Someone had asked this elsewhere but then deleted their own post and I don't know why! I was meaning to come back to it and read it, so rest assured that I won't delete this one as there were some really interesting stories of unconventional ways people landed their work.
TL;DR: I got headhunted after directly emailing dozens of people and pitching myself as an available, on-call substitute in my line of work, instead of submitting job applications traditionally.
As for me, I cold-pitched myself via Google Maps and other searches as an available substitute to those in my skilled trade (upon moving to a different region) in basically a 50-mile radius, and eventually word of my availability reached a large, overarching institution that connected me with an organization that had a full-time opening. It took me probably 4-5 months from the move to the job offer.
Edit: My story is actually a little more complicated than that, now that I recall the details from years ago; there wasn't actually a full-time opening at my now-workplace at the time, haha. What happened was that I was briefly interviewed and quickly hired as an assistant to an overwhelmed director who ended up getting massively sick and nearly died from COVID, so I subbed as the director. They had been having interpersonal problems with her and I rapidly noticed them in the weeks before she got sick and warned them of her. While I wasn't trying to take her place, the higher-ups said they were aware of her shortcomings (she had basically said "Shut up" to another director higher than her rank, to give you one of many examples of how bad it was, and she must have been in her 50s if not 60s).
Nearly everyone at the org apparently loved my work while I subbed for her for nearly a full month, and they eventually fired her and made me her replacement after another interview. It was definitely unusual...
Kerry, chime in! Wow, this was an insane read. I'm glad the guy got justice served. What a horrible struggle and that sucks that multiple people were scarred in multiple ways. Did you not go to a hospital after?!
Your boss's coverage in the aftermath was also great, given how that all probably happened in just 5 minutes or so. With stories like this, I now feel like there could be a /c/Bouncers community on here. I'm glad no one got a TBI or was permanently paralyzed; either of those would have probably been the worst outcome (apart from just straight-up dying, needless to say). I wonder how many bouncers now have pepper spray or other self-defense tools.
Oh, yeah I was taken to the hospital. Kerry said he'd put his size 12 boot up my cracked ass otherwise lol.
I was the least injured other than Kerry, who only got some bruises and a scrape. I had some cracks in some ribs, my knuckles were kinda split but didn't need stitches. Most of my injuries were blunt force stuff, basically deep bruises. I wanna say it was three ribs that had fractures? They weren't bad, but they hurt like hell for a few months after.
Bulldog got the worst out of the squad. Broken nose, fractured orbital, concussion, split lip and her face was shredded from where she slid on the concrete.
The kid was fucked up though. Took him days to wake up. He recovered with no disability, but it was a long recovery. Broken ribs, skull fracture, jaw broken, I can't remember what all else.
The asshole was worse off though. His trial was like a year after, and he was still fucked up. Missing teeth, couldn't walk (though I suspect he was faking that some), mostly blind in one eye, some other shit that isn't coming to mind. I know he wasn't faking stuttering and messing up words. He did end up with brain damage. I wasn't joking about Bulldog saving my life a second time, I damn near killed him. If she hadn't stopped me, I probably would have, and it was most definitely excessive use of force.
Regarding bouncers and gear, it depends on where you live, but you have to be real careful with what you carry and use. Cops tend to not like bouncers, or didn't back when I was still doing it. So you spray someone, you better have witnesses and plenty of them. I knew guys that carried knuckles, batons, even knives though, particularly at one of the rougher strip clubs. A few would carry a small handgun too, but it isn't a good idea, imo. Legal, at least in my state, but not a great idea in a setting where you're supposed to be keeping shit cool.
I dunno how often he checks in, but @kerriganindrag@lemmy.dbzer0.com , if he notices this, he might remember some of the stuff better, if he sees this any time soon