Brandeis students help launch podcast

Navigating the transition from college to the professional world, one episode at a time

Professor Andy Molinsky (back row center) with members of his podcast team. Back row: Kevin Dikdan '20 and Manas Maniar '19. Front row: Jordan Brodie ‘19, Yuechen Ta '21 and Ali Carney '19.

Like most college seniors, Jordan Brodie ‘19 is thinking about the future.

Brodie double majored in business and philosophy in part because he believes a broad academic background will serve him well as a professional.

“It’s been a great experience,” he said. “But now I’m faced with a choice. How do I know which path to take?”

A new podcast launching this week just might give an extra boost of confidence to Brodie and others embarking on new careers.

Created at Brandeis International Business School (IBS), From the Dorm Room to the Board Room seeks to help students and young professionals navigate the transition from college to the professional world by offering stories, insight and advice from some of the world’s top entrepreneurs and business professionals.

Host Andy Molinsky, a professor of international management and organizational behavior, first came up with the idea for a podcast while researching the challenges facing new members of the workforce. Through in-depth interviews with 50 recent college graduates, he identified a series of common workplace hurdles and potential solutions. But to reach his target audience, Molinsky knew he had to get creative.

“Students today are consuming information in different ways,” said Molinsky. “I thought a podcast would be a great medium because it's so focused on storytelling.”

To help attract young listeners, Molinsky is tapping the talents and insight of Brandeis undergraduates Brodie, Ali Carney '19, Manas Maniar '19, Kevin Dikdan '20 and Yuechen Ta '21. In addition to promoting the podcast on campus, the unofficial From the Dorm Room to the Board Room street team is playing an active role by selecting guests for each episode and coming up with suggested interview questions for Molinsky.

In this week’s inaugural episode, Molinsky speaks with Jim DiCicco, CEO of lifestyle beverage brand KITU Super Coffee and a former contestant on the popular TV series Shark Tank. Upcoming podcast guests include the cofounder of travel website KAYAK, senior managers at Google and LinkedIn, and tech entrepreneurs specializing in everything from psychology to startups to social justice.

“We've handpicked these guests, which is awesome in its own right,” said Brodie. “But it’s been really rewarding because they’re doing this because they genuinely want college students to be successful and learn from their own experiences.”

For Maniar, who also graduates this spring, it’s important for the podcast guests to share all sides of their professional journeys, not just the successes.

“There's a lot of pressure on college students,” he said. “What we really care about is their struggles. When you’re faced with a career challenge, it’s important to be able to relate to successful people who have gone through something similar.”

Dikdan, a junior, said he’s already using tips from the podcast interviews to market himself and build out his professional network. His biggest takeaway so far? Careers are rarely linear, and come with many twists, turns and unexpected opportunities.

“It’s easy to get nervous because you can’t foresee what’s next,” he said. “But so many of our guests’ career-defining moments sort of came out of nowhere or happened very organically. Knowing this really puts all that uncertainty in perspective.”