Cosmetic Surgery for Career Advancement

Going Under the Knife For Your Career
by Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca

Recent polls of Monster Canada users have shown that a significant amount of people feel that not only is ageism a factor in hiring decisions but also that having some work done on their appearance will improve their career potential.

Is it any wonder that Canadians are demanding more cosmetic procedures at an increasing rate?

While Statistics Canada doesn’t track the stats on cosmetic surgery, according to a 2004 survey by Medicard (the most recent of its kind), cosmetic enhancement procedures in Canada rose by 24.6% in just one year, with surgical facelifts growing by 52%. Remarkably, between 2003 and 2004, non-surgical facelifts increased by more than 300%.

Medicard, a Canadian credit agency for cosmetic surgery, reported that 87% of all cosmetic surgery-seeking patients are between the ages of 35 and 50. Interestingly, Ontario leads the country with 42% of all cosmetic procedures performed in the province, followed by BC at 26%, Alberta at 11%, and the rest of Canada with a combined 20%. To put it into perspective, in 2003, Ontarians alone spent 180 million dollars on cosmetic surgery - nearly half of what was spent across the entire country. And that was four years ago.

Injectable collagen fillers, Botox, and laser treatments are becoming so popular, cosmetic surgeons can’t keep up.

Why the increase?

Attitudes toward aging have begun to change. According to an ACNielsen Global Omnibus survey “Canadian Consumer Attitudes Toward Aging,” conducted November 2006, most Canadian respondents agreed that ‘the 40’s were the new 30s’ and more than half were also sure that ‘the 60’s were the new middle age’. Similar to international respondents, Canadians expressed a strong interest in maintaining youthful attitudes in older age brackets and 20% would consider cosmetic surgery when they’re older.

With mandatory retirement gone and baby boomers still clinging to their jobs, there’s certainly motivation for this generation in particular to keep up a more stylish and youthful image. According to Medicard’s report, the acceptance of non-surgical treatments makes for an “easier transition to the next step for ageing baby boomers.” Over the past decade the market has undergone dramatic change – “technology improved and opened the doors to the growth in cosmetic enhancement treatments. What was once considered unacceptable has become an expectation for the ageing population and the demand for cosmetic and corrective treatments for a new set of patients is evidence of this,” says the report.

Colleen Clarke, Monster’s career specialist, thinks that baby boomers are much more vain than any of the decades that came before them. “We grew up with designer clothing, gyms, and a divorce rate of 50% which has half the [baby boomer] population still trying to ‘be attractive’ to snag another partner,” she explains. Noting that things were different for her parent’s generation, Clarke says, “We turn fifty and go, wow, that tan we’ve had for the last fifty years has now turned into a face full of wrinkles, but we still feel young. Some of us are in great shape, still running marathons… and we certainly still want to be noticed,” she asserts. “It follows perfectly that people are starting to go and get their turkey necks and saggy eyelids fixed. It is a logical next step.”

According to Clarke, unlike the generation before them, baby boomers have a higher disposable income and they’re willing to sink five thousand dollars into laser surgery, for example, instead of putting the money into a practical fund of some sort.

In response to Monster’s latest poll which asked “Do you feel that ageism exists in your workplace?” a strong 62% of respondents reported that “age was obviously a factor when considering candidates,” while another 17% thought age mattered “a bit” – it seemed their companies preferred candidates in a certain age bracket. Only 19% said that people of all ages were considered for positions at their company.

Dr. John Dmytryshyn, who has been practising cosmetic facial surgery for thirty years, agrees that minimally invasive procedures have taken over the plastic surgery landscape. “27% of plastic surgery is spent on actual surgery and the rest is spent on cosmetic enhancement treatments like Botox, filler solutions, and laser treatments,” he said from his office in Vancouver.

“Twenty-five years ago we didn’t have Botox or fillers or anything like that… we were just doing straight surgery. Now fillers and Botox make up an integral part of our practice and some cosmetic surgeons don’t do surgery at all. They have hugely successful practices just through these cosmetic procedures - improving skin, softening wrinkles, filling out areas devoid of fat. That’s a huge, huge area now.”

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

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

Putting Your Best Face Forward
by Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca

Our natural predisposition to favour beauty, combined with more accessible, affordable, and acceptable cosmetic procedures, and multiplied by an entire generation of older workers competing with younger colleagues for jobs makes for a whole lot of people trying to put their best face forward.

Dr. Dmytryshyn points out that as we age, we collect excess luggage on our faces – especially the eyes - that makes us look older and tired. “People aren’t as observant as we think they are,” he says. “They don’t notice the excessive skin around eyelids or the fat bulges, they just tell us that we look tired.” If coworkers, clients, and managers tell us how tired we look all the time when we’re getting plenty of rest and feeling perfectly fine, even the most confident among us could be a bit unsettled and spend more time in front of the mirror. Whether right or wrong, people quickly connect what they perceive as tired and worn faces with lower levels of productivity, alertness - and the grand assumption - less dedication to the job.

