Job Search Strategy

Where to Start?

Identifying your skills and experiences, what you’d like to do in your job/career, the type of organization you want to work for, and/or where you want to work are all part of the Job Search Process. Before you start identifying individual websites and places to search, starting with your priorities, skills, and experiences can help as you begin to narrow down your interests and goal. Additionally, identifying where and who to do informational interviews with can also help in both the job search and career decision process.

Identifying your skills and experiences that you can contribute to a job, what you’d like to do in your job/career, the type of organization you want to work for and/or where you want to work, developing your network, editing your professional documents, searching, applying for, and interviewing are all part of the job search process. 

The Career Decision and Job Search Process provides steps and resources that can start you in the right direction.

  • Begin with a self-assessment
  • Gather information
  • Develop job search skills
  • Job search
  • Repeat as needed!

Career Decision and Job Search Process

MPA Job Search Resources

  • Alumni Networking
  • Job Emails
    • Beginning in your first term in the MPA program, you’ll receive weekly or bi-weekly job announcements via email.
  • MS Career & Professional Development Teams
    • See sector specific channels
  • Career & Networking Fair
  • Professional Network & Job Serach Tracking Spreadsheets 
    • When you are on the job search, you may apply to more than one job at a time, though we recommend applying to those where you meet the qualifications and you are genuinely interested. The Professional Network Tracking Excel and Job Search Tracker Excel can be helpful to keep track of the jobs you’ve applied to, where you are in the process, connections you may have, and skills/experiences applicable to the position.
    • These spreadsheets will be extremely helpful as you apply and get into various stages of the process with different organizations! The Excel documents can be tailored as you continually grow and engage with your network.
  • Evaluation Offers and Negotiation

Where to start your job search

There are numerous sites to use as you begin and continue your job search. These are a few tailored places to start your search but know that this is not an exhaustive list of all sites and places to search. Connections and follow-up are as important as applying to jobs. Make sure that is part of your search process.

North Carolina Specific

Local/State Government Jobs

Federal Government Jobs

Nonprofit Jobs

Other Useful Sites

Listservs to Aid the Job Search 

What to Use AI in Job Search Strategy?

Want to use AI in your job search strategy? Check out AI in Career Development for an outline on use. After reviewing, you can consider job searching prompts inspired by 10 Powerful Prompts to Use ChatGPT to Land a Great Job and Nathan Lindberg at Cornell University.

Sample Prompts:

  • Please identify 10 public service job titles or roles that could be a good fit for me based on the information below. Generate a table using company website data that 1) ranks the roles across the workplace criteria of [things that mater in a workplace such as company values, work-life balance, compensation, etc.]; 2) explains why the role is being suggested; 3) lists the required knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences; and 4) shows the website(s) used to pull content.
    • My Favorite Skills:
    • My Interests:
    • My Major/Program: 
    • My Resume (personal identifying information removed):
  • Generate a list of the 10 top employers of [job title] in public service organizations and [location]. Please show citations for responses.
  • Based on my resume [upload], please list 10 specific job titles for which I am qualified. After each job title, list a description of the job as well as keywords I can use to search for the position. Also, include a link to a specific position description for that job title and provide the associated job posting site.
  • I have uploaded my resume and a position description [uploads]. Please create a table. In column 1, list the five most important qualifications based on the description that need to be addressed in a job application. In column 2, suggest ways I can provide evidence that I have the specified qualifications based on my resume. In column 3, based on the description and my resume, grade how qualified I am for the job on a scale of 1-5, 1=not qualified and 5=extremely qualified. In column 4, list general suggestions I could consider in the application to improve my alignment score.