If a thousand people are asked to come for a contest and just one winner is needed, there is would surely be something that makes the supposed winner stand out. Mind you, every individual that participated also has something that is an advantage over others but somehow, the winner has something that is far better than all the rest: and that is life. That's how it works, we can't do anything about it, it is not fair.
Look, Dress Sense and Skills
In an interview, a person look and skill set matters: that's basically how an interview works. But come to think of this, there is a third factor, dressing. Some have good look but can't dress well, some can dress really well but do not look so good (facial), while some look so good and can dress well but are not skillful enough for the job. My point of view, two out these three matters and it depends on the interviewer, the company and their goal. I think knowing how dressing well is fair: several times I have seen guys who aren't handsome but they dress so well, they know the kind of clothes that fits them.
My first interview ever was after secondary school, I wanted to earn money like my friend David was so I grabbed the oppurtunity when there was vacancy in the primary school he was teaching. Two weeks later, I went there with my letter to get the job. I was so confident that I would get the job because my friend already put in good word for me. I dressed simple but good, had a new haircut and wore a nice perfume. The owner of the school was a woman. I greeted well, bent halfway because I knew she was Yoruba and I told her my name and why I was there. I had a good smile on my face all through our conversation and I did pretty well with answering her questions. She asked me if I could start immediately, I said yes ( I went prepared ) and I did well with the trial.
My look, my dressing and skill was evident. Later on, I got to know that this woman love teachers with good looks and more than average dress sense. She cares about the skill but always talk more about looking good smiling nice and smiling. Her reason was because we are teachers to kids from age of 2 years to 16 years: looking good has a way of making the children in class feel good around you. Many times, the school owner would tell us about how she feel about the teachers dress, makeup shoe etc, she gives compliment a lot.
Physical appearance matters more depending on the job and/or who you'd be working with. I believe one should do some research about a job or company before going for an interview. Some companies prefer trousers only for ladies, imagine going there with skirt: that might be the end of the interview depending on who you meet. Some company prefers coperate wears only while do not, just look decent.
Skill is the most important but we really can not do with look. That's why I am keen on dressing well and smart enough. That only makes you look like you know the job because people can judge or perceive us just by our dressing. If I get a chance to have a say on this anywhere, it would be skills plus dressing: both can not be overlooked. I can't imagine having very skilled workers who don't dress well, it won't work because our dressing says a lot about us especially to strangers or customers; they judge us by our look first before knowing who we truly are.