20/20 episode on "lookism": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTfRRmFC4-c
TL;DR of the video: Good looks will get you hired, make you more money, and make people think you're smarter.
It's a thing I've reckoned with my entire life, though I only really realized what it was in the last 5 years.
I also do this as an EE (Europe area). It just seems very intuitive[0] to me that people would be more likely to remember a face than just a name on a card after whatever brief meeting (especially in a market where this is not a common thing to do). I sure do. I'm horrible with names anyway.
[0]to be totally fair: I have read quite a few business, marketing and sales books. My favorite is probably the classic "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert B. Cialdini. Second would be "Predictably irrational" by Dan Ariely.
Main take away: influencing / selling and getting hired have surprisingly little to do with knowledge, education and IQ. It is more (all?) about human social dynamics and "predictably irrational" human psychology. Case in point: Trump. Think about it.
Isn't this a super open door though? I mean: Tinder? LinkedIN? Instagram? Sales? Marketing?
This isn't exactly a new discovery in the sales and marketing world is it? And since getting a job = sales...