Jennifer Romolini's New Career Guide Is for F*ckups and Failures
When I call Jennifer Romolini at her office in Los Angeles to discuss her new book, Weird in a World That's Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups, and Failures, we both quickly admit we're over-caffeinated which, somehow, seems appropriate."I'm all coffeed up and manic," she says. "It'll be a fun interview." With her first book just released ("I mean, the panic is real"), and news out that Shonda Rhimes had asked her to head up content for Shondaland.com ("the most magical thing that had ever happened"), there's enough going on to warrant more than one cup of java.
Weird in A World That's Not is a career memoir that incorporates practical tips for women. It's an honest, often hilarious, take on traditional career guides. Romolini draws not only from past failures, but also from her many years of success-as former deputy editor for Lucky magazine, and as Editor-in-Chief and VP of content for HelloGiggles-to drop truth bombs aimed at women battling everything from sexism to self-consciousness in their professional lives.
Hoping to assuage some of the anxiety some women feel around work, the 44-year-old's focus was helping women, particularly young women who, she explains, are "really smart, but also projecting a lot of things into the world, overthinking things and kind of getting in their own way." She knows about this firsthand, not only from working with women throughout her career, but also from her own experiences. When I ask about the book's impending release, she tells me, "I've been trying to have these moments like, 'I've always wanted to write a book, yay!' instead of my normal, 'Oh, this is terrifying and awful.' But, no, I'm excited, too."
It is her frankness ("I don't really have a choice, it's just who I am") and sense of humor that lead to the book's best moments. For example, the fourth chapter, "Let Your Dreams Slap You in the Face," reveals personal details about feeling and battling a sense of otherness while she was growing up, and how difficult it can be to make the decision to want more from your life than what is expected of you, even from your own family. In another encouraging chapter, she admits that "so much of our careers feels like banging on doors to see which one will let us in." Elsewhere, she details the feelings of aimlessness and failure she experienced while supporting herself as a waitress, sensing that a better life was out there waiting for her. "I was writing the book that I thought I could have used," Romolini says. Especially for women who, like herself at that time, don't "walk around strutting with confidence, unfortunately."
In one life-changing moment, she humorously describes being a 24-year-old college dropout with barely any money; after she's finally conjured up the courage to leave her first husband, her car breaks down before she even reaches the end of the driveway. "I felt like if I gave specific examples of failure, and specific examples of my own anxiety and shortcomings, then I could help people who felt the same," she explains.
"I'm a fuck-up and I'm still here."
When our talk turns to the subject of mentors, outlined in one of the book's later chapters, she tells me people have become too fixated on them-help from others can be as uncomplicated as simply asking for advice. "It's not like you just get a fairy godmother. I think there is a little bit of a fetish about mentors and mentorship right now," she says. "I think we're searching for it the way we're searching for the perfect bra," she laughs, "things that don't necessarily exist." Her advice? "Support other people, be generous, and collaborate as much as you can."
Weird in a World That's Not aims to give professional advice, sure, but also to show women a different image of success than we normally see. "You fail, you fuck up, you succeed, you fall back down and you get back up," she says. "There's really been this myth around what success is. There is sort of success porn, almost. Like confidence porn. I'm a fuck-up and I'm still here. It didn't preclude me. I barely have clean clothes, it's okay," she says.
Though she may have had a relatively late start, enduring twenty-three interviews before landing an editorial position at 27, Romolini went on to run some of the most successful women's websites. And, for her next career chapter? She recently found herself meeting with Shonda Rhimes to discuss plans for the legendary showrunner's new lifestyle site, Shondaland.com, coming this fall.
"I got an email one day from Shonda," she says. "Except that I didn't realize it was from her." (She thought it was from the DNC.) Knowing she couldn't pass up a meeting with Rhimes ("I have admired her for such a long time") but also feeling burnt out from her years in digital media, she was delighted to find that they were completely aligned in their vision for the site: a highly curated website that aims to be thoughtful, intimate, honest, and funny. "Our content strategy is basically quality over quantity," she explains, "We want to tell great stories." The site, expected to launch September or October, will feature essays and interviews, and will cover books, health, activism, and politics. "This is an extension of the Shondaland brand," she tells me, "There will definitely be a lot for fans." Of Shonda or of Romolini? Both, we suspect.
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