July 30, 2024 • 41 mins
Get ready, because class is almost in session. Welcome to the TBG University podcast tailored for the 20-something who’s packing for a new year on campus, thinking through their gap year, enrolling in a community college, grabbing their stoles for graduation, and everything in between. I’m your host & TBG U Coordinator, Jayna Ellis.
On TikTok, you’ll often find jokes about how many of us felt like we only had a job as a barista waiting for us at the end of our 4 years of college. At times, the post-grad job market can seem pretty bleak, which is why today, I’m joined by an expert in helping Gen Z find jobs to provide some tips on how to navigate this process. Her name is Jade Walters, and she is the founder of The Ninth Semester, a platform that provides weekly career tips + job postings for an audience of 100,000 early career professionals to help them secure the bag and grow in their budding careers. Adding onto that experience, she also works in candidate marketing as an Employer Branding Specialist at WayUp, a job board for students and grads.
In our conversation, we discuss some tips for the application and interview process, how to navigate the catch-22 of needing experience to get a job while also needing a job to get experience, and ways to keep it pushing when it feels like all you’re getting is no's and rejection letters.
Where to Find Jade
AFFIRMATIONS
- The job that is meant for you is yours. Any no's that you receive are simply to prepare you for all of the abundance that is to come.
- Your journey is uniquely yours, designed to lead you to the best version of yourself.
- The seeds you’re planting now will blossom into the most beautiful pathways you can imagine.
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Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Maya Cole Howard
Producer: Ellice Ellis
Associate Producer: Zariah Taylor
TBG University Host & Coordinator: Jayna Ellis
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Get ready because class is almost in session. Welcome to
the TBG University Podcast, tailored for the twenty somethingter who's
packing for a new year on campus, thinking through their
gap year, enrolling in a community college, grabbing their souls
for graduation, and everything in between. I'm your host and
tbgu coordinator Jana Ellis.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hi, I'm sorry, Taylor, and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
On TikTok, you'll often find jokes about how many of
us felt like we only had a job as a
baristo waiting for us at the end of our four
years of college. At times, the post grad job market
can seem pretty bleak, which is why today I'm joined
by an expert and helping gen Z find jobs to
provide some tips on how to navigate this process. Her
(01:05):
name is Jade Walters, and she's the founder of the
Ninth Semester, a platform that provides weekly career tips plus
job postings for an audience of one hundred thousand early
career professionals to help them secure the bag and grow
in their budding careers. Adding on to that experience, she
also works in Candidate marketing as an employer branding specialist
(01:27):
at Way up a job board for students and grads.
In our conversation today, we discussed some tips for the
application and interview process, how to navigate the catch twenty
two of needing experience to get a job while also
needing a job to get experienced, and ways to keep
a pushing when it feels like all you're getting is
nos in rejection letters. Here's our conversation. Hi Jade, I'm
(01:52):
so excited for all your tips and knowledge that you possess.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Thank you. I'm excited for this conversation.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Love. So you know that you are the founder of
the Ninth Semester, a platform dedicated to helping gen z
find jobs. Can you take us back to when you
first conceptualize the idea for the ninth Semester? What motivated
you to create this platform?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
So it dates back to March twenty twenty. I was
preparing for an internship interview and I went down a
rabbit hole of post interview questions and I loved it,
and I curated a little posts on Twitter and that
went viral. And then during that period, a majority of
us we were at home because of the pandemic, I
started to dabble a little bit more into early careers.
(02:38):
So at that time, I was creating content specifically about
interviewing because it was that shift where people that were
leaving their jobs where they just got laid off and
they were trying to get into these really cool opportunities.
So I knew that the interview was the most important
aspect of just the whole application process. So I started
cranking out a lot of content there, and as I
(02:58):
got closer and closer to my graduation, I had did
that for over a year, just sharing a little bit
of early career tips on my personal blog love Jay Carson.
Once I graduated, I decided that I wanted to create
my own blog specifically for it. And even the name
the niveth semester really came from. You know when you
graduate college and traditionally you have those eight semesters, but
(03:20):
that knife semester is when you've graduated and you're trying
to figure out what is life? How do I be
an adult? So that's what a name came from. So
I officially launched in August twenty twenty one, and I
chose TikTok because at that time, too TikTok was blowing
in the States, and I really wanted to challenge myself
to create more video content because for over ten years,
(03:40):
I've done a lot of written based content or social
media graphics and stuff like that, and I wanted to
challenge myself with video content. So at that time, I
saw TikTok as a great place. I loved the app.
It was new, like it was new, and I was
seeing people like literally go viral overnight, and I wanted
to just try and see, Okay, like this topic has
been doing really well on other platforms, let me see
(04:01):
how well it doesn't TikTok. And it's just been an
amazing journey. It's going to be three years this August,
and it's honestly been one of the best things that
I could have done earlier in my career.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Congratulations to the three years. That's so amazing. And the
name itself is so creative, and I semester quite literally
is one of the most important semesters. But I love
how you framed it, So congrats to you for sure.
So I'm curious, can you tell us about the journey
of your first job internship? What were some of the
(04:36):
earliest lessons that you learned in that space.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah. So, my very very first internship, I was sixteen
and it was in New York and I had applied
for this program called the Teen Career Connection Program through
the West Side YMCA, and I remember specifically when I
went to my interview. It was like my first real interview,
and after I kind of broke the fourth wall and
(04:59):
I to my interviewer, how did I do? How was that?
And it, honestly it surprised him, Like he said, he's
been interviewing for years and he's never had someone literally
ask him how they did. And he gave me feedback
on how I did, and he also complimented me and
said that it was pretty ballsy. And since then that
really just lit a fire in me that when I
(05:20):
go into different opportunities like just be balsy, just put
myself out there, and I actually did get the internship.
And I really do believe that the fact that I've
just decided to just like break the fourth wall and
ask that question showed that I was really passionate really
helped me stand out in my application and out of
that program. I believe there was over a few thousands
(05:41):
people who had applied and it was a cohort of
forty five. So for me, that really affirmed me, Like,
I'm a first generation college student, first generation grad. My
parents are from Barbados, so internships were just like a
whole new thing. So it felt really empowering for me
to know that, like I went after something that I
had no experience, no sort of help or just advice.
I just went out on it and I accomplished it.
(06:02):
And for me, just as I went throughout my career,
I just kept that mindset, just like remember fifteen year
old sixteen year old Jade, she was not afraid. She
was like the worst that someone can say is no,
or the worst that someone can say is not right now.
So I just go on with that mindset for every opportunity,
and it's been really cool to see just how it
plays out.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And you mentioned being first, and I'm also first in
so I'm curious. At least for me, I didn't have
that mindset in college that internships were important. I was
more so, get the good grades, get the organizations, do
what you can right now. And it was until I
really saw my environment of like, oh, it's COVID and
(06:42):
we're still doing internships. Maybe I should really get the
ball rolling on this. How did you know for yourself
that you needed to have or you wanted to have
an internship? Because I feel like sometimes we get so
focused on school and focused on like everything college is
outside of job searching, that we forget how important and
(07:02):
valuable those experiences are.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
So I went to Howard, and at Howard, literally you
are at a school with everyone who was at the
top of their school, top of their classes, and early
on I noticed that a lot of my peers they
were getting readily involved in internships. People were already applying
for those early discovery programs and like spring semester and
freshman year, and just being around my peers and seeing
(07:26):
that was the norm on campus, it influenced me to
want to pursue early career opportunities in school because I
always did have that notion and thought that, oh, I
can't start anything until after I graduated. So seeing people
in my same shoes doing that that inspired me. And
then I'm also in a professional development sorority called Iota
filand and Sorority Incorporated, and through there I was meeting
(07:49):
even more people who were super accomplished in different fields.
Like I was still on that health field. I was
studying maternal and child health. So that's when I started
to realize I can actually start doing this work now.
I didn't have to wait until post grade, and it
just influenced it. And honestly, I didn't get my first
college internship until my senior year, because I mean, I
(08:10):
had a little one. I was communications Internet planned parent,
but then the pandemic came and that ended. But my
first two years, like I worked as a summer camp counselor,
and honestly, I felt like those roles really played an
impact in just the journey that I had now because
it was an opportunity for me to just like learn
how it was like to work with the youth and
(08:31):
seeing more of my city. Like I was a camp
counselor in New York, so it allowed me to unwind
from distressful semesters. So then as I realized, like I
wanted to get more experience in just more time adjusting
to the college life before, I put myself out there
for internship and I was lucky to find one as
a senior, And it also helped affirm me that it
(08:51):
wasn't too late. I knew people who were probably on
their fourth fifth internship, but I was on my first,
and I still felt proud, and I still felt prepared.
