Looking for job search inspo in 2020! What's the most unusual // unconventional way you've found a job?

Question

They say that something like 85% of jobs today are found through a personal connection. Your network obviously counts for a lot, but besides relying on connections or cold-applying to job openings online, I'm wondering who here has found job hunting success through other means?

Melissa Halfon · Answer

The oddest place I've ever found a job was on Craigslist! Contrary to what's common, it was a full-time position I held for years. You never  know what you might find from unorthodox sources.

Anonymous · Answer

I went on a small yoga retreat in the summer of 2017. My group of five or so was all women and we talked a lot about our visions for our lives, personally and professionally. During these conversations, one woman and I came to realize we had similar aspirations and I offered her a job on my team. Two years later and we're thinking of going in on an entrepreneurial endeavor together.

Anonymous · Answer

I got my last job by talking to a woman in my industry while we were stuck in an Uber pool together on the way home from the airport, haha

Anonymous · Answer

I was once contacted for a position through an Instagram DM on a lifestyle account I made for people in my industry; it really made those unpaid hours pay off! I highly suggest building an online brand — you never know where your ideas will take you!

MarianneD. · Answer

I had just moved to Chicago fresh out of school and was trying to break into advertising, but the job search for entry-level roles (that weren't unpaid internships) was pretty brutal. To get by, I was working at Anthropologie and got to talking to a woman who I was ringing up. Lo and behold, she was also in advertising, gave me her business card, and the rest was history!

Basically Cher · Answer

I actually found a job through a dating app! I met someone for a first date, and clearly, the romantic chemistry was not there for either of us. But we wound up talking quite a bit about our careers, and it turned out that his best friend worked for what I considered to be a dream company at the time. He put us in touch, and I wound up working there for two years — a successful first date, if an unconventional one!

Anonymous · Answer

One of my friends told me she didn't want a job because it was 'too risky' for her but told me she thought it'd be great for me. I guess that means I fell into the 75% but at the time, it felt unconventional because I was getting a job my friend didn't want lol.

Anonymous · Answer

I actually met my current manager in an informational interview I went on when I was completing a fellowship. Six months after our coffee date, the role I'm in now opened up and when I found it online and applied, I realized the woman I'd 'interviewed' with was the job poster! In our coffee chat, we spoke about my career goals, our career changes and how we knew this field was the right fit for us, so in addition to my resume and cover letter, I was glad to know that she knew more about me than what I could condense to those forms. Looks like it worked in my favor!

Anonymous · Answer

I was cleaning floors at a sports complex in prep for a volleyball tournament. Someone came in and yelled at my boss, that he was the worst and he quit. Then my boss looks at me and says, want a new job? I then became a zamboni driver. True story.

Anonymous · Answer

I found out about my current company through a panel & networking event that my friend invited me to! They weren't hiring at the time of the event but a few months later I saw that they were and I think that connection to the company helped me get the job.

Looking for job search inspo in 2020! What's the most unusual // unconventional way you've found a job?

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