"HSA is a terrific training ground for future entrepreneurs. Students are accountable for strategies, budgets, sales, and operations. They hire, motivate, and fire employees. I wish all my MBAs students had this type of hands-on experience!"

- Thomas Eisenmann, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Why Join HSA?

What we do

HSA employs Harvard students as managers, assistant managers, and advertising associates, putting them in charge of their own businesses. From running daily operations to growing and expanding their agencies, members of the HSA management team are given both the responsibilities and the learning opportunities that come with running a business.

An overview of responsibilities

HSA managers, assistant managers, and advertising associates work 15-20 hours a week during the academic year, and full-time (40 hours a week) during the summer. The time commitments for project leaders, web developers, and graphic designers are determined by the project.

As a member of the HSA team, you'll learn to:

  • Prepare and execute a business plan and budget
  • Manage a team by overseeing a staff of employees
  • Analyze financial statements to make decisions about your business
  • Research new markets and possibilities in existing markets
  • Negotiate and establish relationships with clients and vendors
  • While much of what you learn is on the job, new HSA employees participate in an extensive training program starting in October. New managers train with outgoing managers, attend informative lectures specific to their agency or project, learn more about the corporate structure of the entire company, attend meetings with industry experts and board members.

Is HSA right for you?

Being part of the management team is a comprehensive work experience, which means HSA can be the right place for almost any student. Members of the HSA team come from a wide range of academic interests and extracurricular activities. Even if you are unsure of what you want to do after college – most students are – the skills you develop at HSA can help you wherever you find yourself after college. Whether you are interested in the sciences or the humanities, involved in a sport or a cultural organization, students who have worked at HSA are able to take what they learn here and apply it in virtually any setting.

While running your own business might seem intimidating at first, HSA is the first exposure many of us had to any business setting. No prior work experience is necessary to work at HSA – all you need to succeed is a desire to learn.

Benefits of joining HSA

In addition to gaining a valuable business experience by working for HSA, most students find that HSA benefits them in numerous other ways. By working for HSA, you will:

  • Earn $8,000 - $15,000 a year.
  • Work with your peers in a casual, yet professional environment.
  • Get to know people all over campus.
  • Build an impressive resume that will open up opportunities for the best jobs after college.

HSA also opens doors to a wealth of networks, from recent alumni to successful board members and other valuable contacts made while working here:

  • HSA alumni are among the most successful Harvard graduates, and can be found at companies ranging from campus recruiters like Goldman Sachs and McKinsey & Co. to Fortune 500 companies like Proctor & Gamble and GE.
  • HSA connects its management team to successful businessmen and women who sit on its Board of Directors, whether through its mentorship program or through professional training sessions.
  • HSA management team members work with leading national companies, building valuable relationships with professionals in the real world.