Professor Kevin Sharer, former CEO of Amgen, outlines the three big considerations to keep in mind as you think about the next stage of your career. The new year starts. For the class of 2017, the new, challenging, and hopefully rewarding world of HBS is coming into focus. For the class of 2016, the freedom,…
Starwood CEO Frits van Paasschen Worth his Weight in “Gold”
Spangler Auditorium filled quickly last Wednesday with students eager to hear Starwood Hotels & Resorts CEO Frits van Paasschen talk about “The Age of Great Change,” hosted by the Hospitality & Travel Industry Club. Prior to his role at Starwood, van Paasschen held several executive positions across various functions at national brand-led corporations like Nike…
Prof. Howard Stevenson’s Five-Year Plan
One of the best things about this school is the quality of speakers that we have access to. Immelt, Dimon and Dalio come and go to vast crowds. On Tuesday, the Entrepreneurship Club gave us a talk with Professor Howard Stevenson, the father of entrepreneurship at HBS, talking about his approach to entrepreneurship and to…
The Joys of Job Searching
Well, our long, glorious winter break is over and its back to reality – snow, recruiting, and those things we like to call classes (right). When I was trying to think about where to begin the column for 2013, there were so many things to chose from: the awesomeness of FIELD 2 (go Ghana!); the…
Foursquare CEO Advises Aspiring Entrepreneurs During Visit to iLab
As Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley addressed a group of MBAs in the iLab last Wednesday, he singled out one individual in the crowd. The student, whom Crowley did not know, was proudly donning a signature black Google fleece. After a bit of playful jeering, Crowley changed his tone: “But seriously, you’re probably really smart, I’d…
My Decision to Postpone EC Year
This summer I decided to take a year-long leave of absence from HBS. My motivations are simple: time and opportunity. It started during a conversation I had with Grace [Choi (OI)] about 6 months ago when she told me that HBS professors and alumni were much more willing to help students than other alumni, and…
My Summer in Kabul
Can you even call Afghanistan an “emerging market”? Hopefully, eventually, it will emerge. As I reflect on my summer internship with Roshan, Afghanistan’s leading telecommunications operator, one thing clearly stands out: I learned more in the 10 weeks in Kabul than I did in the three years working prior to HBS. If you’re considering an internship…
An Inside Look at Trunk Club
Last summer, I had the opportunity to intern with Trunk Club, a men’s clothing service that makes it easy to find great clothes without any shopping. It was my first experience working at a start-up; when I joined, the company had just hit their first full year of sales, and was growing quickly. What makes…
What Do You Want to Do?
I was quite jealous of the investment bankers and consultants who had know for months where they were headed and were working their way through the pre signing bonuses in Colombia, Costa Rica and anywhere the sun shone. In my section of 90, there were 3 of us, entrepreneurs and that is the way it…
Summer Profiles
ECs share their perspectives on internships, locations and industries With Hell Week still fresh on your mind and interview season now in full swing, we at The Harbus know you’ve got many big decisions ahead of you and wish to provide some firsthand insight from those who came before you. Whether you’re hoping to try…
Alumni Perspective – Jessica Gelman
HBS has a rich and diverse base of alumni. In this column, we speak with the alumni who have been out in the real world and bring their experiences and perspectives to our readers. This week we spoke with Jessica Gelman (HBS 2002) who went into the unconventional realm of sports and combined her passion…
Rugby Player Profile
Title: Wizard of the Wing, Master of the Match, Humble Servant to Double B (Godfather of Rugby), Director of Sponsorship Height/Weight:6 foot, 200 lbs. Position: Outside Center or Wing. Likes: Wearing my camo snuggie, face chugging in nursing homes, and going shirtless in the Harvard Sq 7-Eleven. Dislikes: Channel surfing and accidentally landing on an…
Real Partners of HBS – Partners On The Payroll
Are you wondering why that administrator looks so familiar? Do you swear you’ve seen that partner around campus before? Would it be impossible to imagine a HBS staff member at your section retreat? Well, it’s quite possible a partner has emailed you about your Prematriculation checklist, set up a career coach meeting for you, or…
J-Term: Decisions, Decisions…
Are you confused about the difference between an IXP, a GIX, a Trek and a Student-Led Trip? Do you have a major case of FOMO when it comes to your J-Term options? We’re here to help you make the most of your month off. In this article, we’ve briefly outlined your different J-Term options and…
Turn Your 400 Facebook Friends into 20,000 Professional Connections
Young Americans are struggling to find jobs in a difficult economy; the Millennial (18 – 29yrs) unemployment rate of nearly 14 percent is approaching levels that the US has not seen since the Great Depression (Labor Bureau stats). Even students at HBS are affected by this with many of our peers not getting the jobs…
Where in the World did you Spend your Summer–Daniel Koh (OE)
What: Major League Baseball Where: NY What did you do this summer?I worked in the Labor Relations and Economics group at Major League Baseball in New York City. Half of my summer involved determining player salary recommendations for the 30 Major League Baseball teams, specifically for their relief pitchers. The other half involved financial modeling…
Where in the World did you Spend your Summer–Olga Savintseva (OB)
What: Novartis Pharma AG Where: Basel, Switzerland What did you do this summer?I spent summer at Business Development & Licensing (BD&L) at a leading pharmaceutical company Novartis in its global headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. The function I worked in is important because about 70% of total company’s sales come from in-licensed products. My particular role…
Need Information? Think Baker Library!
