Weird in a World That's Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups, and Failures

by Jennifer Romolini

Overview

An honest, sharp-witted, practical guide to help you get and keep the job you want—from an outsider whose been there and done it, a woman who went from being a broke, divorced, college dropout to running some of the biggest websites in the world.

Jennifer Romolini started her career as an awkward twenty-seven-year-old misfit, navigated her way through New York media and became a boss—an editor-in-chief, an editorial director, and a vice president—all within little more than a decade. Her book, Weird In A World That’s Not, asserts that being outside-the-norm and achieving real, high-level success are not mutually exclusive, even if the perception of the business world often seems otherwise, even if it seems like only office-politicking extroverts are set up for reward.

Part career memoir, part real-world guide, Weird in a World That’s Not offers relatable advice on how to achieve your dreams, even when the odds seem stacked against you. Romolini helps you face down your fears, find a career that’s right for you, and get and keep a job. She tackles practical issues and offers empathetic, clear-cut answers to important questions:

• How do I navigate the awkwardness of networking?
• How do I deal with intense office politics?
• How do I leave my crappy job?
• How do I learn how to be a boss not just a #boss?
• And, most importantly: How do I do all this and stay true to who I really am?

Authentic, funny, and moving, Weird in a World That’s Not will help you tap into your inner tenacity and find your path, no matter how offbeat you are.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062472755
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	307,077
File size:	880 KB

About the Author

Jennifer Romolini is an award-winning editor, writer, speaker, podcast host, and digital media consultant who likes talking and thinking about women and work. Her 2017 book "Weird in a World That's Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups, and Failures" was named one of the best leadership books of the year by Fast Company and the “best personal development and human behavior” book of 2017 by Porchlight Books.

In the past few years, she’s worked as a ghost writer, a development editor, an advice columnist for new managers, a podcast studio general manager, and consulted on editorial and storytelling projects around the world. She’s the former Chief Content Officer of Shondaland.com, a digital content site created by producer Shonda Rhimes. Previous to this, she was the Vice President of Content for Zooey Deschanel's HelloGiggles and the deputy editor of Lucky Magazine. Her recent work has appeared in The New York Times, Audible, Catapult, ELLE, and many others. In 2019, Jennifer Romolini was chosen as one of ten authors to create The New York Times' “Working Women’s Handbook.”

Currently, she co-hosts a weekly podcast called Everything is Fine for women over 40 with former Sassy editor and Lucky Mag editor-in-chief, Kim France. 

Table of Contents

Prologue ix

Introduction xvii

Part I Find Your Weird

Chapter 1 Kooks 3

Chapter 2 School Daze 17

Chapter 3 Unhappiness Cloak 21

Chapter 4 Let Your Dreams Slap You in the Face 31

Part II Embrace Your Weird

Chapter 5 Don't Fake It Till You Make It 47

Chapter 6 Persistence, Resistance 77

Chapter 7 Surviving Yourself 95

Chapter 8 What No One Tells You about Work 113

Chapter 9 The E Word 145

Chapter 10 How and When to Quit Your Shitty Job 163

Chapter 11 Fashion Magazines When You're Not "Fashion-y" 187

Chapter 12 What I Wish I Knew 197

Part III Weird in the World

Chapter 13 That #Boss Life 205

Chapter 14 Check Yourself 235

Chapter 15 Mentorship Matters 247

Chapter 16 Regrets, I Have One 253

Chapter 17 Get a Life 263

Acknowledgments 277

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2017
This memoir-cum–guide to the modern workforce from Romolini, former editor-in-chief for the website HelloGiggles, lacks original insights despite the author’s charming account of her own experiences. Romolini starts off describing her fears—they include heights, home invasions, and dying before 97—and recounting an awkward orientation session at a new job that made her realize that she wasn’t like her gregarious coworkers. Romolini goes on to describe her experiences in high school and how she underachieved in college before taking a job waitressing and staying there for seven years. The author’s career trajectory was uneven and she suggests that this unevenness was due to her quirky personality. Most career guides, she asserts, cater to people who take or want to take a straightforward path to success. Romolini offers some sound guidance about how to quit an unsatisfying job, but that is the only advice that might strike readers as fresh. Her voice spices things up a bit but the résumé advice and interview tips are familiar and weird is never well-defined. Though purported to be for “weirdos,” there’s little here that’s substantively different from other career guides. Agent: Byrd Leavell, Waxman Leavell. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Part career guide, part cautionary tale; part memoir, part motivation. With the candor and charm of a big sister/best friend, Jennifer Romolini has magically written a book as funny as it is wise.” — Rumaan Alam, author of Rich & Pretty

“Jennifer Romolini has written a career guide for actual humans. Humans who make mistakes, have feelings, and are learning every day. Her advice is practical and no-nonsense while still being wonderfully empathetic, warm and funny. I would tell you this book is perfect for a woman just starting her career, but the honest truth is that even though I’ve been a manager for several years, I learned so much from Jenn about how to lead: with high expectations and compassion.” — Jessica Grose, editor in chief of Lenny and author of Soulmates and Sad Desk Salad

From the Publisher

Part career guide, part cautionary tale; part memoir, part motivation. With the candor and charm of a big sister/best friend, Jennifer Romolini has magically written a book as funny as it is wise.

Rumaan Alam

Jennifer Romolini has written a career guide for actual humans. Humans who make mistakes, have feelings, and are learning every day. Her advice is practical and no-nonsense while still being wonderfully empathetic, warm and funny. I would tell you this book is perfect for a woman just starting her career, but the honest truth is that even though I’ve been a manager for several years, I learned so much from Jenn about how to lead: with high expectations and compassion.

editor in chief of Lenny and author of Soulma Jessica Grose