I've this happen a few times, seemingly minor actions snowball into life changing events.<p>However it is always important to realise that these things aren't coincidence or luck. They are the cumulative result of many years of action. Take the sysadmin Aaron, he obviously is a talented engineer who has worked hard to become so. Aaron is also diligent and takes the initiative above and beyond what is required of him. All these things lead up to the opportunity of talking direct to a senior engineer who had recently been impressed with Aaron's skill. And, this is the crux folks, Aaron saw the opportunity and took it.<p>So lay the foundations, create opportunities and always be on the look out for these moments so that you can take them when they happen.<p>I got both my partner and job in this manner btw.
The other possible point is that your employees shouldn't be allowed to report problems to companies that might actually hire them :)<p>Congrats to Aaron. I agree with hartor. Aaron worked to be the best sysadmin that he could be and when the opportunity presented itself to work at google, he was qualified to do so; both in motivation and skill.