🔴 220K people trust this creator with their job search

In partnership with:

Welcome to our second edition of Self-Timer — a fresh look into how successful creators run their businesses. This month's guest is Jade Walters, founder of The Ninth Semester, an award-winning platform offering early-career guidance to 220,000 Gen Z students and professionals.

In this issue:

• 🎯 A content series that generated 30K+ new followers

• 💰 From charging $100 for a brand deal to landing a $14.6K contract

• 📱 The content strategy that built a 220K community

— Natalia Pérez-González, Assistant Editor

P.S. We'd love to know your thoughts on this new column and suggestions for creators you'd like to see featured. Leave us your thoughts in the comments!

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Jade Walters is a content creator, consultant, and multi-hyphenate marketer helping Gen Z design their dream careers while documenting post-grad life in her twenties — creating content at the intersection of professional development and lifestyle.

A first-generation college graduate, Jade founded The Ninth Semester after experiencing her own job search challenges post-grad, and built an award-winning media platform that now supports a community of 220,000 students and recent graduates.

Jade’s community-focused approach has earned her partnerships with major brands including K18, Procter and Gamble, and TED, as well as an upcoming TEDx Montclair talk on June 24.

Subscribe to Jade’s career resource newsletter, Office Hours.
Learn more about The Ninth Semester.

The below answers have been edited for tone and clarity. Bolding and italics our own.

Creator Spotlight: How did The Ninth Semester come to be? What was the initial vision, and how has it evolved?

Jade: The Ninth Semester emerged in 2021 from two converging motivations: first, I wanted to spare other recent graduates the job search struggles I’d endured, and second, I saw the platform as my unique entry into the early career recruiting and marketing industry — a field I didn't know I could work in before.

What began as a TikTok page has evolved into a thriving business encompassing social media content across platforms, a dedicated website, and in-person personal development workshops that help new graduates navigate their "ninth semester,” that transitional period of rediscovering their identity beyond academia and landing their first full-time role.

CS: What does The Ninth Semester consist of today? (team size, communities, media formats, etc.)

Jade: Right now, the Ninth Semester operates as a team of one. But this summer, I'm hiring my first paid intern through America On Tech! I share a lot about the importance of paid early career opportunities, and I’m so grateful to be able to offer one to a student. 

@theninthsemester

Replying to @Nessaaaaaa here are 3 more paid travel opportunities to apply for! #entryleveljobs #allexpensespaid #allexpensespaidconferenc... See more

CS: How do you approach content planning and creation?

Jade: My everyday content creation schedule is 50% responding to what's on my heart in the moment, 50% planned content tied to career cycles and timelines.

I'm guilty of keeping my ideas in my notes, so I’ve recently switched to using project management tools like Trello and Notion to flesh out my thoughts and develop comprehensive content calendars. Since it’s June, my content will focus on summer internship success tips and how to prepare for the Fall 2025 recruiting cycle.

I also weave in real-time personal experiences that may resonate with my audience's professional journey: preparing for my TEDx talk, transitioning back into corporate life, and finding balance between my 9-to-5 and entrepreneurial pursuits.

CS: What's your strategy and approach to audience growth?

Jade: My biggest growth spikes come from my program spotlights and weekly job roundups — content that often generates 15-30K new followers across platforms — because I'm highlighting opportunities my audience wouldn’t have known about otherwise. I always include a CTA to follow for more early career opportunities, and program awareness has become a major pillar of my content strategy.

In October 2023, I strategically expanded my presence from TikTok to LinkedIn to meet more of my audience where they are. There's a misconception that Gen Z isn't on LinkedIn, but they love LinkedIn — they're networking, learning about roles, and building their personal brands. LinkedIn allows me to share resources in ways TikTok's 60-second limit can't: direct links, detailed posts, and videos, and I can put a face to the names that are always in my comments.

Word-of-mouth drives significant growth; my community regularly shouts me out to their networks, spreading the word to friends, classmates, and professors. My audience knows that in me, they have a confidant and supporter on their early career journey.

CS: What single piece or content series has performed best for you?

Jade: My most successful content series centers on answering the question I’ve been asked every day since I started creating content for The Ninth Semester: "Where can I find early career opportunities?"

This past January, I posted a comprehensive LinkedIn round-up of job boards and opportunities to aid those seeking employment in the new year, which became one of my highest-performing posts ever, with 839,260 impressions and 1,223 reposts. On TikTok, a video I posted in February with a similar round-up generated over 140,000 views and 14.5K saves.

@theninthsemester

Here are ALL of my favorite places for finding PAID #earlycareer opportunities for students and recent graduates 👩🏾‍💻 let’s get them jobs!... See more

CS: How do you approach content creation and distribution for this series?

Jade: This series is syndicated across multiple formats — LinkedIn posts, newsletter features, and TikTok videos — with most video content appearing on TikTok and Instagram, while LinkedIn gets select pieces depending on the topic.

For my weekly opportunity roundups, I source programs the day I'm posting on LinkedIn, then adapt the content into video format for my other channels a few days later. There's no strict production timeline or collaborators involved; some of my best-performing content in this series happens spontaneously when I spot timely opportunities.

Since I'm constantly consuming career resources and programs, when I notice a pattern, like discovering five excellent internship programs in a row, I immediately think, "time to create a post for my audience." I'll either prop up my phone and start recording or jump straight into crafting a LinkedIn post while the information is fresh and relevant.

CS: What impact has this content series had on your business and audience?

Jade: Posts like these often lead to job boards and hiring companies reaching out for collaboration after seeing the engagement numbers. I’ve collaborated with ServiceNow to promote their career openings and COOP (since January 2023) to promote their tech fellowship. I also had the opportunity to host a job search strategy workshop at Hampton University.

Most importantly, I regularly hear from early-career professionals who have landed positions at programs I've featured, which I love!

Brand deals comprise the bulk of Jade’s income, with 1:1 career coaching serving as a steady secondary stream. Like many creators, her monthly revenue fluctuates; she brought in $2.5K from brand deals in February and $23K in April.

• Her first dollar as a creator: When I had 1K followers on TikTok, I made $100 for referring 200+ students to apply for a campus ambassador program. It was a lowball offer, but I was excited about collaborating with my first brand! I was really proud of my ability to advocate for myself and pitch myself to a large brand even though I didn’t have a lot of followers.

• The most she’s made from a single piece of content or deal: $14.6K for a four-month partnership.

• Her approach to pricing her offerings for an early-career audience: I try my best not to charge my audience for too much because I know they’re students with limited budgets. The only thing I charge for is my 1:1 career coaching calls, which are $99 for 30 minutes and $199 for 1 hour. These are high-touch opportunities to work with me outside of my content creation.

Jade’s tech stack totals up to $87.81 per month. Here’s how she powers her business:

• Canva: $12.99 (Design)

• Capcut Pro: $9.99 (Video editing)

• Calendly: $13 (Scheduling & CRM)

• Notion: Free via Partner Program (Scheduling & CRM)

• Trello $5 ( Project management)

• Honeybook $36 — (Project management)

• Wordpress + Bluehost: $130/yr ≈ $10.83/month (Website hosting)

One newsletter she’ll never miss…

• Content to Commas by Brandon Smithwrick

Two creators who inspire her…

• DonYe Taylor

• Courtnee Futch

Any books, courses, or resources that have significantly impacted her creator journey…

• Rewrite Your Rules by Morgan Debaun

• Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams