We were lucky to catch up with Jillian Moloney recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jillian, thank you so much for joining us today and appreciate you talking about a sensitive topic. It’s unfortunately relevant to so many in the community as layoffs have been on the rise recently, and so we’d appreciate hearing your story and how you overcame being let go?
Earlier this year the parent company of the podcast I work on, Red Web, was shut down and a lot of really talented people were laid off. Personally it hit me pretty hard since I had been at this company since college when I was an intern, and it really shaped my career. When I was in film school, I never intended to do podcasting until I was given the opportunity during my internship. So it felt like my foundation was collapsing. My team and I had a lot of goals for the year that were totally halted.
Despite all that, the team knew pretty much immediately that we wanted to continue Red Web independently. It was just too special to us to lose this show. There’s still so much we want to do. So, after we left our old office behind we continued working as if nothing had happened. Our strategy may have changed but having that work helped give me some sense of normalcy. The team talked a lot about how we wanted the show to look and how our team structure would be changing. It was scary since we kind of had to start all over again without the resources we had previously. The unknown felt really scary at first but at the same time, the changes were reigniting my passion and creativity. Suddenly I had a lot more ideas, hahaha! The realization that there was a freedom in starting over and being scrappy has kept me going. Our audience, we call them the Task Force, has been really positive throughout the whole process of becoming independent. Their enthusiasm and feedback has helped give me a sort of North Star.
I’ve also used it as an opportunity to try out things I had always wanted to, but didn’t have the chance to do. It’s been a big learning experience for sure, but luckily I am not alone!
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I don’t know if I could say I have a story, but I can definitely tell you I enjoy telling stories. Growing up as a military brat, I spent a lot of time socializing online or via video games. It sounds kind of sad, but I spent a lot of time in my room with my cat reading lots of books, playing video games, and listening to music. I came across all kinds of art (of all forms) online, but in particular I met folks that led me to take a deeper look at movies. Later on in film school, I tried to touch every aspect of the film production process as possible. By my senior year I felt a little odd since I was more of a jack-of-all-trades and my peers seemed to have more focused skill sets.
However, during my internship and the job that followed I was able to utilize most of those skills. I eventually became a producer for the podcast, Red Web, and we discuss unsolved mysteries. I started by researching and writing outlines for the episode topics. I love it so much that even as my role has grown, I continue to do the research. I love learning about all kinds of interesting and sometimes macabre cases, then trying to condense that info into an entertaining 45 minutes to an hour. Our show tackles a lot of unsolved mysteries from Mothman to true crime. In addition to the main show we like to delve into strange and unusual phenomena, and horror video games and films.
We’ve expanded the show a lot, especially now that we have a Patreon. One of my favorite new projects is our horror film podcast so I still get to get really into them and analyze like I did when I was younger. Since October is a big month for us, we are doing some bonus episodes during the month and covering all kinds of horror films. Also some new merch for the spooky season designed by my good friend, Meg Turner.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Gaining (and sometimes faking) confidence has been the most impactful quality in my creative career. Putting yourself out there is never easy and not everyone is going to like what you make, but as long as I’m doing my best, I feel confident. In times where I need to express a thought or opinion, or as a producer when I’ve had to be more assertive, faking my confidence has helped me get through that. As annoying as it is,’ fake it ‘til you make it’ is very real.
Another skill that has helped me is adaptability. Right after I graduated from college, COVID lockdown was a thing. My job situation was rocky because of that. Once I settled into my podcast job, the company went through multiple changes before shutting down. Really, I had no choice but to adapt. I feel like I’ve been able to be okay with how things are now because I’ve become so adaptable. My biggest piece of advice for this is to keep a little bit of structure no matter what. It could be something small like your sleep schedule. Anything that keeps you grounded.
This is going to sound obvious, but I also had to learn a lot about time management. I thought I had it down until I had to start managing and planning production schedules. Managing other folks’ schedules makes managing your own just awful. So, basically my recommendation is to overplan your Google Calendar and use all the colors you can to differentiate different tasks. Nothing is too minor!
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
To be honest, I get overwhelmed a lot. I struggle with overthinking and impostor syndrome. When I feel that way I think totally stepping away helps me the most. The best thing for me is going to a movie theater and completely disappearing into the story for those 2 hours. I guess it kind of forces those thoughts out more easily than anything else for me, and I usually feel inspired after watching a good movie. If I don’t have the time to do that, I recommend just taking a shower. There’s a reason “shower thoughts” is a thing! I let my mind wander and cook a little, and come back feeling fresh.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://redwebpod.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redwebpod/
- Twitter: https://x.com/_jillen
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RedWebPod
Image Credits
Wes Ellis, Rooster Teeth
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