And now we're us are probably on those same paths
or on the same journeys too, whereas okay, we're a
couple of years post grad and we're working a really
great job. So I had to quickly realize I could
not continue to compare myself to my peers, but I
can be inspired by them and motivated to create my
(09:14):
own journey.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I love that. Oh my gosh, that's, in my opinion,
the best way to think about it, or you're gonna
run yourself ragged and exhaust yourself with that comparison consistently,
If you redirect that energy in the way you just describe,
you have more bang for your book, so to speak.
So I love that framing.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So how early in the college journey should a student
be thinking about their postgrad prospects?
Speaker 3 (09:41):
I would say, honestly, that spring semester of freshman year,
maybe even the fall semester of sophomore year, just because
if you're a college student, you want to get adjusted
to your environment. You want to get adjusted to that balance,
that you're going to create now for the next three
to four years. And I feel like once you're adjusted
and once you feel like I got this collegetaing downpack,
that's when you can start looking into internships. And something
(10:04):
I've seen with a lot of companies, they have these
early ID programs that are specifically for freshmen and sophomore
so they can get to know more about their companies
and at different industries. And a lot of times, like
those companies come during career fairs or they may have
pop up events during your freshmen you're like, start going
to those events, dip your toe in the water to
see if this is what you want to do, and
(10:27):
you can explore the different opportunities. And then once you
feel like you're ready, once you have your college journey
down pack and you know what you're gonna do, that's
when you can start applying and through those events. Sometimes
they'll have two day programs or a three week early
ID program and it's a baby internship before the actual internship.
You're able to guild those relationships started really early on
(10:48):
with those companies that you're interested in, but you're still
going at a pace that makes sense for you be
inspired by your peers, but don't feel like you need
to catch up or don't feel like you need to
be doing what everyone else is doing.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Yes, yes, and going along with the freshman sophomore year time.
At what point should a student delete their high school
experience from the resume? Can you confirm or deny that
college shouldn't keep their high school experiences on their resumes.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
I feel like once you're a sophomore in college, that's
the best time to start delete those because at that point,
like you're pretty much a college student now, like a
freshman accounts because with that first year is still a
big transition period and a lot of the experiences that
you've had could help get you into different opportunities because
of the work you did on your high school campus.
But once you're a sophomore, you probably might be involved
(11:41):
in some college orgs and stuff, so you can start
to include that work on there. So, sophomore year, fall semester,
delete those high school information off of your resume.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Let it go, Just let it go for now.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
You can live on your LinkedIn. Though my LinkedIn is
basically a history journey of my career, so I do
have some high school stuff, but the resume, you want
to keep it current and up to date as much
as possible, as often.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
As possible, and by your senior year. How much job
experience should students have on their resume to best set
themselves up for success.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I will say it really depends on just your industry
because for some I know for the STEM folks, it
could be a little hard. But if you're like STEM,
or if you're like pre Med predent, you may have
those resource projects that you can include on your resume
which countsl's experience, or if you did any relevant courses,
you can start to include that on your resume. But
(12:40):
I think having one to three internships is great because
by then you've probably had enough time to where if
you wanted to do an internship you could have done it.
But I wouldn't say that there's no set number because
for me, looking back up my resume, I didn't get
my college interships until my senior year, and by then
I had only had two. But I had a lot
(13:00):
of campus trap experience that I put on my resume,
as well as my blog and the different influencer marketing
campaigns that I've worked on. So if you don't have
those professional internship experiences. It's okay because you have other
things you can leverage, whether that's personal projects, relevant course works,
if you intended any of those early ID programs that
I talked about, those will be great things to add
(13:22):
on your resume to show them you're getting involved and
you're showing interest in your industry.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
And correct me if I'm wrong. But I also feel
like it's about how you paint a story. It's literally
about how you describe your experiences. I could have studied
calm and it was the silliest class ever. But if
I just take some keywords from that class and incorporate
that into my resume or the interview, who would know.
(13:48):
So I feel like sometimes it is that as well.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Yes, your resume what I love to the people, This
is your time to brage on your resume. As an
early career applicant, is typically recommended that you have just
one page of experience, but use that patient the best
of your ability. Don't spend time wasting time explaining the
responsibilities that you did your role, every role that you
have for everything that you bullet under make sure those
(14:12):
are like things that you accomplish. What were some key
things that you accomplished in that role. So when a
recruiter is reading their resume, they can see, oh, she
worked at this role and she accomplished xyz. It's important
to yes, explain the roles and responsibilities, but you can
do that in your interview. So use your resume to
really shine and brag on yourself. Because for me, my
senior year, I had made that career change. I was
(14:34):
originally going to go on a public health route and
I decided I want to pursue marketing. So at that time,
I was trying to make those efforts to build up
my marketing and non health experience. So that's when I'm
painting the story. And for me, the biggest thing that
helped me and my interviews which showing the fact that
I was a constant creator. Every single interview I had,
they wanted to talk about the fact that I used
(14:56):
to write books Onpad and that I had a personal blog,
and then I did influence her. So if there's really
cool things that you have, whether you have a podcast
or your own business, or you have like this really
cool discord server where you help people in your major,
include it on your resume because those are conversation starters.
Your resume should be filled with things that they're gonna
be like, I need an interview this person to hear
(15:17):
more about that role. Like what do you mean you
used to write teenle fan fiction in that one awards?
Like I need to interview this person. And then once
you get into that interview, that's when you can really
tell yourself, that's when you can start talking about your
actual professional story. So put things in your resume to
get you into the door and to pique someone's interest
to where it's like, I need to talk to this
person immediately.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Right, I love that, And we'll talk about the WAW pad.
We'll talk about that later offline. We'll talk about that offline.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, Hi, I'm sorry, Taylor, And I'm the TPG podcast
production intern who'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So how can students utilize resources their campus provides, such
as the Career Service Office to finesse internships and job opportunities.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
I will say career Services office, they sometimes get a
bad rep and I feel bad for them. Like now
that I'm like creating more early career content, I'm connected
with more recruiters and those campus advisors, I'm realizing that
some of those campuses they have top tier resources. For example,
a lot of college campuses have you can get LinkedIn
Premium for free or at least LinkedIn Learning, and with
(16:34):
LinkedIn Learning, you have a whole breadth of courses and
certificate programs that you can complete for free and all
you need to do, like depending on if your schools
and relationship sign in with your EU email and for that,
if you realize that you're lacking a bit of experience
in your industry, you can look up those coursework and
take those certificates and essentially teach yourself some of those
(16:54):
things that you're missing and you can add that to
your resume. Another thing too, a lot of these career
they're there to help you with your resume, Like if
you don't know where to start, you can go there.
You can book a session and they can help you
and do a complete review of whatever you have right now,
as well as interview prep too, Like say, you know
they helped you with your resume and now you have
an interview and you're nervous it's your first interview. You
(17:16):
can go back there and book a session and you
can have that one on one mock interview with those advisors,
So I would say to explore all the different opportunities
that your campus center has career center has. And another
clutch thing too is if you go on their website,
sometimes they have the internship database that they update regularly,
weekly or monthly. So if you're like, Okay, I want
(17:38):
an internship, I don't know where to start. Start with
your university's career center website because I can guarantee you
there's going to be some sort of directory and it
could rather just be internships that team came across, or
sometimes you are colleges that have partnerships with different employers
where they're like, I'm specifically looking for interns that attend
this school. Can you help me? So start looking at
(18:01):
those resources there and then just go into office too,
like there are people who are literally willing and waiting
to help you, so just got to show up and
put yourself out there.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Unfortunately, they do get a bad rep and it's until
you utilize it. Because I had a bad rep with
my career service office at Chapel Hill and I was
just like, oh, I don't want to go. I didn't
know what I was doing, and that felt like, ooh,
I don't want to go in there. But once I
broke that wall down and I entered the building, they
(18:32):
were jumping at me to help and waiting for me
to tell them what I needed. So I also support
the career service office. Just hang out with them, like
they're friendly, they're really nice.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Yeah, And a lot of times they may have connections
with different employers or people they may know a recruiter,
like they may have a friend because a lot of
times those campus advisors sometimes go on to work as
corporate recruiters. So it's important to build that network too.
Stay down the line, the campus advisor that you work with,
she now works at your dream company. She's gonna remember
you and she's like, oh, I remember you if I
(19:04):
worked at your college. I'm actually hiring for early career
role that will be perfect for you. Let's bring you
into the interview process. So it's building your network, and
it really starts with acting for help. Sometimes, like down
the line, you never know what it can turn into.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
So shifting gears a little bit into some struggles when
finding that job after you've gone to career services. I
know that there's a common joke that students with majors
and the arts are doomed to like work as cashiers.
Can you tell us a little bit about the postscrib
market for people in the arts?
