It´s a given that looks and good personal hygiene count in sales positions, in a job when you interact a lot with the customers, or in a position where you spend a lot of time in front of the camera - say as a television anchor, or an actor. This doesn´t mean you have to enhance your looks to succeed, but it´s natural that a positive appearance makes you more enjoyable to be around or to watch on TV. But what about a position such as a human tele-sales representative or network manager?

Are cosmetic enhancements such as a breast augmentation, Angelina Jolie lips, laser teeth whitening or some other laser treatment helpful tools that´ll help get you promoted (on the hush, hush of course) outside of the fact that you´re doing a great job and take care of yourself?

This WaterCooler Scoop rant began when Monster.com sent me the results of a recent survey asking visitors if they felt plastic and cosmetic dentistry (or lack thereof) could assist them in advancing their careers. Of the 21,565 survey participants, 53 percent said ´yes, definitely´ to cosmetic procedures advancing careers; while 31 percent said ´no way´; and 14 percent simply said they ´weren´t sure.´

Review what two of the world´s leading plastic surgeons had to say on the subject, as well as my .02 cents worth that, in the spirit of full disclosure, brings into account my cosmetic enhancements during my nearly 20 plus years of public facing jobs.

The two leading, board certified plastic surgeons had the following to say about the Monster survey. First, Dr. Adams, a very fit 50-something surgeon that operates the Adams Centers in Boston and Salem, Mass. and the second, a svelte, thirty-something Dr. Maloney Jr., of Maloney Plastic Surgery in Tucson.

These two highly-respected surgeons have been formally recognized as among the best plastic surgeons in the world, and also for their regular altruistic services provided to individuals in other countries. You can read more about Dr. Adams and Dr. Maloney on their respective web sites: www.adams-center.com and www.maloneyplasticsurgery.com.

Q1. Do you believe having plastic surgery can help advance your career?

Dr. Adams: Plastic surgery only helps if it improves your self-esteem. I compare plastic surgery to a rabbit's foot: it brings you good luck if you think it will. I know of no data that correlates plastic surgery and career advancement.

Dr. Maloney: The issue of plastic surgery and cosmetic dentistry isn´t so black and white. When people are looking for someone to fill a job, let´s just say an office manager at a plastic surgeon´s office, one´s going to look at the qualifications of the candidate (and the more education the better), narrow down the list of candidates to those who seemingly meet the job requirements, and then interview the short list. Someone who takes better care of his or herself is going to be on the short list as opposed to someone who does not.

Q2. Does a cosmetic enhancement advance your career more if you have a more "customer facing" job e.g., sales, television, receptionist, etc. vs. an employee who spends the bulk of his or her time in a cubicle?

Dr. Adams: It doesn't matter what kind of job you have. What matters is only how well you do your job. If you think plastic surgery will help you do a better job, then it will.

Dr. Maloney: Using my practice as an example, determining the best fit is accomplished during the first face to face meeting--when you can see if the person takes good care of his or herself, if they´re not too wrinkled, etc. To address the issue of cosmetic dentistry, I believe patients and employees care about interacting with a person who takes dental hygiene into account. Let´s put it this way, a patient or a colleague isn´t going to want to see or work with a person whom is dental-hygienically challenged.

Q3. What's been your experience with your employees? Has their appearance, if it's been altered by plastic surgery, helped them advance within your practice or has it made zero impact?

Dr. Adams: It´s had zero impact and I´m unaware of it having any impact on patients outside of my practice. We have employees at Adams Center who have never experienced any procedures, and they do an excellent job interfacing with patients and in their jobs in general.

Dr. Maloney: At my practice or at (some) others like mine, it´s common for employees to have procedures but that has nothing to do with their advancement within the office. That´s solely based on their performance as applied to their job description.

Q4. In terms of career advancement, what was the most influential piece of advice you received during school, or otherwise, that´s been helpful advancing your career?

Dr. Adams: Availability and affability.

Dr. Maloney: To work hard and to be patient (no immediate gratification), and to treat others as you´d want to be treated.

Q5. When did you start practicing in the field of plastic surgery?

Dr. Adams: I´ve been practicing 27 years.

Dr. Maloney: I opened my own practice in Tucson in 2004 but I have been practicing as a plastic surgeon since 1998 in Boston where I served as chief resident at leading hospitals such as Mass General, Beth Israel and so on.

Q6: What is the most common procedure you perform and on what demographic?

Dr. Adams: Breast augmentation on middle income females between the ages of 20-70.

Dr. Maloney: Botox, liposuction, breast augmentation on middle income individuals between the ages of 20-70.

Q7. When you look to grow your business, hire more employees, what tools do you use to recruit individuals e.g., tapping personal networks, advertise in newspapers, or the use of online recruiting tools like Monster or CareerBuilder?

Dr. Adams: We use all of these hiring tools.

Dr. Maloney: We seem to use word of mouth more so than other tools such as online recruiting.

As a final note, particularly useful for the ladies, keep in mind that high school cattiness doesn´t end in the workplace - particularly with some female bosses who want to make sure you don´t catch the eye of someone they´re after! So remember to always be classy, dress professionally, and make sure your attire is age appropriate. You simply can´t help it if you´re naturally attractive even if your appeal has been a bit enhanced!

Krista Milne is nearly a 20 year veteran in the high tech industry where she specializes in providing strategic content for online recruiting companies, organizational development firms, systems management vendors and VC companies.  Contact her via kmilne@coolerscoop.com.