About twelve years ago, people started telling Dr. Dmytryshyn he looked tired. “I thought, well, I’m not feeling tired. I’m feeling pretty good,” he explains. “Here I am operating on these people and they think I haven’t gotten enough sleep or that I’ve been out drinking the night before. So, I went and had my lower eyelids done.”

”Now, no one says to me, John, you have really good-looking eyelids. I obviously wasn’t looking for that. All I was looking for people to say that I wasn’t looking tired. Was it an advance in my career? Not directly. But it made me feel better… Patients didn’t look at my tired eyes and maybe think I had been out drinking and carrying on the night before. I didn’t have to hear people telling me I was looking tired anymore.”

Dr. Dmytryshyn’s clients are thrilled when, after cosmetic surgery, people comment about how “refreshed” and how “much better” they look – how they “must have had a good holiday” and that they “look like they’re ready to buckle down and get to work.” Consequently, says Dr. Dmytryshyn, this good feedback adds up and helps push towards success in many aspects of their lives, their careers being a big part.

“No one really comes into my office and says overtly, ‘I want this eyelid surgery to advance my career’,” explains Dr. Dmytryshyn. “It’s when you talk to them a little bit and spend time with them that you realize they’re in between jobs or thinking about a new job or they want to change some aspect of their career. They might have some time off and they want to improve themselves. It comes in a round-about way. It’s subtle, but definitely connected.”

“Cosmetic surgery is a self-image thing,” he continues. “It’s the way we feel about ourselves. We all have an image of the way we look. As long as we feel we look pretty good, we feel pretty good about ourselves.” Of course, whether or not that image requires cosmetic surgery is up to the individual.

While Dr. Dmytryshyn’s clients come from a wide range of occupations – from teachers to executives, he notes that salespeople are a big part of his practice.” They need to put their ‘best face forward’,” he explains. “They’re good at what they do, but they also have to look good at what they do”

Like the doctor himself, Colleen Clarke knows first-hand what it means to put her ‘best face forward.’ She’s constantly in the public eye, speaking in front of large audiences and cameras. “I have these really baggy, baggy eyelids. It’s genetic. My mother has them too,” she says. “Years ago, I was on television and my mother called me from Calgary and said, ‘You better get your eyes done. You look awful. You look so tired and your face is being pulled down.’ So I did. I got my eyelids done and it made a world of difference. No one said to me, oh Colleen, what did you do to your eyes? You look like a different person. I just looked better. Because my eyes were so droopy, I always felt like I had to raise my eyebrows up, so I constantly looked like a deer in headlights… For me, [cosmetic surgery] was a great thing to do because I present so much… I’m teaching in front of people all the time. Being in the public, you’re always very conscious of your appearance.”

“There are very unobtrusive procedures that can make a huge difference. If you’re in sales, marketing, media, PR, out in public, it’s going to be more a draw for you to have work done than if you’re just sitting behind a desk… If you’re showing yourself to the public then I think people have a reason to be more concerned.”

Only One Piece of the Puzzle
By Melanie Joy Douglas, Monster.ca

Before you even consider cosmetic surgery, both Dr. Dmytryshyn and Colleen Clarke advise to ensure you’ve got ‘the basics’ under control.

“When you see how some people dress or comb their hair, you know those people aren’t even going to consider plastic surgery,” Clarke says. “All they need is a good hairdresser and make-up artist or maybe a gym or someone to fit them in good clothes. Those are the basics.”

And Dr. Dmytryshyn agrees that when looking for ways in which to improve your physical appearance, you should look at all parameters: health, fitness, hair, make-up, clothes, and especially the way you carry yourself.

As Clarke so elegantly puts it, “Take care of everything else first. You can’t walk in looking like a homeless person and expect them to turn you into Paris Hilton.”

“I think once you’ve done all these type of things,” explains Dmytryshyn, “then I think it’s okay to look at cosmetic surgery. It’s fair to say, look ‘I’ve got bad teeth which I’d really like fixed’ or ‘I’ve got bags under my eyes that no amount of make-up can fix.’ I think it’s good to think of cosmetic surgery at the end of all these things, not the beginning. I look at cosmetic surgery as a last thing to do, as a final touch, to make a difference.”

Like many cosmetic surgeons, Dr. Dmytryshyn sees people who think that cosmetic surgery is going to change their lives, but he’s quick to point out that it won’t. “Cosmetic surgery can help make you feel better but it’s not going to solve your problems… It’s one piece of the puzzle. You have to put everything else together,” he warns. “Cosmetic surgery is there, but let’s not get carried away with it. It’s not the end-all be-all. There are so many more things that are more important.”

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

Career Centre

Cosmetic Surgery for Career Advancement