Plan Your Career by Julie Desmond

Julie Desmond is Talent Manager for Express Employment Professionals. Write to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Feeling groovy at work

Friday, 06 May 2011 13:12 Julie Desmond

Feelin’ Groovy is an old song; ask an old person and they just might remember the catchy tune and the words: Slow down, you’re moving too fast.

Lately, I have been required to ask competency-based questions during dozens of interviews. These questions aim to reveal a person’s strengths and weaknesses through their own descriptions of specific experiences. My task is to ask about a situation, find out how the candidate approached the challenge, and then learn what they learned or took away from that event.

Ask: Because you never know what you don’t know

Friday, 29 April 2011 13:43 Julie Desmond

It was just a report. A straightforward spreadsheet. A list of text and numbers lined up in long columns, a few formulas, some formatting and Voila! A report. Unfortunately, the recipient of the report did not appreciate its simplicity. “What about that other column?” he asked. “And where did those numbers come from?” Working in fits and starts, three days later, the reporting dynamo had produced the report he was looking for and pulled out most of her hair in the process.

A good stretch after a long nap

Thursday, 21 April 2011 14:45 Julie Desmond

Getting anywhere in life and in work requires movement. Sometimes we walk, sometimes we run, sometimes we’re pushed in a new direction by people or circumstances. Occasionally, we stretch.

Stretch. An unnatural movement, shifting from one pose into another, often quite different, position. A good stretch after a long nap is the most liberating feeling. A professional stretch after a long, comfortable career nap is sometimes uncomfortable, but always rewarding.

Get lost: Working passion into your workday

Thursday, 14 April 2011 13:03 Julie Desmond

You know the look: Einsteinlike hair, wild eyes that light up like Zelda. Passion. You know the feeling: a deep and irrational drive to participate or perform for the sake of participating or performing. No carrot, no reward; just doing it because it feels to your core like the absolute right thing to spend time on.

Many people trudge through every workday, just getting by until they can get out and do something that matters personally, something interesting. Getting paid is a good reason to work, I get that. But what if it didn’t suck? What if you could incorporate some of that passion into your business-as-usual?

No one reads the cover letter (and other HR secrets)

Thursday, 07 April 2011 14:34 Julie Desmond

HR Secret #1: People who hire people for a living are practical. They will eventually get around to scrutinizing your application, but at first they will glance over the cover letter, open the resume, and never again will the two documents appear side by side. You will sweat over the details of your vast successes, but these are your words. As your resume is passed around, the people you want to work for will use it and your interviews to form their own impressions.

More Articles...