Have you applied to numerous internships and jobs and heard nothing? This can be frustrating and draining. Take it as a sign to have a reality check with your search plan and application documents.
Questions for Feedback on Your Search Plan
- Refocus by expanding or contracting your target market. What are growth areas in x field? What challenges do you see for x in the future? What skills are essential for success in x?
- Refine your one-sentence headline. In career chats, test it out as your introduction and ask for feedback. Is it in your LinkedIn summary? Ask others: What is your takeaway from my one sentence headline? What did you wish you knew more about?
- Refresh your Target List. In career chats, ask about new organizations to add to your Target List: Knowing what you know about me now, are there organizations you would suggest I check out? What organizations do you think are innovative right now in x? If you didn’t work for x where would you work?
This is just a starting point…be creative in asking questions that help you adapt your search plan accordingly and are individual to you!
Questions & Template for Feedback on Your Applications Documents
Ask individuals you have an existing relationship; someone already in your community for feedback. Here are some questions you can ask, to gain insights into how others perceive your documents:
- If you take a quick look, what are your top three takeaways?
- What kind of position does it look like I’m applying for and why?
- What stands out to you the most about my document? (This could be highlight and/or lowlight.)
- What could be improved?
- Are there specific things I’m missing if I’m interested in x?
An example to get you started on making this type of request:
- Since we last spoke, I used your advice and did/learned [reflect something you did or learned because of your previous conversation]. Recently I have [quick status update]. Would you mind taking a look at my resume to see if you have any suggestions?
Throughout your search ask for feedback from career coaches, faculty, GCIP writing consultants (Eng. Master’s & PhD Students), and other Duke advocates to edit and customize your documents iteratively for your target market.
While searching for an internship or a job we often want to go faster to reach the finish line, however, there is value in pausing to reflect and adapt your target market, strategy, and documents based on the feedback/advice from trusted sources and self-reflection. Feedback is so valuable in the search process, it is one of the 8 Steps for Search Success for Engineering Master’s students.
