Fundamental business skills can provide you with the foundation to succeed in nearly any industry. One way to gain these skills is by taking an online certificate program.
Harvard Business School Online’s Credential of Readiness (CORe) program was designed to equip you with essential business skills. Are you wondering whether CORe is worth it and if it’s right for you? Here’s an overview of the program and the stories of five learners who benefitted from taking CORe.
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DOWNLOAD NOWWhat Is HBS Online’s CORe Program?
HBS Online’s Credential of Readiness (CORe) is an online three-course business essentials program taught by HBS faculty.
The program is comprised of three courses:
- Business Analytics taught by HBS Professor Jan Hammond
- Economics for Managers taught by HBS Professor Bharat Anand
- Financial Accounting taught by HBS Professor V.G. Narayanan
CORe is 10 to 17 weeks long, depending on your preferred format, and culminates in a final exam. Upon successful completion, you’ll earn a Credential of Readiness.
Through CORe, you’ll experience HBS Online’s signature learning model and immerse yourself in real-world business challenges, engage with a global network of peers, and apply your knowledge through polls, quizzes, and problem-solving exercises.
At the end, you leave with more than just your Credential of Readiness; here’s how taking CORe benefitted five learners.
The Benefits of CORe: 5 Student Stories
1. It Can Help Elevate Your Career
Pamela Raymond embodies the phrase “lifelong learner.” Currently a project and program management principal consultant at NTT DATA, she took CORe after several years of work experience and earning her master of business administration (MBA) as a way to solidify and expand her business knowledge.
“I know that things do change, and I wanted to brush up and reinforce that information,” Raymond says. “I also knew I was probably going to learn something new.”
After passing the exam and earning her credential, Raymond told her supervisor about her recent program completion and that she felt prepared to take on new responsibilities.
A few weeks later, she earned a promotion and a raise.
“CORe gave me the confidence to say, ‘This is what I want,’” Raymond says. “And to be able to articulate it and back it up. I can prove what I can offer.”
2. It Can Help You Start a Business and Make an Impact
When Cindy Nie realized the extent of the overburdened mental health system, she decided to do something about it.
Thus, One Healing Space was born: a startup aiming to provide secure, affordable online therapy sessions for individuals, couples, and families. The platform connects someone in need with a licensed therapist in Ontario, Canada, in as little as two hours.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Nie decided to expand One Healing Space’s offerings and introduced a peer-to-peer support network.
“We want to solve a problem,” Nie says, “and there are many solutions to it. Counseling is great for people who have that awareness and are OK talking with a licensed therapist, but there are people who aren’t aware, and there’s still a stigma around psychotherapy. That’s why we offer peer support. We just want people to feel supported.”
To build her knowledge and prepare for an MBA, Nie enrolled in CORe.
“The platform is very advanced,” Nie says, “and the knowledge I gained was extremely easy to apply. All three courses were very helpful in helping me build One Healing Space.”
Nie now leads the Toronto Chapter of the HBS Online Community and has hosted meetups and events to foster connection among local HBS Online learners.
“There’s one common thing about our Community members,” Nie says, “they care about self-growth. They love to meet with each other and learn from one another.”
3. It Can Help You Change Careers
For Nateenond “Boom” Supatpitak, aeronautical engineering seemed like the ideal career path—that is, until industry-wide security concerns made it difficult to find a job.
After a project management internship and increasing responsibilities in the project management space, Supatpitak decided to shift his career to business and applied for a role in business development and strategic partnerships—and got it.
“I realized I had no formal business training and couldn’t afford to stumble through learning on the job,” he says. “So, I did some quick research into local and online business programs and found Harvard Business School Online.”
Supatpitak enrolled in CORe to learn the business fundamentals to succeed in his new role, and went on to take three other HBS Online courses.
“One of the best things about HBS Online courses is that they forced me to think on my feet,” he says. “If you can’t justify your opinions in business, you won’t gain credibility, and it’s difficult to make an impact.”
Supatpitak is now taking his business education to the next level as an MBA candidate at HBS while working in a strategy role at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Related: 7 Business Skills Every Engineer Needs
4. It Can Help You Prepare for an MBA
Malachi Koop made the jump from aspiring pastor to business leader with the help of business education.
“The reason I wanted to be a pastor was really to help people,” Koop says. “That mission hasn’t changed, it just looks a lot different now.”
After trying his hand at running a social enterprise, Koop realized he needed foundational business skills if he was going to make a sustained difference in the world.
“One of my big takeaways was that I was too naive going into the process,” Koop says. “I hadn’t taken any business classes in college. It set me down this path of thinking really seriously about going back to school and getting my MBA.”
After taking CORe and launching another socially minded business with a friend, Koop accepted a role in university marketing and decided to further his learning.
“I initially decided to take CORe instead of an MBA,” Koop says. “But instead, HBS Online is what confirmed for me that I wanted to pursue an MBA. I was worried about being able to prove to an admissions committee that I had what it took from a quantitative perspective, but HBS Online gave me another data point on my resume to prove it wasn’t going to be an obstacle for me.”
Koop has since completed his MBA from Georgetown University and is now a senior consultant at EY-Parthenon in Washington, D.C., where he’s connected with members of the HBS Online Community.
Related: 10 Reasons It Makes Sense to Get an MBA
5. It Can Help You Pursue Your Passions
Dancing has always been Jenna Pollack’s dream. After earning a bachelor’s degree in dance performance from The Julliard School, she began her professional dance career in New York and Montreal.
Her dream was coming true, yet she felt at a disadvantage because of her lack of business knowledge. Negotiating contracts and speaking up for herself and other dancers were important to Pollack, so she enrolled in CORe.
“CORe gave me the skills to back up my ideas and get people to pay attention. With it, I feel much more confident in negotiations, vouching not only for my work but for the things I think need to change in the dance world,” she says. “Taking the course didn’t debunk my artistic intuitions or visions, but gave me a way of speaking about them that I feel has set me up to be taken more seriously.”
Pollack has since held choreography, directing, producing, and performing roles, and manages the business side of her arts career.
“I now have a way of thinking about an ever-evolving business plan, building budgets, and negotiating contracts,” she says, “and I can apply it to my career in the arts.”
Is CORe Right for You?
One thing you may notice about these stories is that no two learners’ journeys are exactly alike. No matter your background, an investment in CORe is an investment in yourself and your career.
Whether you want to advance, pursue an MBA, change careers, start your own company, or pursue your passions, the CORe program can provide you with the foundational business knowledge to achieve your goals.
Are you interested in learning more about HBS Online’s CORe program? Download our free flowcharts to determine which business essentials program aligns with your goals and discover which version of CORe is right for your schedule.
