Studies have shown that attractive people get more attention. Beautiful women, for instance, get promoted more often. But when it comes to APPLYING for the job, sex roles are reversed: Women who attached an attractive photo to their resumes got fewer interviews than men who did the same thing. The researchers think this may be due to the "dumb-blonde hypothesis."

Or it may be because personnel departments are almost always staffed by women. Could they be wary of letting an attractive rival in?

The NEWEST way to communicate with your far-flung relatives or business partners is to use "skype." While you can skype someone using only audio, many people use video as well, so they can see the person they’re talking to. This means it’s as important to make a good impression as it would be if you were going on a job interview.

In the December 15th edition of the Wall Street Journal, Sarah Rose quotes "Good Morning America" producer Tom Cibrowski as saying, "You want to be inviting and engaging and that can be helped by the environment around you." In other words, you not only dress well and comb your hair, you need to make sure your SURROUNDINGS look professional as well. The GMA show often interviews guests via skype.

One thing that helps is to adjust your lights, just as you would if you were making a film. Rose quotes Cibrowski as saying, "Backlighting is important. You don’t want to make yourself look like you’re in a cave." Professional videos are shot under high wattage lights, so you may want to buy some extra lamps to turn on whenever you skype.

Make sure no one else is in the room where they can be seen in the background, because their movement will be focus the viewer’s attention away from you. According to Cibrowski, "Make sure the viewer is focusing on you and what you’re saying. It’s very easy to be distracted by anything in the background," and "look right at the webcam and make sure you’re centered" in the frame.

Be direct and to the point–don’t give answers that are longer than 20 seconds "because a conversation between two people is better than hearing one person talk."

If you want to look beautiful–in person OR on skype–you may need to fact the fact that you need to LOSE WEIGHT. Transform yourself with Anne Strieber’s famous diet book "What I Learned From the Fat Years," which is now ON SALE. After she discovered she had Type II diabetes, Anne developed a diet that enabled her to lose 100 pounds, using scientific principles, and it will help YOU do it too!

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