Speaker 3 (19:40):
In the arts, I will say, like, when I look
at my audience, they do have a lot of people
who they want to do the creative route, whether they
want to work in entertainment or marketing and PR and
those industry as a whole are just very, very very competitive.
My biggest advice would be to make sure you have
a great portfolio because a lot of those roles they're
(20:00):
going to want to see your portfolio. So even if
you don't have professional experience, you can build your freelance
experience as a professional in that industry and add that
to your portfolio. Like for me, when I was trying
to like get more involved in marketing and design, I
did a lot of freelance work, whether it was for
the work that I was doing in the campus orgs
that I was in, or I was offering my services
(20:23):
to other small owned businesses or people I knew who
had a business Like that still counsel's experience and the
more that you can get of that you can add
to your portfolio. Right now, I've seen a lot of
people they want to work at the big name companies.
They want to work at the top agencies and all
of that, and that is great, but also have to
keep in mind that there's a lot of people, Like
there's probably thousands of people applying for that role at
(20:45):
your dream agency or your dream company. So it's like
you have to set yourself apart by doing what not
a lot of people are doing. Not a lot of
people have a portfolio, or not a lot of people
are diversifying their applications. Yes, still apply for those big,
popular name companies, but look for the smaller organizations because
a lot of time people don't realize not everyone starts
at Apple or Google. They work their way up and
(21:06):
they make their way up into those roles in those
companies through the smaller, mid sized level companies. For me,
I did it backwards. I worked at a big company
and now I work at a smaller company, and I'm
seeing so much growth here in my smaller companies because
I have the resources. People have the time to really
help you and mentor you in your early career. Well,
(21:27):
when you're at those bigger companies, yes, they have a
lot of people and a lot of research. You can
connect with but sometimes you may feel like a small
fish and a big sea because everyone is so siloed
and working on their own independent projects, they're not really
taking the time to help mentor that new grad while
opposed to at a smaller company, they are dying to
help you. That there's people who are willing to help you,
(21:49):
and eventually you grow with those people. Like easter Ration
is one of my favorite creatives. She made like a
great statement about networking horizontally because sometimes a lot of
those people who are no same lanes with you, eventually
they're gonna level up and they're gonna bring you right
along with them. Or it could be the other way.
You can level up and you bring them right along
with you. So don't always be so focused on the
(22:10):
big picture so early on, Like it takes time, It
really takes time.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I needed to hear that, And I feel like when
you're in your night semester, it's a constant back and
forth of recognizing that and then forgetting that, and recognizing
that and forgetting that. So I appreciate that affirmation for
all of us who are in that state, because as
quickly as you can receive it, you can lose it
just as fast, So yeah, for sure, I definitely. So
(22:38):
how can college students gain valuable experience in their field
despite the catch of needing experience to secure a job?
Speaker 3 (22:49):
That is like the scariest part though, And that is
a question that I get a lot about. How do
I get experienced off no one will give me experience
And it is a terrible cycle. And my biggest advice
right now to create those experiences for yourself. Like, one
of the reasons why I created the nine semester is
because I got really passionate and excited about working and recruiting,
specifically early career recruiting, and I started to apply for
(23:12):
those rose pulls grab I was like, I want to
do this full time. This is something that I'm really
passionate about. And I got told know a lot of times,
and it's because I didn't have that experience. Like I
had the passion, the passion, but like no one was
able to really trust that I was able to get
the work done. Like I knew I could get the
work done, but because I hadn't made a name for
myself yet, it was hard to paint that picture. So
I created this well for two reasons because when I
(23:34):
was on my early career hunt, my early career journey.
It was hard and I had a lot of trials
and tribulations, and I didn't want anyone else to go
through that. But then also because I wanted to work
in this industry and I wasn't going to take no
for an answer, even if it took a while, I
wasn't going to take no for an answer. And I
wanted to create this platform because no one will give
me to see at the table, So I created my
own table, and the past three years, I've been able
(23:58):
to do the work that I wanted to do. I've
been able to help connect students with those early career
opportunities and share those tips and keep it all for free.
I'm helping everyone in every industry and giving information that
could be applicable no matter where you are in your
early career journey. And it paid off because now I
currently work at way Up, So if you're familiar with Handshake,
(24:18):
we are also a student job board. And it's very
full circle because this is the work that I wanted
to do. Fun fact, actually used Way Up in my
college years, so to be on the back end now
working here full time, and I'm still able to continue
the mission and share these different tips and resources for
students in recent grads. It's been great, and I have
(24:39):
to think that I'm semester because at the end of
the day, I knew I wanted to work in this industry,
and I knew it might take a while, so I
discovered other opportunities that I can do along the way,
and I still took that time to create this project
that was just for me. And that's why I encourage
students to start with those freelance projects. Like I know
a number of people who have their own marketing and
(24:59):
branding aid agencies or their own social media agencies because
they wanted to work in this experience and no one
would give them that experience, so they created their own
and at the end of the day, if they do
get a full time role in that industry, they're still
going to have their side project and their agency that
no one can take from them. So when you're your
own boss, literally you call the shots. No one can
(25:20):
tell you what you can do, and you have that
freedom to explore those different opportunities and you can still
make money from it. There are people who will be
willing to pay for your services and pay for your expertise.
So don't be worried about, oh what if no one
wants to work with me. Trust me, there's so many
people in the world. You will have customers, and you
will grow and you will get that experience that you're
(25:41):
looking for and you're on your own terms.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Hi, I'm sorry, Taylor, and I'm the TPG Podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
You mentioned handshake and way up. Can you share any
other platforms and resources you're utilizing to find those job opportunities?
Speaker 3 (26:11):
So I'm going to share some like lesser known ones.
There's one called extern so extern they provide paid externships
with different companies. I know at the top of my
head beats by doctor Dre. They didn't one with Snapchat,
they did one with Meta, they did one with Hugo Boss.
And these are like what I like to describe as
baby internships, and they're usually about four to six weeks long.
(26:33):
If you're struggling to find an internship or you don't
have the bandwidth for internship, externships are a great way
for you to work on a project in that industry
that you're interested in and see if this is something
that you want to do. And then another platform called
Parker Dewey and it's very similar. They're micro internships and
with them it's different industries, different mini projects, is all
(26:55):
paid work and all these are little things that you
can help add to your resume and help get that
experience that you're looking for. Another website will be called
job Well. Job wells a job ord specifically for Black,
LATINX and Native American students and they're partnering with companies
who are very serious and dedicated about hiring students in
those demographics. So Parker, Do we extern and job Well
(27:19):
are some great resources to add to your toolkit. And
if you're interested in campus roles too, intern Queen is
a really great website to find campus ambassador roles I
know right now. They have campaigns with Juicy Contour as
well as some other fashion lines. And then Youth Marketing
Connections another great campus ambassador program where you can find
(27:41):
different opportunities and campus ambassador programs as well as externships
and micro internships. They're all experiences, they're all things that
you can add on your resume and you can beef
up your resume and get that experience that you're looking for.
And if you just don't have the time for the internships,
because those are usually about eight to ten weeks long,
these are still very valuable projects that will help get
(28:02):
that exposure that you're looking for to see whether or
not you really want to work in the industry that
you're going after for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
With the campus ambassador programs, I had a couple friends
doing it and it was great to watch, but I
didn't recognize the seeds that they are planting until I graduate,
and it's like, oh, that's clearly a marketing strategy, like
you are a marketer, and in college you just don't
see it sometimes as that. You just see it as
your friends just doing this brand deal getting some free
(28:30):
things to talk about. But they're valuable experiences to again
tell your story, So thank you for dropping all of that.
Those are dope.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
And then another thing too with campus ambassador programs, a
lot of them have mentorship. Once you get in, they
connected with mentors, they connect you with professional development workshops,
and then you're also in this now alumni cohort where
they're regularly sharing opportunities and you're able to build your network.
It's more than you just being a campus ambassador, you
now have this network of people working in industries that
(29:00):
you're interested in, or like, continuing that I said earlier,
networking horizontally, like you're networking with your peers who are
also going after the save opportunities. Because for me, I
was a bumble honey campus ambassador, and I still connected
with some of the people that I did a program
with and we're able to pass along opportunities with each other.
So build that network. Like networking, My biggest thing when
(29:22):
it comes to networking is not about what you know,
it's about who you know. Like those people will speak
your name into rooms that you haven't even entered yet
just because they're able to vouch to who you are
and what you have to offer. So I will prioritize
in college building your network with your peers, your campus advisors,
your professors. Build your network.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Yes, for sure. And earlier we talked slightly about rejection,
So I'm curious how can people stay motivated to keep
applying when it feels like they're only receiving rejections.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Yes, one quote that I really had held close to
me when I was dealing with a lot of rejections
because I got so many rejections to the point where
like I couldn't take it anymore. I was like, what's
going on? Like no, no, no, no, no, Like I
was in an application and I'll get a know in
an hour, and I'm like, did you even be my application?
