What's the most unusual way that you or someone you know found a job?

I had just left my job in the family business after 13 years on a Friday and was thinking of looking for a job in my field – librarianship. On that Monday, it was Columbus Day and my son needed to do some research so I took him to our local college library since the public one was closed. While there, I got into conversation with a librarian I had worked with somewhere else years ago. I said if they ever needed anyone part time, I was available. They had just discovered a hole in their reference desk schedule and I was hired to start in 10 days. I’ve been there 12 years this month; sometimes life gives you a gift!

When I was 15 or so, my tooth cracked in half while at my grandparent’s house in a nearby town. It was extremely painful, but it happened at night, so no dentists were open. My grandparent’s friends just happened to drop by, and they recommended their dentist – who worked out of his home just one street over. They called and secured me an emergency visit that night. The dentist and I really hit it off… similar senses of humor, I suppose. By the time he was done patching me up, he had hired me to be his receptionist (the first one he’d ever had). I had that job for a few years, and still remember it as one of my favorites. :)

Not really a “job”, but when I was in the army we had to dig some trenches and my back ached. I did not want to stay in the barracks, so I went to the infirmary and asked the doctor if he could give me some cream or something that would make me feel better so I could go out that evening, rather than staying in. We started talking and he said his nurse was getting transferred in a few days and whether I’d like to take over. I have very shaky hands, so I said I’d do anything except injections, and we made a deal. I just made sure the place was spotless and gave out pills and stuff and did all the paperwork, I also cleaned some wounds and accompanied people to hospital for tests and so on (they always need someone to go with them for the paperwork). It was quite good and above all I was allowed to sleep there, in an air-conditioned room with the patients, rather than our normal dorm which would have been too hot.

After the army I went to Prague looking for a job, and found one in the local paper. It turned out to be in Dresden, Germany. Not really a weird way to get a job, but it was funny when they were giving me directions on how to get to their offices and I was trying to figure out which part of Prague Schillerplatz was in…

My husband worked at the phone company for a while, doing customer service. One day a woman called up with some kind of issue. He fixed it for her, and (knowing him) entertained her in the process. When he was about to end the call, she asked him if he liked his job. He was honest and said, “No, I can’t stand it.” She then told him about the company she worked for and said she had openings on her customer service team if he would like to apply. He did, he was hired, and even though I can’t say he actually liked that job, the pay was better. He also got me a job with that same company while we were dating, and my paycheck there kept us going when he quit to start his own business.

Now that he has his own business, he gets work in a lot of creative ways. He does decorative painting, like murals and faux finishes. If he sees a new restaurant about to open, he’ll walk in and ask for the owner. He almost always gets work that way. When we were getting married, we met with a restaurant manager to talk about our reception. The manager mentioned the VIP room they were adding to the place, and said they were looking for someone to paint murals. My husband, who had always been artistically talented but never painted something for someone outside his family or friends, said, “I can do it.” They hired him, he did an awesome job, and not long after quit his “real” job to paint full-time. The owner of that restaurant owned a few other places, had him paint those restaurants, and then referred him to his many relatives all over the state who also had restaurants.

I don’t have any job stories of my own. :(

I have trichotillomania, mainly of my eyelashes I’ve since recovered from ten years of pulling! I was at my eye doctor and of course he knew about my disorder, and told me that patients about to get eye surgery sometimes need all their eyelashes pulled out. He told me if I was ever interested, he thinks it could help me overcome pulling my own and I would get paid.
I didn’t take the job, it sort of freaked me out. I should have though!

Two years after I bought my house, I called a guy that owned an orchard because someone else said the orchard guy knew where to sell walnuts. (My mature walnut tree had zillions of nuts that year, and I was looking for a profitable way to get rid of them). The phone call turned into a meeting, the meeting turned into a friendship, and a few months later, I found myself employed at the orchard, which was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. Those days will live forever in my memories.

I’ve been “accidentally” hired at two separate places. When I was 18 I went to a sushi restaurant for my birthday and saw that they were hiring, so I asked this weird dyed blond guy for an application. They didn’t have any, so I wrote my practically non-existent work experience on a scrap of paper and got called back the next day. The other time I went into a Mediterranean restaurant for a sub and they were hiring, so I filled out an application. (I already had one job at this point.) They didn’t have an interview- I just started working, but I had semi-dressed for an interview and ended up waiting tables in heels all day. The place was owned by a Jordanian family- a dad who was bald with a big mustache, a shrewish mom, and a lumpy preteen kid with braces. I swear it was like something out of a Wes Anderson movie.