Participating in the pilot cohort of Managing Your Career Development was a whole new experience for me. When I got selected, I was enthusiastic about the topics we'd be covering and excited to take part in a course held entirely in the HBX Live virtual studio, but the course far exceeded my expectations.

Here are four ways the course prepared me to navigate my career more effectively:

1. It Moves You!

This is not just a class where you show up to just sit and listen. It spurs you into action. You are asked to work together with other students and to reflect on your own life experiences. You come across many familiar situations in the cases you study, but also new ones that encourage you to problem solve in an intelligent way.

2. The Real Class Experience

Despite being held in a virtual classroom, Managing Your Career Development gives you a real classroom experience and face-to-face interaction with a number of top-notch Harvard Business School faculty members.

From absorbing insights from different professors, to interacting with your fellow students in discussions and always being prepared for the possibility of a cold call, it is an exciting and engrossing way to learn! It's important to give the class session your full attention, because it's easy to miss valuable information otherwise.

3. Diversity in a Nutshell

Each session is taught by a different professor with their own style of teaching and topic of expertise. This diversity in a short time span makes the experience unique. It also forces you to broaden your mindset and to take all different aspects of each class with you to the next one.

4. A Network to Build Upon

Most students from my cohort who participated in Managing Your Career Development are at a certain point in their career where they want a change or are ready to take the next steps. This is a powerful network. Not only do you interact live with each other in class, but there are also discussions outside of class to prepare for the next session. You learn a lot from the others and also about yourself. It's challenging but fulfilling.

This was a valuable experience, and I'm so glad to have had it. I apply all that I learned time and time again, and the course has enabled me to take the next steps in my career.

When I got my acceptance letter for HBX CORe, I did not know what to expect from the program. Aside from significantly enhancing my knowledge about the fundamentals of business, CORe also grew my personal network. Don't underestimate how powerful this is! Here are some ways I was able to meet new people thanks to CORe:

1. Getting social

After you get accepted into CORe, you have the opportunity to join your cohort's Facebook group. Not only do you get to share knowledge with your peers, but you also get to know your classmates from all around the world on a personal level. You will learn how everyone lives and works all over the world, what opinions they have, and they will definitely make you laugh from time to time!

2. On the course platform

Facebook isn't the only way to reach out to your peers; the CORe platform is set up in such a way that everyone fills out a profile with professional and educational details. You can also include social media handles as well as personal information - everyone is free to choose how much they want to share. Apart from that, there is significant interaction on the course platform with fellow students - you're even graded on your participation! You quickly get a sense for what others are good at and how they can help you, and vice versa.

3. Face-to-face meetings

I had the wonderful opportunity to travel all the way from Amsterdam in the Netherlands to Harvard Business School for HBX ConneXt - an event with past HBX participants as well as the HBX faculty and staff. Meeting fellow HBX students face-to-face helped me to make better connections with my peers as well as to grow my network even more.

There weren't many students from my cohort in the Netherlands, so I hadn't had the opportunity to have any face-to-face meetings with my peers prior to coming to ConneXt. However, if there are HBX peers in your area, make sure you meet them. People who are part of HBX CORe are intelligent and have incredibly interesting backgrounds that you might only get to know about if you meet up in person.

4. Reaching out after the course

Even though I took CORe a year ago, I am still in touch with the friends I met through the program and am still growing my network. After working intensively together for months online, we are still just a click away if we want ask our cohort for help or just share a nice experience or success.

5. Past and future students

My network has continued to grow in the past year as I have connected with more and more people who took, are taking, or will take part in an HBX course. HBX offers multiple cohorts every year, and I've heard from a number of past participants and prospective students who want to know more about my experiences, share knowledge, or set up partnerships.

There are plenty of informal groups that have formed in order to connect with participants across different cohorts of CORe and I've even heard from some companies who saw my connection with HBX and wanted to share professional opportunities with me.

When you take CORe, you show that you are taking an extra step beyond your busy job, school work, and life to expand your knowledge or help make a decision about your future. People see that and connect with you. I am happy to tell everyone who asks that HBX CORe is not just another online course, but a great one that simulates a real-life class experience online!

HBX CORe is a great program, but all that studying on top of an already busy life can bring stress. It is natural to feel stress from time to time, especially if an exam or an important deadline is coming up. But what's the best way to survive that stress and also maintain productivity?

These 7 tips from HBX CORe student Dr. Nupur Kohli will help you with that!

1. Manage your time wisely

We sometimes think we know how to plan our time, but at the last moment it seems we did not plan well. How does this happen? Often we do not take the possibility of unexpected situations into account, or we do not follow our planning well. Another aspect is that we did not accurately estimate how much work we can accomplish in a certain amount of time. Pay attention to all this!

2. Work in a healthy environment

Working in a room with good lighting and fresh air will allow you to be both more relaxed and energetic. Also pay attention to how much background noise there is in your work environment and what distracts you. Remove the noise and distractions, see what feels best in your workplace, and your productivity will go up.

3. Take scheduled breaks and time to relax

We may believe that we take enough breaks to relax, but when do you really take these? Are you aware of when you take them and when you actually relax? If you are not aware, then schedule your breaks and time to relax as if this is a very important appointment. Mark it on your calendar and make sure that you do something in the break that relieves your stress.

4. Drink enough water and have healthy eating habits

“I drink enough!” many people may say. But what do you drink? And what is enough? It is best to drink approximately 8 glasses of water a day. If we don’t drink enough, we feel tired faster. Also, maintain a healthy eating habit. This will make sure you won’t feel sluggish. Do not eat heavy meals during the day when you have to work and always make fruit and vegetables part of your meals.

5. Exercise

In general, you should aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. This could be a walk, jogging, a work-out, or playing sports, but your body should be moving. Exercise will relieve your stress as it will loosen tension in your muscles and releases hormones that make you feel more relaxed.

6. Give yourself small rewards

Whenever you do something good, you should be rewarded! Why? Giving yourself a reward can be a motivation to complete tasks and it is something you will look forward to. A reward will confirm that you actually accomplished something. No matter how small, it will make you feel good about yourself and will keep you going, relieving stress, and improving productivity.

7. Get enough sleep

Perhaps the most important tip: make sure you get enough sleep! It is recommended to sleep 7 to 8 hours a night, certainly not less than 6 hours. If you get less sleep, your concentration goes down and you are less alert. You might need substances to keep you awake and it will not only have an effect on your mood, but also on your motivation. You will feel more tense and it will be harder to do your work or study. If needed, take a short nap during the day.

These are 7 important tips to follow if you want to feel happier, more relaxed, and more productive. Most of all, it is important to keep listening to your body.

Good luck with bringing the tips into practice!