Overcome looking young at work, climb the corporate ladder

Looking ten years younger is flattering when you're fifty, but it's downright challenging when you're twenty-five. Trying to move up the corporate ladder when you look like a high school sophomore isn't impossible, but it does require that you use clever tactics to make people forget about your appearance and concentrate on what you can do. Here's some tips to overcome looking young at work.


Change your attitude.
You can't simply rely on high heels and a suit to advertise your maturity; you have to use your confidence and attitude, too. At a little less than five-feet-tall, fresh-faced Shannon Davidson, a 29-year-old news reporter/anchor with WHP-TV CBS 21 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had to overcome some obstacles on her way to a high-profile career.

"It's sort of a Catch-22 in this business of TV news," she says. "You have to look young enough to be considered 'attractive' to others, but mature enough to look like you have experience."

"In my experience, I concentrated on landing the gig," Davidson continues. "I figured once I landed the job, I'd win the viewers over, thereby impressing the boss... and he'd keep me on. So far, so good!"

Believe in yourself.
Confidence draws people in and if you're exuding optimism and strength, you'll be remembered for those attributes and not for a young appearance. Carry business cards, meet as many new people as you can and hold your head up high.  

Cut out the four letter words.
Soni Dimond, a national public speaker, communications coach and author of Life's a Pitch!™, often reminds clients that it's not just your outward facade that matters - it's the whole package, including the way you speak. "Avoid these four letter words: 'just' and 'only'," she recommends. "These little words can poison your presentation."