But I really had to remind myself, as corny as
(30:19):
it is said, that rejection is redirection. Like every no
you're getting there could be a reason behind that, know
that you don't even know, or a reason behind that
know that has nothing to do with you as an individual.
It's painful and it hurts to just keep getting told no.
But like sometimes you really just be like, oh, it's
not me as that I'm not a problem, You're the problem.
(30:40):
And for me, what I used to do when I
would get knows because you can tell I wanted to know.
When you see the email, I delete that. I'm not
even gonna click it. I'm not going to read it.
I'm just gonna protect my piece. So just have to
remind yourself that you will get a yes. There is
something for everyone in this world. And sometimes some of
those things where you got to know before you find
(31:01):
out the reason down the line, Like I remember there
were times I was applying for companies and I kept
getting told no, just for weeks later a scandal to
come out about the company or they did a mass layoffs,
and I'm like, oh, that's why you told me no,
because you're not actually hiring, and you're stating the business
is on fire right now. So do anything you can
and protect your peace, even if you need to take
(31:21):
a break from applying for like one week and just
tune into doing all of your favorite things, distract yourself,
and then when you come back, you're seeing like hot opportunities.
You're seeing things that didn't pop up before, because sometimes
you're really gonna step away and then come back and
you're going to find what is meant for you exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
For sure, I saw somebody on LinkedIn one day post
after seven thousand applications, two hundred thousand days. It was
just like that type of framing is so discouraging on
top of receiving rejections, like I don't want to know
how someone can stay motivated like the thought of that.
(32:03):
So it takes real disturbment of what is meant for
you is for you and a true path to get
to where you're headed. But the courage it takes to
do that is insane sometimes.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
And I would tell people to, like when you see
posts like that, take them to green Salt because some
people be lying like they did not send all the applications,
like they're just trying to make it seem crazier than
what it is. And also some people use automation to
send applications, so like their mass applying to everything, even
thing that they're not qualified for. So that's how it
adds to the number. But like, just keep in mind
(32:38):
that not everything you see in the Internet would be true,
but what is meant for you is meant for you,
and it will find you like that dream role that
you might have thought was your dream role whole time.
The company is not a great place to work at
and you don't need that when you're a new grad.
You need to be somewhere where you have that room
to explore and that room to grow and people who
(32:59):
are willing to pour into you like it's your nine semester.
You're still figuring things out. You need to be somewhere
where it is a safe space for you to figure
that out and you're surrounded by people who are willing
to help you.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I love it, all of it. So an important consideration
when applying for a job postgrad is how this job
can fund your lifestyle, particularly students who are hoping to
move into their own spaces and begin living independently. How
can someone begin to calculate how much money they may
need to make in order to begin living in quote
(33:32):
unquote the real world.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I definitely recommend, like, depending on where you want to
move to, to start looking and just seeing how the
cost of living is there, especially like when it comes
to apartments, because I was in that same boat. I
went to school in DC. I was born and raised
in Brooklyn, but I wanted to move to Chicago, which
is where I live now, so I tarted to do
my research on what life would be like to live
(33:55):
in a big city. And as much as I love
New York and I would have loved to be their
postgrid is too expensive I and I didn't want to
live in a shoebox, so I wanted to really take
my time to be somewhere where I could. You know,
this is a new chapter in your life, so I
would recommend to start looking into just how the cost
of living is there, and then from there start to
(34:16):
do some calculations if you want to live alone, or
if you want to live with a roommate, or if
you have pets, like calculating those expected expenses that you
would have, and then from there. What I really love
now is that depending on some states I can't remember
off the top of head, but I know New York
is one of them, some states have to state how
much the salary is up for so making sure that
(34:36):
when you're on that job plan that you had that
salary bands in mine and you know, okay, I need
to make this amount of year to live comfortably in
this new city. So making sure that you're not applying
for roles where it's not hitting your salary expectations.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
For sure, like reading into the details and taking your time.
Take your time, for sure. So what are there are
some tips for navigating shame over not having a job
set up immediately after graduation.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
It kind of goes back into what I was saying
earlier about not comparing yourself, because I remember I did
feel that shame too, Like I had graduated and I'm like,
I don't have a job. I knew so many people
who literally graduated they had a job lined up, they
were starting in the next month. And it's hard. It
really is hard. It's easier said than done to not
feel that shame. But if you are in a position
(35:29):
where you have a very supportive family and you have
those people in your life who can support you during
this transition, lead into that support and do whatever you
need to do to support yourself, whether that's you taking
a retail job or taking an hourly job just to
get some sort of income. Do what you need to do.
So when you get to that position where you want
(35:50):
to be, you've taken the steps, you've done the process
along the way to get there, and you're not on
this continuous comparison game. But it's easier to them, but
you really just got to know everybody. Like I remember
there was a point where I could not go on
LinkedIn because every time I went on LinkedIn, everyone was
posting their new jobs or sharing their new opportunities, and
I had no job and I had nothing to share.
(36:11):
So I had to really take that break from LinkedIn
at that time because I knew when I go there
it was going to disturb my spirit. So if you
had to delete LinkedIn off your phone or just only
use it specifically to job hunt and update your profile.
Do that as well as just taking that time for yourself.
Don't just spend hours all day applying for jobs because
(36:32):
you're gonna drive yourself math. Make sure that you set
certain blocks of your day to job apply, but then
also certain blocks to like pour back into yourself and
do your favorite hobbits Like I remember, for me, I
love Sims, So I was playing Sims a lot during
that time period because that was a way for me
to unwind and turn off my brain and relax and
just give myself that hug and just that comfort to know, Okay,
(36:55):
it's coming. It's not now, but it's coming soon. And
really just a lot of affirmations, Like I was filling
up my journal with affirmations, just reminding myself like it's coming.
What I want is coming, and I know that I'm
putting into work to do it. Like I'm not just
saying these affirmations and not doing the work. I'm doing
the work too. So affirm yourself and remind yourself that
(37:15):
where you're at right now, this is for now, but
it's not forever.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
Yes, I feel like we just had a servant with
that one, and that with that one, for sure, I
love everything you have said. Going back to your former point,
like going on LinkedIn, sometimes it's the most self sabotaging
act ever, and while you want to support your peers,
it can just feel so heavy to do the congratulations
(37:42):
and like when you want to be in that space.
It's a lot, and no one really talks about that.
The comparison in college is intense, but the postcard comparison,
especially your senior year, transitioning that summer and you see
everyone going to the big companies and moving to the cities,
that's also hard. So to your point, just providing yourself
that compassion in that space to like feel how you
(38:04):
feel and take a step away from it, and not
to indulge yourself in that comparison journey because it's not
for you at all.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
Giving yourself grace. I'm hard on myself just because I
know my potential, but over the years I had to
work on giving myself grace and just understanding like everyone's
journey and their path is different. I don't have any
regrets of how I've made my career journey so far
because it was not traditional in any sense, but I
had to understand that this path was uniquely for me,
(38:33):
everything that I have done postgrad and even in college,
everything I've done has brought me to this moment right now.
The fact that I'm on this episode with you now
is because every step I took brought me here. So
just reminding yourself, it's hard to see the end goal
now when things are not looking right, but like when
you're there, when you're in the places where you manifested
(38:54):
to being, You're going to be like, oh my gosh,
everything I did to get up here, no matter how
or how painful it was, it worked out in the end,
because it always does. Like it literally always works out
in the end.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I love all of this. So that close us out.
Where can we keep up with you? What are your
social media handles?
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Yes, so to keep up with me, you can find
me on TikTok and Instagram. At the ninth semester, as
well as on LinkedIn. At Jade Walters, I post weekly
early career tips and job opportunities. Right now, I'm in
a wave where I'm getting folks prepare for the fall,
so I'll be pushing out some weekly roundups of fall
(39:37):
internships apply for as well as for the new grads.
I'm still going to be sharing my entry level roles
that I come across as well as rotational programs for
them to check out. And you can also find me
on my website ww dot the ninth Semester dot com.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Love definitely check out her LinkedIn. It's amazing. Well, thank
you so much day for talking with me today.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
All your insight.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
It was so great.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Yes, thank you, thank you so much for having me,
and I'm wishing everyone the best of luck on their
job journey. Like, if I could leave one piece of advice,
do not tell yourself no before anyone else can tell
you no. Like if you see an opportunity and you
really and truly feel like you can do this job, apply,
don't let imposter syndrome get in a way. Don't let
any negative thoughts get in a way. Put yourself out
(40:25):
there because you literally never know what could happen. Like,
don't tell yourself no before anyone else can tell you no.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Period. I want to thank Jade once again for joining
us for this episode. Class is over for now, but
before we dismiss, here as some affirmations to take home
with you. The job that is meant for you is yours.
