Why I’m Here?

Hi, I’m Gerome.

I’ve been told “no” more times than I can count.

In late 2023, I decided to make the biggest career pivot of my life—leaving a safe digital health strategy role to chase my real passion: the fashion and apparel industry. The timing? Terrible. I was entering one of the worst job markets in recent memory, right as my wife and I were expecting our first child.

Over the next 15 months, I interviewed everywhere. NFL. Amazon. LVMH. CNN. Foot Locker. Some of the biggest brands in the world. 21 companies. 21 final-round interviews. 19 rejections.

The feedback was always the same: “We loved you, but we went with someone who has more direct experience.”

I know what it feels like to be the “almost” candidate. To nail four rounds of interviews, spend an entire Saturday on a take-home presentation as a new dad, get told you’re in the top two...and still lose out to someone whose resume tells a cleaner story.

Here’s what I learned through all of that: It’s not about having the “right” path. It’s about owning your path—the detours, the pivots, the experiences others didn’t have. Those detours gave me perspective, resilience, and stories worth sharing. And when you know you can do the job, it’s about mastering how to make others see it too.

My career has been anything but traditional. Studying Mechanical Engineering, then immediately pivoting to a Master’s in Mathematical Finance. An unpaid internship at Merrill Lynch. Middle-office support at RBS with a three-hour commute. Risk Consulting at KPMG. A boutique Investment Bank where I cold-emailed my way in. Starting (and struggling with) my own footwear brand. Strategy at a hospital. An MBA from Kellogg, a top business school. Top-tier consulting. A digital health startup. And finally—after those 15 brutal months and 19 rejections—landing my current role in fashion and apparel strategy.

Every pivot taught me something. Every rejection sharpened my approach. And eventually, I figured out how to tell my story in a way that turned skepticism into curiosity, and curiosity into offers.

The Stretch is where I share what I’ve learned. This is career strategy for people whose paths don’t fit in a box. It’s about mastering your narrative, acing interviews when you’re the “unconventional” candidate, and helping hiring managers see your detours as exactly what makes you valuable.

I also write stories here—short fiction, creative pieces, things that have nothing to do with career pivots. Because life isn’t linear either, and neither is this Substack.

If you’ve ever felt like your resume is working against you, you’re in the right place.