Young At Heart Isn't Enough

In some ways, aging is kind. By the time you develop wrinkles that resemble a satellite view of the Mississippi River delta, your eyesight has faded so much you can't see them.

Sometimes, however, I get a jolt by looking at the mirror through the bottom half of my bifocals.

I'll likely need a job to help out in retirement and, frankly, I'm a little concerned about my competitive edge - facially, that is. Deep crevices descend from the corners of my mouth. My forehead is a rutted road. The skin under my eyebrows has fallen and threatens to spill over my eyelids. If it keeps on, I'll look like a Shar-Pei .

These days, many job applicants are trying to compete with the younger set by having work done. Since this decade began, surgeons have noticed a 27 percent increase in people getting plastic surgery, Botox, chemical face peels and other treatments. Most said they sought treatment in order to be more competitive in the workplace, according to a 2007 survey of members of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Of course, no prospective employer with any legal sense is going to level with me: "I'm afraid your eyes look a little too tired for this job, Mr. Morgan. We can't have any dozing off at the deep fryer."

The cost of facial work starts at about $2,000 and goes up from there, but many of the women and men who seek the services of Tampa plastic surgeon Joshua Halpern see it as an investment in job security.

Plastic surgery around the eyes is the most popular procedure Halpern performs on men seeking to better compete in the workplace, he says. A facelift is the next most-common operation. Women get their foreheads, eyes and faces done, in that order.

Patients tell him, "I go to a business meeting and people think I look tired, even though I've had a good night's sleep."

A 44-year-old woman recently had endoscopic plastic surgery on her brows and cheeks, just to keep her job, Halpern says. "The people she's training for the same position she has, they're in their mid-20s."

Men also go for liposuction of the abdomen and chest to look more fit in business social settings. For women, it's a tummy tuck.

Halpern says the trend has been growing, especially in the last few years with the job market so tight.

"The U.S. is more of a youth-oriented driven job market because of advertising on Madison Avenue," he says.

It's a particularly tough time if you look like a Shar-Pei.