Any knows that you receive are simply to prepare you
for all of the abundance that is to come. Your
(40:53):
journey is uniquely yours, designed to lead you to the
best version of yourself. But see your plan now will
blossom into the most beautiful pathways you can imagine. To
learn more about the work Jada is doing, or to
do more research on this topic, be sure to visit
Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash tvgu This episode was
(41:15):
produced by Elise Ellis and Zaria Taylor. Editing is by
Dennison Bradford.
Get ready because class is almost in session. Welcome to
the TBG University Podcast, tailored for the twenty somethingter who's
packing for a new year on campus, thinking through their
gap year, enrolling in a community college, grabbing their souls
for graduation, and everything in between. I'm your host and
tbgu coordinator Jana Ellis.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hi, I'm sorry, Taylor, and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
On TikTok, you'll often find jokes about how many of
us felt like we only had a job as a
baristo waiting for us at the end of our four
years of college. At times, the post grad job market
can seem pretty bleak, which is why today I'm joined
by an expert and helping gen Z find jobs to
provide some tips on how to navigate this process. Her
(01:05):
name is Jade Walters, and she's the founder of the
Ninth Semester, a platform that provides weekly career tips plus
job postings for an audience of one hundred thousand early
career professionals to help them secure the bag and grow
in their budding careers. Adding on to that experience, she
also works in Candidate marketing as an employer branding specialist
(01:27):
at Way up a job board for students and grads.
In our conversation today, we discussed some tips for the
application and interview process, how to navigate the catch twenty
two of needing experience to get a job while also
needing a job to get experienced, and ways to keep
a pushing when it feels like all you're getting is
nos in rejection letters. Here's our conversation. Hi Jade, I'm
(01:52):
so excited for all your tips and knowledge that you possess.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Thank you. I'm excited for this conversation.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Love. So you know that you are the founder of
the Ninth Semester, a platform dedicated to helping gen z
find jobs. Can you take us back to when you
first conceptualize the idea for the ninth Semester? What motivated
you to create this platform?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
So it dates back to March twenty twenty. I was
preparing for an internship interview and I went down a
rabbit hole of post interview questions and I loved it,
and I curated a little posts on Twitter and that
went viral. And then during that period, a majority of
us we were at home because of the pandemic, I
started to dabble a little bit more into early careers.
(02:38):
So at that time, I was creating content specifically about
interviewing because it was that shift where people that were
leaving their jobs where they just got laid off and
they were trying to get into these really cool opportunities.
So I knew that the interview was the most important
aspect of just the whole application process. So I started
cranking out a lot of content there, and as I
(02:58):
got closer and closer to my graduation, I had did
that for over a year, just sharing a little bit
of early career tips on my personal blog love Jay Carson.
Once I graduated, I decided that I wanted to create
my own blog specifically for it. And even the name
the niveth semester really came from. You know when you
graduate college and traditionally you have those eight semesters, but
(03:20):
that knife semester is when you've graduated and you're trying
to figure out what is life? How do I be
an adult? So that's what a name came from. So
I officially launched in August twenty twenty one, and I
chose TikTok because at that time, too TikTok was blowing
in the States, and I really wanted to challenge myself
to create more video content because for over ten years,
(03:40):
I've done a lot of written based content or social
media graphics and stuff like that, and I wanted to
challenge myself with video content. So at that time, I
saw TikTok as a great place. I loved the app.
It was new, like it was new, and I was
seeing people like literally go viral overnight, and I wanted
to just try and see, Okay, like this topic has
been doing really well on other platforms, let me see
(04:01):
how well it doesn't TikTok. And it's just been an
amazing journey. It's going to be three years this August,
and it's honestly been one of the best things that
I could have done earlier in my career.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Congratulations to the three years. That's so amazing. And the
name itself is so creative, and I semester quite literally
is one of the most important semesters. But I love
how you framed it, So congrats to you for sure.
So I'm curious, can you tell us about the journey
of your first job internship? What were some of the
(04:36):
earliest lessons that you learned in that space.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah. So, my very very first internship, I was sixteen
and it was in New York and I had applied
for this program called the Teen Career Connection Program through
the West Side YMCA, and I remember specifically when I
went to my interview. It was like my first real interview,
and after I kind of broke the fourth wall and
(04:59):
I to my interviewer, how did I do? How was that?
And it, honestly it surprised him, Like he said, he's
been interviewing for years and he's never had someone literally
ask him how they did. And he gave me feedback
on how I did, and he also complimented me and
said that it was pretty ballsy. And since then that
really just lit a fire in me that when I
(05:20):
go into different opportunities like just be balsy, just put
myself out there, and I actually did get the internship.
And I really do believe that the fact that I've
just decided to just like break the fourth wall and
ask that question showed that I was really passionate really
helped me stand out in my application and out of
that program. I believe there was over a few thousands
(05:41):
people who had applied and it was a cohort of
forty five. So for me, that really affirmed me, Like,
I'm a first generation college student, first generation grad. My
parents are from Barbados, so internships were just like a
whole new thing. So it felt really empowering for me
to know that, like I went after something that I
had no experience, no sort of help or just advice.
I just went out on it and I accomplished it.
(06:02):
And for me, just as I went throughout my career,
I just kept that mindset, just like remember fifteen year
old sixteen year old Jade, she was not afraid. She
was like the worst that someone can say is no,
or the worst that someone can say is not right now.
So I just go on with that mindset for every opportunity,
and it's been really cool to see just how it
plays out.
Speaker 1 (06:21):
And you mentioned being first, and I'm also first in
so I'm curious. At least for me, I didn't have
that mindset in college that internships were important. I was
more so, get the good grades, get the organizations, do
what you can right now. And it was until I
really saw my environment of like, oh, it's COVID and
(06:42):
we're still doing internships. Maybe I should really get the
ball rolling on this. How did you know for yourself
that you needed to have or you wanted to have
an internship? Because I feel like sometimes we get so
focused on school and focused on like everything college is
outside of job searching, that we forget how important and
(07:02):
valuable those experiences are.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
So I went to Howard, and at Howard, literally you
are at a school with everyone who was at the
top of their school, top of their classes, and early
on I noticed that a lot of my peers they
were getting readily involved in internships. People were already applying
for those early discovery programs and like spring semester and
freshman year, and just being around my peers and seeing
(07:26):
that was the norm on campus, it influenced me to
want to pursue early career opportunities in school because I
always did have that notion and thought that, oh, I
can't start anything until after I graduated. So seeing people
in my same shoes doing that that inspired me. And
then I'm also in a professional development sorority called Iota
filand and Sorority Incorporated, and through there I was meeting
(07:49):
even more people who were super accomplished in different fields.
Like I was still on that health field. I was
studying maternal and child health. So that's when I started
to realize I can actually start doing this work now.
I didn't have to wait until post grade, and it
just influenced it. And honestly, I didn't get my first
college internship until my senior year, because I mean, I
(08:10):
had a little one. I was communications Internet planned parent,
but then the pandemic came and that ended. But my
first two years, like I worked as a summer camp counselor,
and honestly, I felt like those roles really played an
impact in just the journey that I had now because
it was an opportunity for me to just like learn
how it was like to work with the youth and
(08:31):
seeing more of my city. Like I was a camp
counselor in New York, so it allowed me to unwind
from distressful semesters. So then as I realized, like I
wanted to get more experience in just more time adjusting
to the college life before, I put myself out there
for internship and I was lucky to find one as
a senior, And it also helped affirm me that it
(08:51):
wasn't too late. I knew people who were probably on
their fourth fifth internship, but I was on my first,
and I still felt proud, and I still felt prepared.
And now we're us are probably on those same paths
or on the same journeys too, whereas okay, we're a
couple of years post grad and we're working a really
great job. So I had to quickly realize I could
not continue to compare myself to my peers, but I
can be inspired by them and motivated to create my
(09:14):
own journey.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
I love that. Oh my gosh, that's, in my opinion,
the best way to think about it, or you're gonna
run yourself ragged and exhaust yourself with that comparison consistently,
If you redirect that energy in the way you just describe,
you have more bang for your book, so to speak.
So I love that framing.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
So how early in the college journey should a student
be thinking about their postgrad prospects?
