Starting a career after college is tough -- the competition is intense and the jobs are sparse. To get a competitive edge in a cutthroat market, Anna wants a cut and color that will make a statement, but still look professional. So we called in our team of experts at the Warren-Tricomi salon in Los Angeles, Calif., which includes hairstylists Whitney Olson and Reanna Garcia, colorists Jherra Moreno and Ashleigh Childers, and celebrity makeup artist and co-founder of the Luxe Beauty Team Sarah Uslan. See how they turned a blas� style into a "notice me" look.

Photographs: Andrew Stiles

"I haven't had a proper haircut in ages, so as you can imagine my ends are totally fried," says Anna, 25, a recent graduate of USC. "My color is always from a box and is all over the place once I hang out in the sun for any period of time. Blotchy color coupled with dead ends does nothing for my self-confidence let me tell you. I feel like I have no 'look' to my hair and I actually wonder if people are staring at my split ends when they're talking to me, which is not what I should be worrying about," she confesses.

Anna's color needs to be livened up and given the rich quality it lacks. To accomplish this, Moreno starts by adding a dark auburn color to her roots. "A chocolate raspberry shade will bring out the warmth in her olive skin," says Moreno. Once processed, the color is washed out and Moreno finishes by coating Anna's hair in a chestnut glaze to balance out the ends. "The glaze will give dimension to the red we added earlier," continues Moreno, which will give Anna a subtle, rich all-over color.

Moreno is sure to remind Anna that red-colored hair is delicate to maintain and if she isn't careful, she will wash all that good dye down the drain. To help maintain her color, she recommends only washing her hair in lukewarm water and with color-protecting shampoo and conditioner. Try Pantene Pro-V Color Hair Solutions Color Preserve Smooth Shampoo, $4.49 and Pantene Pro-V Color Hair Solutions Color Preserve Smooth Conditioner, $4.49. See a blogger share her video review of these products here.

"We are giving Anna a full fringe," says Olson, which is an easy way to give a "look" to her hair. "She is young and has style, so would work to maintain it," says Olson of bangs that require upkeep. Once the fringe is cut, Olson takes off an inch of damaged ends and gives Anna long face-framing layers. "It is important to keep Anna's length," says Olson, "if we went any shorter, she would look five years old -- the only person that can pull off a bob and full fringe is Anna Wintour," she jokes.

Anna's hair is fine, so Olson starts by spritzing her wet strands with a thickening, volumizing spray then goes straight to the bangs to blow dry them first. You want to manipulate the way the bangs dry, so they don�t fluff up or start to wave, says Olson. Therefore, it is imperative they be first in the order of blow-drying business. To keep bangs orderly and not dated-looking, Olson blow dries them with a flat brush, first brushing to the right as she blows them with heat, followed by brushing them to the left as she blows them with heat. This will keep them down against her forehead. She then dries the rest of Anna's hair with a round brush, aiming the heat down the hair shaft and pulling taught to guard against frizz and to enhance shine. To set the look, Olson finishes by misting Anna's hair with a light-hold hairspray (try Pantene Pro-V Fine Hair Solutions Touchable Volume Hairspray, $3.39).