Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

http://www.harvard.edu/

Founded in 1636, Harvard is America’s oldest institution of higher learning. Its mission is to advance new ideas and promote enduring knowledge. Harvard fulfills this mission through the instruction and research carried out by its 10 degree-awarding schools, also known as faculties, and the programs and collections of allied institutions such as Radcliffe, the Harvard University Art Museums, and the Arnold Arboretum.

Understanding the Culture @ Harvard: To an outsider, Harvard’s storied campus, with its centuries-old trees and ivy clad walls, might seem quiet, perhaps even sleepy. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it’s a crucible of intellectual activity, research, knowledge creation, learning, and teaching. Harvard’s historic campus in Cambridge, with its Georgian and classical architecture as well as campuses in the Allston section of Boston and the Longwood Medical Area are always buzzing and vibrant – even after hours. In this environment, results matter and creativity flourishes within groups, teams, and departments.

Finding your sense of mission @ Harvard: For many people the most compelling aspect of work at Harvard is the sense of mission that permeates every organization on campus.

Whether it is researchers unraveling the history of life on earth, seeking an understanding of organizational dynamics or economics, pursuing breakthroughs in biomedical science that could lead to a cure for AIDS, or simply helping to give students the best possible preparation for their lives and careers, they enjoy the feeling of going to work every day knowing what they do is truly important and worthwhile. It’s a feeling that motivates and inspires them and often makes them want to spend their whole career at Harvard!

Discover community @ Harvard: Harvard is a place of contrasts. The very old and the very new exist comfortably side by side. Ancient texts and artifacts on display in a university museum or library share the campus with powerful computers, the esoteric apparatus of physics research and experiments extending the boundary of biomedical science.

The people you encounter are equally diverse. Of course, there are some individuals who fit the stereotype of an American Ivy League institution but the majority of the students, faculty, and staff are more diverse in age, race, ethnicity, nationality, experience and outlook than you would be likely to find almost anywhere else.

But despite this diversity of experience and outlook, Harvard’s people are united by a culture that strives for excellence while at the same time supporting the needs of the individual and his or her family. They also share an institutional value system that both attracts and nurtures talent. A career at Harvard can be linear — with promotions following a traditional sequence — or less traditional. For instance, it is not uncommon for individuals who have taken an entry level position to later progress to a job in mid-level management – or even follow their talents into an entirely different field.

Professional development is helped by generous tuition reimbursement programs, numerous opportunities for on-campus learning, and professional development and leadership training programs produced by the Center for Training and Development.

Finding a reason to work @ Harvard: While everyone who comes to work at Harvard has their own motivations, most would tell you it has to do with the opportunity to grow and excel. That’s especially true for scientists, researchers and others with highly specialized skills. They know that at Harvard they can continue to learn and will have the greatest opportunities to pursue their goals and dreams. Recognized preeminence, world-renowned facilities and people, a vibrant and exciting work environment, and a beautiful campus also help them make the decision to commit to Harvard.

Your future @ Harvard: Harvard’s ability to attract people for the whole of their careers is a source of strength. As Harvard President Lawrence Summers has noted, Harvard is “a place where the authority of ideas matters more than the idea of authority. It is a place where everyone’s view counts, a place where people can have the resources they need to fulfill their potential, and where people are able to come to work excited each morning because they’re being given new opportunities to do new things in new ways.”

Harvard today is focused on helping its employees become “future-ready” – technically literate, open to a global perspective, and ready to support and advance the University’s evolving mission.

Harvard Career Forum 2007
June 12th, 4-6:30 PM
Find out more: http://employment.harvard.edu/careers/careerforum.shtml