Speaker 3 (09:41):
I would say, honestly, that spring semester of freshman year,
maybe even the fall semester of sophomore year, just because
if you're a college student, you want to get adjusted
to your environment. You want to get adjusted to that balance,
that you're going to create now for the next three
to four years. And I feel like once you're adjusted
and once you feel like I got this collegetaing downpack,
that's when you can start looking into internships. And something
(10:04):
I've seen with a lot of companies, they have these
early ID programs that are specifically for freshmen and sophomore
so they can get to know more about their companies
and at different industries. And a lot of times, like
those companies come during career fairs or they may have
pop up events during your freshmen you're like, start going
to those events, dip your toe in the water to
see if this is what you want to do, and
(10:27):
you can explore the different opportunities. And then once you
feel like you're ready, once you have your college journey
down pack and you know what you're gonna do, that's
when you can start applying and through those events. Sometimes
they'll have two day programs or a three week early
ID program and it's a baby internship before the actual internship.
You're able to guild those relationships started really early on
(10:48):
with those companies that you're interested in, but you're still
going at a pace that makes sense for you be
inspired by your peers, but don't feel like you need
to catch up or don't feel like you need to
be doing what everyone else is doing.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Yes, yes, and going along with the freshman sophomore year time.
At what point should a student delete their high school
experience from the resume? Can you confirm or deny that
college shouldn't keep their high school experiences on their resumes.
Speaker 3 (11:19):
I feel like once you're a sophomore in college, that's
the best time to start delete those because at that point,
like you're pretty much a college student now, like a
freshman accounts because with that first year is still a
big transition period and a lot of the experiences that
you've had could help get you into different opportunities because
of the work you did on your high school campus.
But once you're a sophomore, you probably might be involved
(11:41):
in some college orgs and stuff, so you can start
to include that work on there. So, sophomore year, fall semester,
delete those high school information off of your resume.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
Let it go, Just let it go for now.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
You can live on your LinkedIn. Though my LinkedIn is
basically a history journey of my career, so I do
have some high school stuff, but the resume, you want
to keep it current and up to date as much
as possible, as often.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
As possible, and by your senior year. How much job
experience should students have on their resume to best set
themselves up for success.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
I will say it really depends on just your industry
because for some I know for the STEM folks, it
could be a little hard. But if you're like STEM,
or if you're like pre Med predent, you may have
those resource projects that you can include on your resume
which countsl's experience, or if you did any relevant courses,
you can start to include that on your resume. But
(12:40):
I think having one to three internships is great because
by then you've probably had enough time to where if
you wanted to do an internship you could have done it.
But I wouldn't say that there's no set number because
for me, looking back up my resume, I didn't get
my college interships until my senior year, and by then
I had only had two. But I had a lot
(13:00):
of campus trap experience that I put on my resume,
as well as my blog and the different influencer marketing
campaigns that I've worked on. So if you don't have
those professional internship experiences. It's okay because you have other
things you can leverage, whether that's personal projects, relevant course works,
if you intended any of those early ID programs that
I talked about, those will be great things to add
(13:22):
on your resume to show them you're getting involved and
you're showing interest in your industry.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
And correct me if I'm wrong. But I also feel
like it's about how you paint a story. It's literally
about how you describe your experiences. I could have studied
calm and it was the silliest class ever. But if
I just take some keywords from that class and incorporate
that into my resume or the interview, who would know.
(13:48):
So I feel like sometimes it is that as well.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Yes, your resume what I love to the people, This
is your time to brage on your resume. As an
early career applicant, is typically recommended that you have just
one page of experience, but use that patient the best
of your ability. Don't spend time wasting time explaining the
responsibilities that you did your role, every role that you
have for everything that you bullet under make sure those
(14:12):
are like things that you accomplish. What were some key
things that you accomplished in that role. So when a
recruiter is reading their resume, they can see, oh, she
worked at this role and she accomplished xyz. It's important
to yes, explain the roles and responsibilities, but you can
do that in your interview. So use your resume to
really shine and brag on yourself. Because for me, my
senior year, I had made that career change. I was
(14:34):
originally going to go on a public health route and
I decided I want to pursue marketing. So at that time,
I was trying to make those efforts to build up
my marketing and non health experience. So that's when I'm
painting the story. And for me, the biggest thing that
helped me and my interviews which showing the fact that
I was a constant creator. Every single interview I had,
they wanted to talk about the fact that I used
(14:56):
to write books Onpad and that I had a personal blog,
and then I did influence her. So if there's really
cool things that you have, whether you have a podcast
or your own business, or you have like this really
cool discord server where you help people in your major,
include it on your resume because those are conversation starters.
Your resume should be filled with things that they're gonna
be like, I need an interview this person to hear
(15:17):
more about that role. Like what do you mean you
used to write teenle fan fiction in that one awards?
Like I need to interview this person. And then once
you get into that interview, that's when you can really
tell yourself, that's when you can start talking about your
actual professional story. So put things in your resume to
get you into the door and to pique someone's interest
to where it's like, I need to talk to this
person immediately.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Right, I love that, And we'll talk about the WAW pad.
We'll talk about that later offline. We'll talk about that offline.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, Hi, I'm sorry, Taylor, And I'm the TPG podcast
production intern who'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
So how can students utilize resources their campus provides, such
as the Career Service Office to finesse internships and job opportunities.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
I will say career Services office, they sometimes get a
bad rep and I feel bad for them. Like now
that I'm like creating more early career content, I'm connected
with more recruiters and those campus advisors, I'm realizing that
some of those campuses they have top tier resources. For example,
a lot of college campuses have you can get LinkedIn
Premium for free or at least LinkedIn Learning, and with
(16:34):
LinkedIn Learning, you have a whole breadth of courses and
certificate programs that you can complete for free and all
you need to do, like depending on if your schools
and relationship sign in with your EU email and for that,
if you realize that you're lacking a bit of experience
in your industry, you can look up those coursework and
take those certificates and essentially teach yourself some of those
(16:54):
things that you're missing and you can add that to
your resume. Another thing too, a lot of these career
they're there to help you with your resume, Like if
you don't know where to start, you can go there.
You can book a session and they can help you
and do a complete review of whatever you have right now,
as well as interview prep too, Like say, you know
they helped you with your resume and now you have
an interview and you're nervous it's your first interview. You
(17:16):
can go back there and book a session and you
can have that one on one mock interview with those advisors,
So I would say to explore all the different opportunities
that your campus center has career center has. And another
clutch thing too is if you go on their website,
sometimes they have the internship database that they update regularly,
weekly or monthly. So if you're like, Okay, I want
(17:38):
an internship, I don't know where to start. Start with
your university's career center website because I can guarantee you
there's going to be some sort of directory and it
could rather just be internships that team came across, or
sometimes you are colleges that have partnerships with different employers
where they're like, I'm specifically looking for interns that attend
this school. Can you help me? So start looking at
(18:01):
those resources there and then just go into office too,
like there are people who are literally willing and waiting
to help you, so just got to show up and
put yourself out there.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Unfortunately, they do get a bad rep and it's until
you utilize it. Because I had a bad rep with
my career service office at Chapel Hill and I was
just like, oh, I don't want to go. I didn't
know what I was doing, and that felt like, ooh,
I don't want to go in there. But once I
broke that wall down and I entered the building, they
(18:32):
were jumping at me to help and waiting for me
to tell them what I needed. So I also support
the career service office. Just hang out with them, like
they're friendly, they're really nice.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Yeah, And a lot of times they may have connections
with different employers or people they may know a recruiter,
like they may have a friend because a lot of
times those campus advisors sometimes go on to work as
corporate recruiters. So it's important to build that network too.
Stay down the line, the campus advisor that you work with,
she now works at your dream company. She's gonna remember
you and she's like, oh, I remember you if I
(19:04):
worked at your college. I'm actually hiring for early career
role that will be perfect for you. Let's bring you
into the interview process. So it's building your network, and
it really starts with acting for help. Sometimes, like down
the line, you never know what it can turn into.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
So shifting gears a little bit into some struggles when
finding that job after you've gone to career services. I
know that there's a common joke that students with majors
and the arts are doomed to like work as cashiers.
Can you tell us a little bit about the postscrib
market for people in the arts?
Speaker 3 (19:40):
In the arts, I will say, like, when I look
at my audience, they do have a lot of people
who they want to do the creative route, whether they
want to work in entertainment or marketing and PR and
those industry as a whole are just very, very very competitive.
My biggest advice would be to make sure you have
a great portfolio because a lot of those roles they're
(20:00):
going to want to see your portfolio. So even if
you don't have professional experience, you can build your freelance
experience as a professional in that industry and add that
to your portfolio. Like for me, when I was trying
to like get more involved in marketing and design, I
did a lot of freelance work, whether it was for
the work that I was doing in the campus orgs
that I was in, or I was offering my services
(20:23):
to other small owned businesses or people I knew who
had a business Like that still counsel's experience and the
more that you can get of that you can add
to your portfolio. Right now, I've seen a lot of
people they want to work at the big name companies.
