Previous job (Tier 1-3 support to Java dev, startup SaaS, 2013-2018): Asked a friend how they liked it there, took a tour, met some people, was in for an interview the next week. First non-freelance or self-employed gig in many years but it turned out to be a great match.
Before Times: Post-college-dropout drift for a decade or so. Helped run a massive LAN party (dates it a bit, heh), did some PHP/Java work for friends’ small consultancies, worked retail, repaired computers, freelance music writing and photojournalism, random open source project contributions here and there.
I love seeing other “non-traditional path” stories on here. Not everyone ends up in dev work, or their current job, the same way. :)
Agency referral
Approached by former colleague
Referral from friend
Referral from friend
Recruited based on referral
Placed by recruiter
Placed by recruiter
Referral from friend
Hired at friend’s startup
Placed by recruiter + referral from mutual acquaintance
Cold call to owner
I can’t remember the last time I applied for a job. I find out about jobs through my network, which includes a few competent and connected recruiters.