A killer résumé, solid experience and even a strong business network may no longer be enough to land a job in this competitive market — especially for men. So what’s a job hunter to do? “As more and more companies hire younger employment, the older crowd has to work that much harder to find new employment,” says Jeffrey Spiegel, MD, chief of the division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and a professor at the Boston University School of Medicine. “Older men who have been hunting for work in this recent economic crisis have had to go to extraordinary measures to compete with the younger audience.” Those measures include visits to the dermatologist and plastic surgeons to refresh their appearance.

Grant Stevens, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Los Angeles and the medical director of Marina Plastic Surgery Associates, says that men now compose approximately 15 percent of his practice. “More than ever, we are wearing our résumés on our faces. Clearly, people want to look as good as they can when looking for a job or to advance in their careers,” says Dr. Stevens. So while it used to be primarily women who were fighting the hands of time — as men were considered more “distinguished” with age — plastic surgeons have noticed a spike in the number of men seeking anti-aging treatments.

More Men Are Getting Plastic Surgery

In 2010, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ annual statistics showed that more men than ever are signing up for a range of surgeries and cosmetic procedures. The number of men getting facelifts rose 14 percent from 2009 to 2010. In the same time period, liposuction for men rose 7 percent, eyelid surgeries increased by 4 percent and hair transplants were up 2 percent. On the injectable front, men using Botox increased 9 percent and soft-tissue filler use, including Restylane and Juvederm, rose 10 percent. Botox is used to paralyze muscles to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, while fillers can be used to increase lip size, fill out the hollows under eyes or raise cheekbones.

“Bro-Tox” On the Rise

The Botox trend in men is gaining so much momentum, women are reportedly giving their husbands and significant others Botox treatments as gifts, earning it the media-friendly moniker “Bro-Tox.” Nearly 340,000 men had the procedure in 2010, according to ASPS.

“The women who come to see me in the practice are happy with the results, so they want to share the joy,” says Dr. Siegel. As for the men on the receiving end of the Botox gift certificates? “They put on an act, but no one is forcing them, so I can tell they’re happy to be there,” he says.

Most men are getting Botox in their glabella – the area on the forehead in between the eyebrows — where the vertical lines (known as the 11s) are likely to appear. When these are wrinkled or furrowed, men (and women) can appear angry or grumpy, not like the type of person who would be hired for a job in a competitive environment. Botox and other neuro-toxins relax this area, making a person appear younger, more relaxed, and even more confident.

While Botox use in men continues to grow, it’s certainly not a new phenomenon. Senator John Kerry was rumored to have received injections during the 2004 presidential campaign, and Olympian Mark Spitz was named a Botox spokesperson in 2009.

But the results are apparently paying off. While so many men lost their jobs in the recent recession, it was dubbed a “man-cession” by the media — men accounted for about three-fourths of the job losses — but they are now getting back to work faster than women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ November 2011 jobs report. Men are claiming more than two-thirds of the private-sector jobs created as the economy recovers, and nearly 1.28 million men were hired in the 12 months that ended in November, compared to 600,000 women.