They want to work at the top agencies and all
of that, and that is great, but also have to
keep in mind that there's a lot of people, Like
there's probably thousands of people applying for that role at
(20:45):
your dream agency or your dream company. So it's like
you have to set yourself apart by doing what not
a lot of people are doing. Not a lot of
people have a portfolio, or not a lot of people
are diversifying their applications. Yes, still apply for those big,
popular name companies, but look for the smaller organizations because
a lot of time people don't realize not everyone starts
at Apple or Google. They work their way up and
(21:06):
they make their way up into those roles in those
companies through the smaller, mid sized level companies. For me,
I did it backwards. I worked at a big company
and now I work at a smaller company, and I'm
seeing so much growth here in my smaller companies because
I have the resources. People have the time to really
help you and mentor you in your early career. Well,
(21:27):
when you're at those bigger companies, yes, they have a
lot of people and a lot of research. You can
connect with but sometimes you may feel like a small
fish and a big sea because everyone is so siloed
and working on their own independent projects, they're not really
taking the time to help mentor that new grad while
opposed to at a smaller company, they are dying to
help you. That there's people who are willing to help you,
(21:49):
and eventually you grow with those people. Like easter Ration
is one of my favorite creatives. She made like a
great statement about networking horizontally because sometimes a lot of
those people who are no same lanes with you, eventually
they're gonna level up and they're gonna bring you right
along with them. Or it could be the other way.
You can level up and you bring them right along
with you. So don't always be so focused on the
(22:10):
big picture so early on, Like it takes time, It
really takes time.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I needed to hear that, And I feel like when
you're in your night semester, it's a constant back and
forth of recognizing that and then forgetting that, and recognizing
that and forgetting that. So I appreciate that affirmation for
all of us who are in that state, because as
quickly as you can receive it, you can lose it
just as fast, So yeah, for sure, I definitely. So
(22:38):
how can college students gain valuable experience in their field
despite the catch of needing experience to secure a job?
Speaker 3 (22:49):
That is like the scariest part though, And that is
a question that I get a lot about. How do
I get experienced off no one will give me experience
And it is a terrible cycle. And my biggest advice
right now to create those experiences for yourself. Like, one
of the reasons why I created the nine semester is
because I got really passionate and excited about working and recruiting,
specifically early career recruiting, and I started to apply for
(23:12):
those rose pulls grab I was like, I want to
do this full time. This is something that I'm really
passionate about. And I got told know a lot of times,
and it's because I didn't have that experience. Like I
had the passion, the passion, but like no one was
able to really trust that I was able to get
the work done. Like I knew I could get the
work done, but because I hadn't made a name for
myself yet, it was hard to paint that picture. So
I created this well for two reasons because when I
(23:34):
was on my early career hunt, my early career journey.
It was hard and I had a lot of trials
and tribulations, and I didn't want anyone else to go
through that. But then also because I wanted to work
in this industry and I wasn't going to take no
for an answer, even if it took a while, I
wasn't going to take no for an answer. And I
wanted to create this platform because no one will give
me to see at the table, So I created my
own table, and the past three years, I've been able
(23:58):
to do the work that I wanted to do. I've
been able to help connect students with those early career
opportunities and share those tips and keep it all for free.
I'm helping everyone in every industry and giving information that
could be applicable no matter where you are in your
early career journey. And it paid off because now I
currently work at way Up, So if you're familiar with Handshake,
(24:18):
we are also a student job board. And it's very
full circle because this is the work that I wanted
to do. Fun fact, actually used Way Up in my
college years, so to be on the back end now
working here full time, and I'm still able to continue
the mission and share these different tips and resources for
students in recent grads. It's been great, and I have
(24:39):
to think that I'm semester because at the end of
the day, I knew I wanted to work in this industry,
and I knew it might take a while, so I
discovered other opportunities that I can do along the way,
and I still took that time to create this project
that was just for me. And that's why I encourage
students to start with those freelance projects. Like I know
a number of people who have their own marketing and
(24:59):
branding aid agencies or their own social media agencies because
they wanted to work in this experience and no one
would give them that experience, so they created their own
and at the end of the day, if they do
get a full time role in that industry, they're still
going to have their side project and their agency that
no one can take from them. So when you're your
own boss, literally you call the shots. No one can
(25:20):
tell you what you can do, and you have that
freedom to explore those different opportunities and you can still
make money from it. There are people who will be
willing to pay for your services and pay for your expertise.
So don't be worried about, oh what if no one
wants to work with me. Trust me, there's so many
people in the world. You will have customers, and you
will grow and you will get that experience that you're
(25:41):
looking for and you're on your own terms.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Hi, I'm sorry, Taylor, and I'm the TPG Podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
You mentioned handshake and way up. Can you share any
other platforms and resources you're utilizing to find those job opportunities?
Speaker 3 (26:11):
So I'm going to share some like lesser known ones.
There's one called extern so extern they provide paid externships
with different companies. I know at the top of my
head beats by doctor Dre. They didn't one with Snapchat,
they did one with Meta, they did one with Hugo Boss.
And these are like what I like to describe as
baby internships, and they're usually about four to six weeks long.
(26:33):
If you're struggling to find an internship or you don't
have the bandwidth for internship, externships are a great way
for you to work on a project in that industry
that you're interested in and see if this is something
that you want to do. And then another platform called
Parker Dewey and it's very similar. They're micro internships and
with them it's different industries, different mini projects, is all
(26:55):
paid work and all these are little things that you
can help add to your resume and help get that
experience that you're looking for. Another website will be called
job Well. Job wells a job ord specifically for Black,
LATINX and Native American students and they're partnering with companies
who are very serious and dedicated about hiring students in
those demographics. So Parker, Do we extern and job Well
(27:19):
are some great resources to add to your toolkit. And
if you're interested in campus roles too, intern Queen is
a really great website to find campus ambassador roles I
know right now. They have campaigns with Juicy Contour as
well as some other fashion lines. And then Youth Marketing
Connections another great campus ambassador program where you can find
(27:41):
different opportunities and campus ambassador programs as well as externships
and micro internships. They're all experiences, they're all things that
you can add on your resume and you can beef
up your resume and get that experience that you're looking for.
And if you just don't have the time for the internships,
because those are usually about eight to ten weeks long,
these are still very valuable projects that will help get
(28:02):
that exposure that you're looking for to see whether or
not you really want to work in the industry that
you're going after for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:09):
With the campus ambassador programs, I had a couple friends
doing it and it was great to watch, but I
didn't recognize the seeds that they are planting until I graduate,
and it's like, oh, that's clearly a marketing strategy, like
you are a marketer, and in college you just don't
see it sometimes as that. You just see it as
your friends just doing this brand deal getting some free
(28:30):
things to talk about. But they're valuable experiences to again
tell your story, So thank you for dropping all of that.
Those are dope.
Speaker 3 (28:37):
And then another thing too with campus ambassador programs, a
lot of them have mentorship. Once you get in, they
connected with mentors, they connect you with professional development workshops,
and then you're also in this now alumni cohort where
they're regularly sharing opportunities and you're able to build your network.
It's more than you just being a campus ambassador, you
now have this network of people working in industries that
(29:00):
you're interested in, or like, continuing that I said earlier,
networking horizontally, like you're networking with your peers who are
also going after the save opportunities. Because for me, I
was a bumble honey campus ambassador, and I still connected
with some of the people that I did a program
with and we're able to pass along opportunities with each other.
So build that network. Like networking, My biggest thing when
(29:22):
it comes to networking is not about what you know,
it's about who you know. Like those people will speak
your name into rooms that you haven't even entered yet
just because they're able to vouch to who you are
and what you have to offer. So I will prioritize
in college building your network with your peers, your campus advisors,
your professors. Build your network.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
Yes, for sure. And earlier we talked slightly about rejection,
So I'm curious how can people stay motivated to keep
applying when it feels like they're only receiving rejections.
Speaker 3 (29:57):
Yes, one quote that I really had held close to
me when I was dealing with a lot of rejections
because I got so many rejections to the point where
like I couldn't take it anymore. I was like, what's
going on? Like no, no, no, no, no, Like I
was in an application and I'll get a know in
an hour, and I'm like, did you even be my application?
But I really had to remind myself, as corny as
(30:19):
it is said, that rejection is redirection. Like every no
you're getting there could be a reason behind that, know
that you don't even know, or a reason behind that
know that has nothing to do with you as an individual.
It's painful and it hurts to just keep getting told no.
But like sometimes you really just be like, oh, it's
not me as that I'm not a problem, You're the problem.
(30:40):
And for me, what I used to do when I
would get knows because you can tell I wanted to know.
When you see the email, I delete that. I'm not
even gonna click it. I'm not going to read it.
