Methods are provided for configuring an initial CORESET and associated search space during beam management. A base station (BS) receives measurements of at least one downlink reference signal (RS) from a User Equipment (UE), wherein each of the at least one downlink RS is associated with a transmit beam. The BS selects, based on the received measurements, a transmit beam for transmitting on resources of an initial time and frequency control resource set (CORESET), wherein the initial CORESET schedules unicast Physical Downlink Data Channel (PDSCH) for the UE, wherein the initial CORESET is identified during initial access of the UE to the BS. The BS transmits information relating to the initial CORESET on the selected beam in a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (MAC-CE), wherein the information is transmitted using a combination of bits in the MAC-CE, the bits configured for indicating CORESETs.