A search plan directs your search, allowing you to focus on associated tasks with increasing clarity. You’re not required to have a search plan fully developed before starting a search, but this setup will increase your effectiveness and efficiency.
Below are 3 steps you can take to get started, followed by some tips to dig deeper.
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Identify Target Market
Identifying a target market provides a focus in your search, allowing you to narrow in on the field(s) and organizations you potentially want to work in. Essentially, it is one sentence that tells your audience what you are looking for. In addition, this task makes it less likely you’ll get stuck or overwhelmed by the unlimited possibilities.
Actions:
- Start with clarifying what you want, specifically what you want, like, and are good at.
- Steve Dalton’s 2-Hour Job Search methodology can help you think through who should be on your target list. See more under the Create a Target List action step.
- In her Targeting Your Search for Best Success presentation, Dr. Dina Requena, MEMP instructor and successful engineer teaches how to customize your approach to align with critical business needs and challenges.
- Consider possible opportunities that align with what you like, want, and are good at. Use of employment data from Engineering Master’s programs and departments may be helpful here as you see first steps other students have taken.
- Find hidden opportunities in news and trends.
- Conduct research, including talking to people within the market to determine if it is a target market to pursue further.
- Investigate identified markets further to confirm your continued focus or eliminate them.
Remember, it’s normal to change your mind as you learn more. Career coaches can help you find your inner wisdom in times of transition, so make an appointment if you would like to talk.
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Have a One-Sentence Headline
A one-sentence headline concisely describes what you like and are good at to your target market. This headline allows you to quickly introduce yourself so that others know what you have to offer while sharing some ways you can be helpful.
Actions:
- Use this worksheet to begin developing your one-sentence headline.
- Begin noticing how others concisely describe themselves on sites like LinkedIn, noting what works and what doesn’t work.
- Talk to your friends, family, faculty, Career Coaches, or Communications Consultant to see how your one-sentence headline resonates with an audience
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Create a Target List
A target list is a critical search productivity tool that provides an organized way to move from identifying your target market(s) to naming the specific organizations you should invest research and networking efforts in.
Actions:
- We recommend the LAMP list method for developing a target list. It was created by Steve Dalton, author of the 2 Hour Job Search and Program Director for Fuqua’s Daytime MBA Career Services. We recommend starting with this method but feel free to develop your own as you learn more about your priorities and constraints.
- Use these modules to learn why and how to build a Target List.
Dig Deeper with the following steps
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Actions for all Master’s in Engineering Students
- Check out timelines some other students have used during their search. View this Box collection, including various search timelines students have used to secure internships, jobs, and Ph.D. program acceptances. This information can inform your search plan, although please know that your experience will be unique.
- Create and implement a comprehensive search strategy using author, Duke employee, and former engineer Steve Dalton’s recipe for a 2-Hour Job Search.
- Utilize the Project Plan method explained by Orville Pierson in The Unwritten Rules of the Highly Effective Job Search. This is another approach recommended by your career coaches.
- Improve your plan. Already have a search plan? Read this 5 part series to optimize your existing strategy.
- Connect with a career coach to discuss your search plan and questions you’ve developed along the way.
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Extra Actions for International Students (who want to work in the USA)
Learn about unique aspects of the search you will need to navigate if you plan to pursue work in the United States of America. This content is for international students who are here on a Visa.
- Learn about the international job search for students in the USA on a Visa using resources like Interstride.com, myvisajobs.com, and Redbus2us. Interstride has helpful videos, an H1B database to show you who sponsors Visas, and many other resources.
- Understand the process for using your OPT and CPT. Duke Visa Services can help. Check out their webpage for guides and videos that explain the process and contacts you can reach with questions.
- Identify employers who sponsor H1-B Visas. This is not required, but can be helpful to prioritize organizations more likely to sponsor a Visa later, if needed. As you seek long-term employment options, you may be curious… does this organization have a history of sponsoring H-1B Visas? The Ultimate H1B Sponsor Checker extension gives you information on an organization’s recent history of H-1B sponsorship. It works on the Chrome browser when searching for jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed.
- Do not necessarily exclude smaller employers or startups from your search. Note that some smaller companies may not have sponsored Visas, but it doesn’t mean they are unwilling. Sometimes they do not know the rules, and you have an opportunity to self-advocate. For example, Interstride has an Employer Hiring Guide in their Resources section that you can show employers to help them understand the process.
