Nuclear engineer. Went to school for dual degrees in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, got decent grades and had two relevant internships. Interviewed at a college job fair, had some follow-up interviews, and likely stood out because I was computer literate.

I’m a software dev. I went to a recruiter and shouted “ME WANT JORB!!!1” and they gave me one.

However, I was only able to get my foot in the door because of friends I made in school.

Graphic Designer

Friend left his job just as a contract was ending for me so I just took over for him.

Since this is probably a young person asking whose looking to start their career: I applied to a lot of jobs and lied on my resume until I got lucky with a small business that took a chance on me.

Temp to perm for the two “real” jobs I’ve had. So much less stressful to audition than to interview. Started as a temp, got hired on. Twice. Oh, and I am accounting/systems. Office stuff.

Networking. Kept in touch with a former peer. He offered me a position that was a promotion in another industry related to what I came from. Went from Retail > Trade Manager. Got a significant pay increase and better hours.

I know what RAM looks like. That’s literally what got me hired over the other candidate at my current MSP job. Other candidate didn’t know that RAM doesn’t have screws and removed the SSD of the laptop in the practical interview. I’d never seen an SSD before, but knew RAM didn’t have screws. I took out the RAM and put it back in and was offered the position an hour later.

I had been fired from a tech support job 4 days before that very suddenly got absolute bullshit reasons and I was having a terrible time psychologically. This job is a million times better than my old one, so getting fired was actually the best thing to happen to my career.

I’m a level one helpdesk tech rn, but will probably become level two in a year or two. My company is really pushing me to grow and advance my career and it’s so great.

I still struggle with the emotional damage getting fired in such a devastating way caused, but I’m going to be getting therapy so I can finally get over it.

Applied for a job. Imagine that

I’m a programmer, which is in a pretty bad spot if you’re looking for work right now.

I was laid off in January and had to start looking again. While it’s important to be able to demonstrate your skills, the only way I got an interview for my new job was by being referred by an old colleague. Turns out maintaining relationships with people who can vouch for your work is a very big part of the process.

I work for a customer service call center. I just went on their website and filled out an application. After that there was a phone interview then an in person interview, then I had to do a drug test then I was hired!

I’m a professional photographer. I’ve been a photographer for about 15 years but I started my own LLC in 2021. I studied the business side on YouTube/ googling stuff and listened to a TON of podcasts on the subject. Now wedding photography is my full time gig and I have a studio where I do boudoir, newborns, and rent studio space to other photographers. My future ambitions include hosting workshops where I teach other aspiring photographers. When I started in the industry it was male dominated and now that’s changed dramatically and it’s nice to see. I struggled a lot to be taken seriously in the early days. That’s why I was so inclined to start my own business/be my own boss.

IT service desk at an MSP.

Put in my resume on the company site, conducted an interview and showed up on the first day.

I made my own job.

I run my own ride service. I work the apps like uber but I also have a large (and growing) list of private clients that call me for airport runs or to see if I can get them to and from a dinner with friends/colleagues/etc.

I’m a production manager for events, so I design and run events and concerts.

I called up a bunch of production companies in the area, let them know I was coming to town, gave them a short list of some of the stuff I’ve done, and now I work full time as a freelancer for all the events that come through town.

Recruiter messaged me on LinkedIn (Software Dev)

After graduating I couldn’t even get an interview for a relevant position. I took whatever random jobs for a while until I got sick of it. Getting a good job in the city was important so, I started looking for jobs anywhere and everywhere. Before long I found one 600 km away from where I lived at the time. Turns out, it’s very difficult to find competent people willing to work in the middle of nowhere, so even fresh graduates will do.

I needed money, they needed people. The job was also a pretty good match to my degree, so it was a win-win for everyone.

Pro tip: if you want to compete with all the PhDs with 10 years of experience, stay in the city. If not, be open to relocating. Don’t be afraid of small towns, they are actually pretty nice. Oh and the rent! I’m paying peanuts for a very nice flat, because it’s so far away from all the big cities.