Plastic Sugery A Help To Job Hunters?

Keeping a competitive edge in the job market is hard work these days. It's so competitive that some people are turning to plastic surgery to try to look younger to help in finding a job.

Dr. Stephen Greenberg and his patient, Karen, sat down with Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez to discuss the latest trend.

Greenberg said he is seeing an influx of patients wanting to look younger to find a job.

"Yes, it's absolutely phenomenal. As the job market becomes more difficult patients are trying to find jobs in any way that they can," he said. "And the older patients, not that Karen is old, but older patients are finding it a little bit more difficult to compete with the younger patients. So they are coming in and we're doing a 'job seeker's package' to refresh and make them look better so they can compete in a difficult job market."

Greenberg assesses his patients' needs on a case by case basis.

"We really individualize it. We can do a quick fix, which takes five minutes, things like Botox, Restylane or skin treatments to take five years off or we can do something more dramatic like an eye-lift or mini face-lift or even body work," Greenberg explained. "I think their self-esteem is better. They feel better about themselves, they look better and patients are finding that they're getting jobs much easier if they look a little bit better."

Karen had some trouble finding employment after she lost her job in January, so she went to see Greenberg for Botox, Restylane and laser treatments.

"I was finding over the course of my interviews that the jobs were going to people who were younger, although I'm way more experienced," Karen said. "And I just felt I needed to look a little bit younger, a little bit fresher, a little bit more in tune with, you know, what the people who are getting the jobs were looking like."

Karen first heard about Dr. Greenberg's "job-fighter package" on his radio show and began to consider it. After talking it over with her husband, they decided that it would probably be a great idea.

Ultimately, it paid off for Karen -- but was she giving in to the system that's unfair, that discriminates against older, wiser, more experienced employees?

"You know, it is what it is. It happens. So I had to combat it the way I thought it would best work for me," Karen said. "And you know, whether it was the injections or just the fact that my confidence was much better after I had the injections, I felt better about myself. I think that came across better."

Karen was able to get a job within three weeks of having the procedures, which she considers to be "well worth the investment."

After her positive outcome, Karen advises prospective employees to do whatever makes you feel good about yourself.

"One hundred percent. And I think that's what it came down to," Karen said. "It did make me feel better about myself."