I'm just gonna protect my piece. So just have to
remind yourself that you will get a yes. There is
something for everyone in this world. And sometimes some of
those things where you got to know before you find
(31:01):
out the reason down the line, Like I remember there
were times I was applying for companies and I kept
getting told no, just for weeks later a scandal to
come out about the company or they did a mass layoffs,
and I'm like, oh, that's why you told me no,
because you're not actually hiring, and you're stating the business
is on fire right now. So do anything you can
and protect your peace, even if you need to take
(31:21):
a break from applying for like one week and just
tune into doing all of your favorite things, distract yourself,
and then when you come back, you're seeing like hot opportunities.
You're seeing things that didn't pop up before, because sometimes
you're really gonna step away and then come back and
you're going to find what is meant for you exactly.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
For sure, I saw somebody on LinkedIn one day post
after seven thousand applications, two hundred thousand days. It was
just like that type of framing is so discouraging on
top of receiving rejections, like I don't want to know
how someone can stay motivated like the thought of that.
(32:03):
So it takes real disturbment of what is meant for
you is for you and a true path to get
to where you're headed. But the courage it takes to
do that is insane sometimes.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
And I would tell people to, like when you see
posts like that, take them to green Salt because some
people be lying like they did not send all the applications,
like they're just trying to make it seem crazier than
what it is. And also some people use automation to
send applications, so like their mass applying to everything, even
thing that they're not qualified for. So that's how it
adds to the number. But like, just keep in mind
(32:38):
that not everything you see in the Internet would be true,
but what is meant for you is meant for you,
and it will find you like that dream role that
you might have thought was your dream role whole time.
The company is not a great place to work at
and you don't need that when you're a new grad.
You need to be somewhere where you have that room
to explore and that room to grow and people who
(32:59):
are willing to pour into you like it's your nine semester.
You're still figuring things out. You need to be somewhere
where it is a safe space for you to figure
that out and you're surrounded by people who are willing
to help you.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I love it, all of it. So an important consideration
when applying for a job postgrad is how this job
can fund your lifestyle, particularly students who are hoping to
move into their own spaces and begin living independently. How
can someone begin to calculate how much money they may
need to make in order to begin living in quote
(33:32):
unquote the real world.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
I definitely recommend, like, depending on where you want to
move to, to start looking and just seeing how the
cost of living is there, especially like when it comes
to apartments, because I was in that same boat. I
went to school in DC. I was born and raised
in Brooklyn, but I wanted to move to Chicago, which
is where I live now, so I tarted to do
my research on what life would be like to live
(33:55):
in a big city. And as much as I love
New York and I would have loved to be their
postgrid is too expensive I and I didn't want to
live in a shoebox, so I wanted to really take
my time to be somewhere where I could. You know,
this is a new chapter in your life, so I
would recommend to start looking into just how the cost
of living is there, and then from there start to
(34:16):
do some calculations if you want to live alone, or
if you want to live with a roommate, or if
you have pets, like calculating those expected expenses that you
would have, and then from there. What I really love
now is that depending on some states I can't remember
off the top of head, but I know New York
is one of them, some states have to state how
much the salary is up for so making sure that
(34:36):
when you're on that job plan that you had that
salary bands in mine and you know, okay, I need
to make this amount of year to live comfortably in
this new city. So making sure that you're not applying
for roles where it's not hitting your salary expectations.
Speaker 1 (34:52):
For sure, like reading into the details and taking your time.
Take your time, for sure. So what are there are
some tips for navigating shame over not having a job
set up immediately after graduation.
Speaker 3 (35:07):
It kind of goes back into what I was saying
earlier about not comparing yourself, because I remember I did
feel that shame too, Like I had graduated and I'm like,
I don't have a job. I knew so many people
who literally graduated they had a job lined up, they
were starting in the next month. And it's hard. It
really is hard. It's easier said than done to not
feel that shame. But if you are in a position
(35:29):
where you have a very supportive family and you have
those people in your life who can support you during
this transition, lead into that support and do whatever you
need to do to support yourself, whether that's you taking
a retail job or taking an hourly job just to
get some sort of income. Do what you need to do.
So when you get to that position where you want
(35:50):
to be, you've taken the steps, you've done the process
along the way to get there, and you're not on
this continuous comparison game. But it's easier to them, but
you really just got to know everybody. Like I remember
there was a point where I could not go on
LinkedIn because every time I went on LinkedIn, everyone was
posting their new jobs or sharing their new opportunities, and
I had no job and I had nothing to share.
(36:11):
So I had to really take that break from LinkedIn
at that time because I knew when I go there
it was going to disturb my spirit. So if you
had to delete LinkedIn off your phone or just only
use it specifically to job hunt and update your profile.
Do that as well as just taking that time for yourself.
Don't just spend hours all day applying for jobs because
(36:32):
you're gonna drive yourself math. Make sure that you set
certain blocks of your day to job apply, but then
also certain blocks to like pour back into yourself and
do your favorite hobbits Like I remember, for me, I
love Sims, So I was playing Sims a lot during
that time period because that was a way for me
to unwind and turn off my brain and relax and
just give myself that hug and just that comfort to know, Okay,
(36:55):
it's coming. It's not now, but it's coming soon. And
really just a lot of affirmations, Like I was filling
up my journal with affirmations, just reminding myself like it's coming.
What I want is coming, and I know that I'm
putting into work to do it. Like I'm not just
saying these affirmations and not doing the work. I'm doing
the work too. So affirm yourself and remind yourself that
(37:15):
where you're at right now, this is for now, but
it's not forever.
Speaker 1 (37:20):
Yes, I feel like we just had a servant with
that one, and that with that one, for sure, I
love everything you have said. Going back to your former point,
like going on LinkedIn, sometimes it's the most self sabotaging
act ever, and while you want to support your peers,
it can just feel so heavy to do the congratulations
(37:42):
and like when you want to be in that space.
It's a lot, and no one really talks about that.
The comparison in college is intense, but the postcard comparison,
especially your senior year, transitioning that summer and you see
everyone going to the big companies and moving to the cities,
that's also hard. So to your point, just providing yourself
that compassion in that space to like feel how you
(38:04):
feel and take a step away from it, and not
to indulge yourself in that comparison journey because it's not
for you at all.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
Giving yourself grace. I'm hard on myself just because I
know my potential, but over the years I had to
work on giving myself grace and just understanding like everyone's
journey and their path is different. I don't have any
regrets of how I've made my career journey so far
because it was not traditional in any sense, but I
had to understand that this path was uniquely for me,
(38:33):
everything that I have done postgrad and even in college,
everything I've done has brought me to this moment right now.
The fact that I'm on this episode with you now
is because every step I took brought me here. So
just reminding yourself, it's hard to see the end goal
now when things are not looking right, but like when
you're there, when you're in the places where you manifested
(38:54):
to being, You're going to be like, oh my gosh,
everything I did to get up here, no matter how
or how painful it was, it worked out in the end,
because it always does. Like it literally always works out
in the end.
Speaker 1 (39:06):
I love all of this. So that close us out.
Where can we keep up with you? What are your
social media handles?
Speaker 3 (39:15):
Yes, so to keep up with me, you can find
me on TikTok and Instagram. At the ninth semester, as
well as on LinkedIn. At Jade Walters, I post weekly
early career tips and job opportunities. Right now, I'm in
a wave where I'm getting folks prepare for the fall,
so I'll be pushing out some weekly roundups of fall
(39:37):
internships apply for as well as for the new grads.
I'm still going to be sharing my entry level roles
that I come across as well as rotational programs for
them to check out. And you can also find me
on my website ww dot the ninth Semester dot com.
Speaker 1 (39:51):
Love definitely check out her LinkedIn. It's amazing. Well, thank
you so much day for talking with me today.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
All your insight.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
It was so great.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Yes, thank you, thank you so much for having me,
and I'm wishing everyone the best of luck on their
job journey. Like, if I could leave one piece of advice,
do not tell yourself no before anyone else can tell
you no. Like if you see an opportunity and you
really and truly feel like you can do this job, apply,
don't let imposter syndrome get in a way. Don't let
any negative thoughts get in a way. Put yourself out
(40:25):
there because you literally never know what could happen. Like,
don't tell yourself no before anyone else can tell you no.
Speaker 1 (40:30):
Period. I want to thank Jade once again for joining
us for this episode. Class is over for now, but
before we dismiss, here as some affirmations to take home
with you. The job that is meant for you is yours.
Any knows that you receive are simply to prepare you
for all of the abundance that is to come. Your
(40:53):
journey is uniquely yours, designed to lead you to the
best version of yourself. But see your plan now will
blossom into the most beautiful pathways you can imagine. To
learn more about the work Jada is doing, or to
do more research on this topic, be sure to visit
Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash tvgu This episode was
(41:15):
produced by Elise Ellis and Zaria Taylor. Editing is by
Dennison Bradford.
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