Two 2019 UNC/NC State BME graduates, Allie Mitzak and Grace Cronin, are hosting The BME Grad Podcast to help job seeking BME students understand industry job roles. They also provide BME-focused advice on topics such as networking, the job search process, interviews, job applications and resumes.
The podcast evolved out of weekly zoom calls Mitzak and Cronin were hosting in December 2020 for job and internship seeking BME juniors and seniors. “We set up these calls because we had the privilege of being able to experience internships and networking events in-person when we were in college. We got to meet and work with people in different job roles. We were able to see the different responsibilities of departments in companies and how they interact with each other. With everything being remote now due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we thought it might be useful to provide these insights to students that didn’t have the chance to see them up close before beginning the job search,” said Cronin.
After several successful sessions with groups of BME students, they started recording. “In addition to providing advice on interviews, networking, and job searching, we started bringing on guests. We’d ask recent BME grads from the program or working in RTP to come on the show and interview. We wanted to provide an in-depth picture of what their job title meant, what they did everyday, and their company type and dynamics. We thought it might be helpful for the audience to hear this from BMEs close in age to them, that can bridge the gap between what they knew in college and what they know now,” said Mitzak. From just 10 episodes, the two have connected with over 30 students in the Joint BME department, and more BMEs from all around the world through sharing their podcast on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Since the start of the podcast in January 2021, Mitzak and Cronin have hosted guests working in Product Engineering, Manufacturing, Project Management, Marketing, Clinical, Regulatory, and Entrepreneurship roles. They have also featured subject matter experts in interviewing and resume writing. “We hope to keep up the same interview-style episodes with recent grads, but increase our mix by hosting more subject matter experts and also recording some ‘grass-roots advice’ episodes. We want to expose the mistakes and learnings ourselves, recent grads, and soon-to-be grads have experienced in the job search process, so each class of BMEs gets sharper,” said Mitzak. “We are so grateful for the wide support of the students and guests that have shaped what the podcast has become, and we hope to keep the momentum going this spring and summer,” said Cronin.
The BME Grad Podcast can be found on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic.