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Top Executives Chase Youthful Appearance, But Miss Real Issue
By Carol Hymowitz, The Wall Street Journal
February 17, 2004
When the executive in the adjacent office returns from a two-week vacation minus any bags under his eyes or deep lines around his mouth, forget what he tells you about a certain Caribbean resort. Chances are, he has been under the knife.
Cosmetic surgery, botox and other de-aging skin treatments are becoming de rigueur for baby-boomer executives of both sexes who fear being judged as over the hill. For many, including some top CEOs who haven't yet gone public, plastic surgery is the next step in their rigorous fitness and beauty regimens that include several hours a week at the gym, expensive personal trainers and diet consultants, and hair treatments. "I can't tell you the number of men I know who no longer are gray or who have covered bald spots with hair transplants," says Pat Cook, president of Cook & Co., a Bronxville, N.Y., executive-search firm.
In addition to vanity, these executives are driven by job insecurity. They believe that looking older in business now means looking vulnerable, not wise and experienced, as might have been the case in the past. So many 50-something managers have suffered layoffs and early retirement that survivors in this age bracket feel pressured to look and act as young as possible to hang onto their posts. And even 45-year-olds who are unemployed in today's tight market worry that wrinkles will cut them out of the running.
They ignore the financial expense (work on eyelids costs $3,000 to $6,000 and facelifts, $15,000 to $25,000) and the medical risks (Novelist Olivia Goldsmith died last month at the age of 54 during a chin-tuck operation).
A recent survey of senior executives by ExecuNet, a networking and job-search service, found that 82% consider age bias a "serious problem," up from 78% three years ago. And 94% of these respondents, who were mostly in their 40s and 50s, said they thought age had cost them a shot at a particular job.
"Ageism is unfortunate but it exists, and if you aren't looking good, you aren't a player, especially now when so many companies are run by younger executives," says Rick Miners, president of FlexCorp Systems, a New York business-process outsourcing company. "It isn't only women waiting for appointments with cosmetic surgeons, it's a lot of men, too, and not just senior executives but middle managers who want to stay competitive."
Dr. Sherrell Aston, a New York plastic surgeon, says 17% of his patients undergoing eyelid surgery and about 11% choosing facelifts are male, double the percentage of 10 years ago. More people of both genders are choosing cosmetic surgery. Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, the nation's largest cosmetic-surgery hospital where Dr. Aston is chairman of the plastic-surgery department, had a 20% increase in cosmetic surgery cases in 2002 over the previous year.
"We see a lot of high-placed executives from every industry who want to look better for themselves but also want to look vigorous and up to their jobs," he says.
It isn't something most executives want to discuss publicly, however. A 56-year-old public-relations manager at a New Jersey technology company who had his lower eyelids done last April, says he was delighted when colleagues told him he looked more rested than they had ever seen him. But he didn't counter their belief that he had just returned from a cruise. "I didn't want to call attention to my age by saying I needed this to look younger," he says. But his new look has given him more confidence at work, prompting him to volunteer for new projects, he adds.
Even more executives are choosing less expensive and less invasive treatments, such as botox injections, which average several hundred dollars per session. Dr. Diana Bihova, a New York dermatologist, says 40% of her patients seeking botox and other cosmetic treatments, including chemical peels and collagen, are now men. "A lot of them tell me they spend hours at the gym each week and want a face to match their fit body," she says. "Men don't have the advantage of using makeup, but they age better than women because their skin is thicker and they usually shave, which is rejuvenating."
A major focus for both sexes is removing frown lines between the brows or on the forehead. One woman claimed that losing her worried look helped her land a new job.
Looking younger, however, isn't the most crucial way to counter ageism on the job. Managers who don't repeatedly rejuvenate their thinking -- failing to stay informed about current events and popular culture -- inevitably date themselves and limit their chances to advance.
Jeri Sedlar, a career coach who with Mr. Miners wrote "Don't Retire, Rewire," has had skin rejuvenating treatments but also keeps mentally young by reading a lot and conversing with people in different professions. When she recently called on a younger client in the beauty industry, she wore a leather skirt rather than a conservative suit.
Ms. Cook, the executive coach, says, "It's a lot less important how old someone is than whether they are young in attitude. I don't care if someone is 55, but I care a lot if he is passionate, enthusiastic and in touch with what is happening in the world."
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