery, before new-born babies are released from a hospital, those babies higher in physical attractiveness - at this level defined as more cute - are touched more, held more and spoken to more.”
This trend continues in school, and it’s even apparent in teachers’ attitudes towards the more attractive children. "When they interact with children of higher physical attractiveness,” he continued, “they ask more questions, prompt them for more answers. We expect those children to do better and, consequently, they fulfill our expectations and they actually do do better."
From the nursery to school to even the doctor’s office? “We see in medical interactions, patients who go to physicians, and those of higher physical attractiveness, the physicians will spend more time with that person and will also spend more time answering individual questions that that person asked,” said Dr. Patzer.
Featured Report Index:
Part One: Going Under the Knife For Your Career
According to Monster polls, workers think cosmetic surgery could advance their careers.
Part Two: Attractiveness at Work
Do you realize how big a role 'attractiveness' plays in your work and life?
Part Three: Putting Your Best Face Forward
What cosmetic surgery could do for you career
Part Four: Only One Piece of the Puzzle
Words of wisdom from a cosmetic surgeon and a career specialist