If you did not purchase this book directly from www.applyingtohbs.com, you can still receive the multiple useful HBS Admissions bonuses that come with the book, including Ben’s own HBS application resume and two Excel tools that help you organize your application process and decide which business school is right for you.
Here is the download link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15229468/HBS%20Admissions%20Bonuses.zip
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Regardless of your background, the minute you step on campus, a dizzying array of internship opportunities will be at your doorstep. HBS students are lucky because HBS is the only school with enough clout to keep firms off campus until later in the Fall. (Many schools’ internship recruiting processes start in the first weeks of school!) That said, it is still crucial to start thinking early about how to spend your time over the next Summer because the recruiting process is very involved, and it tends to sneak up on you.
My recommendation is to use your internship as an exploratory period for something that you’re interested in or might not have the opportunity to do otherwise. The internship is your golden opportunity to embark on a pursuit of a new dream with no real risk. While this is uncommon, you may even consider two internships over the Summer. I had a friend who interned at both Goldman Sachs and Boston Consulting Group (5 weeks each), for example.
In order to start honing in on the internship recruiting processes of which you want to be a part, you should immediately start networking and attending informational sessions. Seek out classmates who worked in your company or industry of interest. Read all of the HBS resources widely. Attend the industry 101 sessions your section will put on.
It is important to start early, as the internship recruiting processes are time-consuming. For typical industries like consulting and finance, you literally have a multi-month courtship filled with info sessions, networking events, coffee chats, follow-up phone calls, thank-you notes, and everything else that comes with the territory. It’s no small endeavor, so limiting the number of companies you choose to pursue can save you precious time.
As you would expect, HBS graduates do very well on the job market every year. Fully 90% of graduates get hired within three months of graduating with a base salary of over $100,000. Notably, 34% end up in financial services, and 24% in consulting.
You can review official HBS statistics here: www.hbs.edu/about/statistics/mba.html.
You can find even more detailed information here: www.hbs.edu/recruiting/mba/data-and-statistics/employment-statistics.html.
Much of what I’ve written about the internship applies to the job search as well. If anything, it is even more arduous of a process, especially if you are conducting a networked job search (doing it on your own, essentially) rather than using HBS’s formal processes on campus. One important phenomenon to be aware of is the herd mentality around a hot industry every year. One year, venture capital might be hot; the next it’s consulting. It’s easy to fall into the trap of following the trend. Don’t do it. The more certain you are about your career vision and your values, the narrower (and less stressful) a job search you can conduct.
One final note is that HBS has a vast set of helpful resources to help you navigate both the internship and job search processes. Career coaches, psychological evaluations, info sessions, practice interviews, industry and function guides, networking events, and easy-to-use online systems are only the tip of the iceberg. Godspeed!
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Networking opportunities are unparalleled at HBS. You may never be in the company of such a diversity of intelligent and ambitious people ever again!
Strive to network broadly and deeply. This means being pretty intentional and active with your social calendar. Attend ethnic food nights, religious functions, club and conference events, happy hours, and more.
Inevitably, you will experience what HBS students call FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to one extent or another. Don’t pay too much attention to this feeling. All students are conducting a tough balancing act between academics, extracurriculars, and social functions. Just recognize that this balancing act is part of the experience.
Strive for authenticity. One common complaint is that there are too many opportunities to socialize on a surface-level and not enough opportunities to form more meaningful relationships. I encourage you to look for one-on-one opportunities to interact with people. My section also did a small-group dinner series (4-6 people) to help in this regard.
It’s also worth noting that you should avoid trying to prove you deserve to be there. If you were admitted, it was with good reason, and those reasons will be divulged naturally in due course. Don’t be the braggart of the new class.
Finally, don’t be the guy who clearly is only spending his time with the powerful, rich, and influential (or people that might be as such in the future). This is rare, but it does happen, and seemingly unbeknownst to those individuals, they tend to be ridiculed harshly when they’re not around.
Network with Professors. Even though you see your professors on a near-daily basis, it is easy to let the semester go by without engaging them personally. You should make it a point to go to every professor’s office hours at least once. For professors you click with, grab a regular coffee and/or consider doing research with them during your second year. Don’t forget to go out of your way to meet professors with whom you didn’t actually have class as well! The knowledge and experience of HBS professors is indispensable and could prove hugely helpful to you in your career search or other endeavors.
Network with the Administration. The Dean held a weekly breakfast with students when I was at HBS, and he is always open to meeting and interacting with students. Don’t forget to pop your head into other administrators’ offices on the 2nd floor of Spangler either. They’re a great and warm group of people with many pearls of wisdom among them.
Network with Alumni. HBS has hands-down the largest and most influential alumni network of all business schools. While there will always be some variability in the responsiveness on a person-to-person basis with a network that large and diverse, I’ve found that alumni are largely very responsive when you reach out as a student. The key is to have a legitimate reason to reach out. Class projects and informational interviews are good starting places. When I was doing a project in Haiti, I reached out to alumni in the top ranks of major retailers. Within days, I was on the phone with CEO’s, SVP’s and other executives from the likes of Walmart, Target, Trader Joe’s, and others.
Network Across Schools. Don’t get caught in the HBS bubble! Remember that there are thousands of students at other schools who are refreshingly non-HBS types. Make it a point to attend the sometimes more obscure events that bring together students across Harvard schools and outside of Harvard as well.
Network with Executive Education Students. Finally, don’t forget about events held in conjunction with Executive Education participants. These folks are typically mid-career executives representing a vast variety of industries and countries who come to HBS for a series of seminars usually centered on a learning topic such as “Using Metrics to Drive Performance”. However, they also come to HBS for the networking opportunities, and this includes graduate students. You never know who you might meet!
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