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...
I (late 20ies, then mid 20ies), after a failed degree and multiple stints in a local psych ward, just did the most boomer thing possible, walked into a shop at the local mall and asked.
I only wanted to work 10 hours a week at first, but the manager misunderstood and submitted me for 20, I was too nervous to correct her.
The trial day apparently went well, they sent me home after 2 hours instead of 6 because they were sure they wanted me. Didn't tell me that tho, so when she sent me home after 2 hours, I cried the 4 remaining hours feeling worthless.
The next day they called. I accepted, I worked really hard. 3 months later the temporary manager was moved somewhere else and for some reason they made me manager. That was two years ago.
Some days I love it. Some days I hate it. But I never expected it to work out like that. I know I can't do this forever, but it's good for now.
That is frankly really cool! Hopefully this mall isn't too far of a drive from you. What kind of store is it, out of curiosity? I'm sure you learned a lot from being in a management role, which is great as that could carry over to all sorts of other areas.