Quirky Job Fairs and Other Unconventional Places to Find Work

Hunting for a job is rarely fun, but it can be especially miserable during an economic crisis. With the national unemployment rate jumping to 8.1 percent in February "“ the highest mark in a quarter century "“ prospective employees are turning to new ways and unlikely places to find work, or cope without a job. Employers, meanwhile, are taking unconventional measures to lure the growing number of job seekers. Here are eight such examples.

1. LaidOffCamp

Chris Hutchins founded LaidOffCamp, a free conference with presentations on a variety of topics geared toward people who are recently unemployed or struggling to find work as freelancers or entrepreneurs, after being laid off from his job as a global management consultant in January. More than 400 campers attended LaidOffCamp's first session in a San Francisco nightclub on March 3. The day-long gathering, which was open to anyone but attracted a large number of people from the Bay Area's tech industry, featured discussions on such topics as living on a budget, coping with emotional turbulence, finding your passion, and starting your own business. "Getting laid off is an opportunity to find what you're passionate about," Hutchins told a reporter from Wired. "And not only what you're passionate about, but how you can leverage that passion to sustain yourself." The second LaidOffCamp took place in Dallas on March 6 and subsequent gatherings have already been planned in more than 20 cities throughout the country.

2. Strip Clubs

3. YouTube

When Ben Gullett learned that his father, Mark, was in danger of being laid off as vice president of marketing for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, he produced a video that he hoped would help his dad find a new job. When Mark was ultimately laid off earlier this month, Ben, 14, posted his creation on YouTube. Since then, the video has attracted more than 95,000 hits and the father-son duo has appeared on Good Morning America and The Today Show. Most importantly, it has provided Mark three promising job leads. This guy, presumably, hasn't had as much success landing a job with Barack Obama.

4. The Australian Tourism Board

5. Virtual Job Fairs

There's no need to worry about making a good first impression with a firm handshake at these increasingly popular events that help employers and prospective employees alike cut costs. Virtual job fairs also enable employers to target qualified candidates all over the world without ever leaving the office. Typically, interested candidates log on to a Web site and interact with a representative from a prospective employer via a personal chat room or instant messenger application. Some companies host job fairs and conduct interviews with personalized avatars in the Internet virtual world Second Life. Interviewing for a job while wearing pajamas sounds great, but you'll probably have to fight the urge to use emoticons and IM shorthand during the interview. Otherwise, you just might leave the employer on the other end of the conversation ROFL "“ and not in a good way. [Photo courtesy of Simone Brunozzi.]

6. Equine Job Fair

7. Sports

Earlier this season, the NBA's New Jersey Nets offered 1,500 free tickets to unemployed fans who submitted resumes to the team. The Nets will also hold their fifth annual career fair on April 1 at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Registration for the fair includes a discounted lower level ticket for a Nets game later that night. Team-sponsored sports job fairs in the major and minor leagues have become increasingly popular, but the sports industry is hardly recession proof. Just ask Mark Gullett.

8. Prison