The world of business information is at your fingertips 24/7. ÿHarvard Libraries offer access to a vast array of information resources online, on the Web and in print.ÿ However, sometimes it’s not easy to find and evaluate the information you need.ÿ ÿ Whether you’re new or just need a refresher – Baker Library Services offers…
Meet the New SA Executive Team
Welcome back! As we mentioned in our conversation with the ECs last week, we wanted to reiterate to you in print what it is the SA actually does and how we can be helpful to you this year. To do this, we thought who better to hear it from other than our Executive Team: We…
Lessons Learned – Starting a New Job
I had a lot of “first day on the job” events in my life and got better at them as time went on. ÿFirst impressions are important – my worst was showing up 3 weeks after my start date with full leg cast for a broken knee-cap, and the best was being “reassigned” back to…
Section J Charity Auction
Joe Benevento bid $4,700 on a section mate’s gracious donation of “1% of his gross earnings in 10 years”. Why you might ask? Read on! The sun wasn’t down yet but the J-Crew (i.e. New J) already had their sunglasses on in preparation for their annual Section Charity Auction.ÿ On Saturday, April 25, 120+ members…
The Politically Incorrect Guide
For some RCs it is the end of the Great Internship Hunt, while for others that great wave of relief and exhaustion is still elusive. Thanks to the Great Recession this year, it appears “hunt” is a rather apt word for the elaborate courtship that HBS students perform each year. But don’t despair, especially if…
SABA’s Annual India Conference 2010
SABA’s annual India Conference on March 6 featured some very influential speakers from India and a wide variety of industry panels addressing the most pressing issues in the country. The annual India Business Conference held by the South Asian Business Association (SABA) took place on March 6 and featured influential businessmen and policy makers from…
RC Summer Recruiting
As our RC class returns from Spring Break, somehow more exhausted than when we left, it is time for about half of us to get back at the job search. Don’t worry – good things will happen if you put in genuine effort. “Me, not worry? But I had 5 interviews and not a single…
Lessons Learned – Finding a Business to Buy
I learned a lot about prospecting and persistence in my process of finding a business to buy. ÿ Following the now popular HBS ÿ”zip” code theory of career location, I drew a 50-mile radius around my home in the Boston area for a geographic search.ÿ After purchasing a directory of companies in that area, I…
Emerging from the Bubble
HBS runs an essay competition each spring for graduating ECs asking them “what will you do with your one wild and precious life?” It was a project created by a graduate in 2002 based on a line of the poem The Summer Day by Mary Oliver. The deadline to submit a response is March 8…
An Interview With HBS Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Janet Kraus
This article is the fourth in a series of interviews with this year’s Harvard Business School Entrepreneurs-in-Residence. Sponsored by the HBS Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program invites accomplished entrepreneurs to commit to either a semester or full academic year working with faculty and students on campus. Growing up in Connecticut, Janet Kraus’…
BOOK REVIEW – Unposted Letter
“700 million sperms dart from the man towards that one stationary egg in the woman, and only the healthiest and fastest sperm makes it.” This sentence is taken not from a biology textbook, but rather from a motivational book Unposted Letter authored by spiritual guru T.T. Rangarajan. “.So every human being is that winning sperm…
Emerging from the Bubble
This week, as I was working with my co-chairs on the Social Enterprise Conference – Behrad Mahdi (OE) and Jacob Donnelly (NH) – we started chatting about the things that might be useful to think about as we reenter the real world. Behrad and Section OE had some recent alums join them for their Viewpoints…
Dean Jay Light to Retire
On December 2, Dean Jay Light announced his plans to retire at the end of the academic year after a career that spanned 40 prolific years at Harvard Business School. Light commented that he has been considering retirement for some time now and that the decision was not precipitated by any specific event. University President…