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52 Innovative Job Ideas

Creative Career Ideas and Marketing Tools for the Unemployed

— June 26, 2009 — Business
Laid off? In this market, many have adopted the notion that when it comes to a job these days, you either can’t be too picky, or you have to be willing to be really creative.

This cluster takes a look at some of the most innovative job ideas, entrepreneurial ventures and creative self-marketing tools we’ve featured on Trend Hunter.

Implications - The recession forced companies around the world to lay off employees en masse. Newly unemployed individuals began to look for any work possible to earn an income, which led to an unusual rise in odd jobs, paid internships and innovative moneymaking schemes. These untraditional jobs kept the economy afloat.
6.4
Score
Popularity
Activity
Freshness
51
Auctioning Off Innocence
Auctioning Off Innocence
Australian Filmmaker Recruits for Unusual Naughty Documentary
<
50
Bossnapping
Bossnapping
French Employees Holding Superiors Hostage to Protest Layoffs
<
49
Odd Jobs Via GPRS
Odd Jobs Via GPRS
Otetsudai Flexible Workforce
<
48
Bidding on Employees
Bidding on Employees
Man Posts Himself on eBay as "Employee for a Month"
<
47
Get Paid For Your Photographs
Get Paid For Your Photographs
Photrade
<
46
Personal Bailouts
Personal Bailouts
MissingMoney.com May Have The Cash You've Been Looking For
<
45
Cashing in On Amateur Phone Apps
Cashing in On Amateur Phone Apps
iPhone Trism Worth $250,000
<
44
MySpace Recruitment
MySpace Recruitment
Alicia Keys Finds Backup Singers Online
<
43
Mystical Career Counseling
Mystical Career Counseling
The Jobless BeginTurning to Psychics for Economic Guidance
<
42
Video Resumes
Video Resumes
StaffTube Changes Online Recruiting
<
41
Money-Making Mobiles
Money-Making Mobiles
Recycle Old Phones for Dough at CellForCash.com
<
40
Student Writers Wanted
Student Writers Wanted
Virtual Student Writer Jobs Earn You Cash and Fame
<
39
Crowdsourced Careers
Crowdsourced Careers
Chen Xiao Performs Random Real-Life Tasks for Chinese Internet Users
<
38
Get Paid to Hunt Trends
Get Paid to Hunt Trends
No More 30 Trend Minimum
<
37
Recruiting Wage-Free Workers
Recruiting Wage-Free Workers
LightFair Seeks Unpaid Employees With Promise of Gratis Entry
<
36
Unemployment Olympics
Unemployment Olympics
Jobless Gather to Blow off Steam in Laid Off Games in NYC
<
35
Recession-Fueled Entrepreneurs
Recession-Fueled Entrepreneurs
Former Microsoft Employees Head Out On Their Own
<
34
Product Testing Programs
Product Testing Programs
'Brand New You Tube' Delivers You 4 Beauty Products Per Month
<
33
Monk E-business
Monk E-business
Rise of the New Dot Com Entrepreneurs
<
32
Wild Women Entrepreneurs
Wild Women Entrepreneurs
Supporting Mammapreneaurs & More
<
31
Inspiring Entrepreneurship
Inspiring Entrepreneurship
Grasshopper Gives Innovators Hope Amid the Recession
<
30
Testing 52 Jobs in a Year
Testing 52 Jobs in a Year
Sean Aiken's One Week Job
<
29
Microlending To Entrepreneurs
Microlending To Entrepreneurs
Richard Branson Launches Virgin Money
<
28
Giving 2.0
Giving 2.0
Kiva Loans Lend Directly to a Developing World Entrepreneur
<
27
Recruiting Viral YouTube Stars
Recruiting Viral YouTube Stars
Bonds Commercial Stars Freestyler
<
26
$10,000/Month Dream Jobs
$10,000/Month Dream Jobs
Murphy-Goode's ‘Really Goode Job' for Web-Savvy Winos
<
25
YouTube Recruiting (Part 2)
YouTube Recruiting (Part 2)
Cistercian Monks Get Universal Music Deal
<
24
Selling Gold At House Parties
Selling Gold At House Parties
'My Gold Party CA' is the Luxury Equivalent of Container Parties
<
23
Paid Tourists
Paid Tourists
$25,000 Job For "67 Days of Smiles" in Orlando up for Grabs
<
22
Bright Business Promos
Bright Business Promos
Artemide Offers Discount on Lamps for Entrepreneurs
<
21
Credit Crunch Hair Selling
Credit Crunch Hair Selling
Websites Let Desperate People Trade Their Locks For Cash
<
20
Kissing Booths to Pay Off Speeding Tickets
Kissing Booths to Pay Off Speeding Tickets
Marnie Stern's Rock Star Side Jobs
<
19
Gene-Based Job Recruitment
Gene-Based Job Recruitment
Sifting Through Genetic Resumes for the Best Employees
<
18
Entrepreneur Communities
Entrepreneur Communities
Endossa Shops
<
17
Get Paid To Party
Get Paid To Party
Clubbing Celebs
<
16
Get Paid to Use Twitter
Get Paid to Use Twitter
Linkbee Puts Ads in Your Tweets
<
15
Million Dollar Business Minds
Million Dollar Business Minds
Young Entrepreneur Gets Lucky With His Brainstorming
<
14
Self-Promotional Ads For Jobless Advertisers
Self-Promotional Ads For Jobless Advertisers
Unemployed Egyptian Pharaohs
<
13
Getting Paid to Bicycle
Getting Paid to Bicycle
PedEarn
<
12
Ex-Con Cooks
Ex-Con Cooks
'Conviction' Restaurant Employs 13 Former Inmates
<
11
Cool Careers For Dummies: Trend Hunter Listed
Cool Careers For Dummies: Trend Hunter Listed
<
10
Selling Teeth for Cash
Selling Teeth for Cash
The Economic Crisis Has People Selling their Golden Grillz
<
9
Beer Bartering
Beer Bartering
UK Pub Cashes in on Credit Crunch By Letting You Swap Goods For A Pint
<
8
Funemployment Fashion
Funemployment Fashion
Irina Blok's Buttons and Shirts Make Fun of Joblessness
<
7
Social Entrepreneurs
Social Entrepreneurs
A Megatrend
<
6
Ultra Luxurious Job Offers
Ultra Luxurious Job Offers
Tourism Queensland Offers 'Best Job in the World'
<
5
Million Dollar Homepage: Almost Sold Out
Million Dollar Homepage: Almost Sold Out
<
4
Recession-Proof Jobs
Recession-Proof Jobs
Careers Promising Prosperity and Stability in 2009
<
3
Career-Boosting Gadgets
Career-Boosting Gadgets
Innovations For Job Seekers In A Bad Economy
<
2
Resume T-Shirts
Resume T-Shirts
Let Your Shirt Get You a New Job
<
1
Free Cars (With Billboards)
Free Cars (With Billboards)
Paid Vehicle Advertising
<