For companies interested in posting jobs
Companies can work with students in various ways. Field studies provide second-year students with the opportunity to apply their skills to the real-world challenges facing companies while they earn academic credit. Learn more about posting a field study proposal.
If you are interested in working with students during the summer, or after graduation, visit the HBS Recruiting website.
For first-year students interested in summer internships
Students should find their own internship position and negotiate the terms before submitting their application for a Rock/Lebor Summer Fellowship. RC students looking for internship positions can view the postings on Career Hub (Login Required) by following these steps: under Job Search, select the box next to "Include HBS Coordinated Interviews," go to Advanced Search; choose "Yes" under the Start-Up category. Contact MBA Career & with any questions about this search process. Positions can also be found via the VentureLoop website (click on the "internships" tab), in addition to the traditional HBS sources.
RC students looking for internship positions should also view the postings on Career Hub (Login Required) by following these steps: under Job Search, select the box next to "Include HBS Coordinated Interviews," go to Advanced Search; choose "Yes" under the Start-Up category. Contact MBA Career & with any questions about this search process.
Note that many smaller companies may not consider posting a position at HBS and their recruiting process may be informal at best. Your approach should be to figure out the geography and industry you would like to work in (or any other criteria that will help you narrow down the universe of companies), get the names of those companies, and begin to contact these firms. Get Career Services advice on conducting a networked job search (Login Required). You might also find it helpful to meet with an MBA Career Coach to help you map out and stay on top of your networking and search action plan.
Watch the video (Login Required) from the 3/1/12 info session on the Rock/Lebor Entrepreneurial Summer Fellowships and panel discussion with second-year students on finding a job or working on your own business for the summer.
For second-year students looking for career positions
EC students seeking full time positions should also view the postings on Career Hub (Login Required). Note that you can now search companies in Career Hub by ‘number of employees’ as well as ‘revenue’ – as well as by industry, geography, etc. To search for a start-up, follow these steps: under Job Search, select the box next to "Include HBS Coordinated Interviews," go to Advanced Search; choose "Yes" under the Start-Up category. Contact MBA Career & with any questions about this search process.
There are many companies with interesting positions in Career Hub (Login Required). Many smaller companies and start-ups, however, do not post and securing a position with such a firm will require conducting a networked job search (Login Required). Again, it makes sense to think through the industry and geography where you want to work, and come up with a list of companies that fit your criteria. You might find it helpful to meet with an MBA Career Coach to help you map out and stay on top of your networking and search action plan.
Start-ups tend not to have formal “training” programs, and need people to hit the ground running, able to make a contribution as soon as they arrive. They will tend to focus less on your resume in general, and more on what specific tasks and accomplishments you have demonstrated your ability to achieve. Of course, one of the best ways is to “show by doing.” If you can do a field study, course project, or even a “free” piece of work for a firm, this is a great start. Your ability to succeed at getting this kind of role will depend , in part, on how well your past experience lines up with what you are trying to focus on, the kind of job you want, and the more tightly you can aim your course and work experience during your two years at HBS toward that objective, the higher your chances for success.
Students interested in social entrepreneurship may want to consider the Social Entrepreneurship Fellowship. This Fellowship is designed to support recent graduates launching social enterprises—nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid organizations with a central focus on creating social value. This pilot program provides seed funding to support one alumnus each year through a $25,000 fellowship, with priority given to alumni within five years of graduation. Visit the Social Enterprise Initiative website to learn more.