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 .

Cope with or capitalize on change in the workplace

Friday, 09 September 2011 13:15 Julie Desmond

A few years ago, on an ordinary Tuesday, a few planes flew off course and suddenly life in America changed forever. Change happens. Not every change is cataclysmic, but it is often unexpected and it always requires people to respond. When change happens at work, your response can make or break your career. What are your options?

Option #1: Sit there and take it. Most people wouldn’t let a mosquito buzz in their ear for an extended length of time. Yet, in work situations, minor irritations can fester into major bugbites. Say your company initiates a new policy that creates more work for you for no obvious reason. You can choose to go along with it… buzz… buzz…

Practical advice for conference callers

Friday, 02 September 2011 10:13 Julie Desmond

The great thing about a conference call over an in-person meeting is that it provides the opportunity to do other things, right?

You can log into a conference call a minute or two late and still be present because those first few minutes are just small talk, anyway, right? Wrong. Small talk before any meeting, live or online, is critical warm-up time. This is your chance to measure the mood of your co-workers and to nurture your professional network. Use small-talk-time to learn something new about one person on the call. For example, I learned on my call today that one of my co-workers is relocating. You just never know what might come up.

Considering a career move? It might be time

Friday, 26 August 2011 12:22 Julie Desmond

Either the economy is picking up or people are just giving up on waiting for a recovery; there is rumbling in the city streets and it isn’t an East Coast earthquake. During a recession that was marked by layoffs, mergers, business closures and reorganizations, it used to be that a person who had a job held onto it with his teeth, grateful to be working. But change is happening. In January, it was predicted that 63% of Americans who had a job on January 1st would have a different job by December 31st. Based on the attitudes of job seekers lately, the prediction might be accurate.

Success: What Do You Need to Achieve It?

Friday, 19 August 2011 12:11 Julie Desmond

At a conference recently, corporate managers were asked, “What do you need to be successful?” The question behind the question was, “What does the company need to provide in order to help you help us be more profitable?” But it occurred to me that asking that question on a personal level can help people at every stage in a career to reach the goals and successes they desire. So, what do you need to be successful?

Permission to dream: Teen entrepreneurs win national competition

Friday, 12 August 2011 12:58 Julie Desmond

When math advisor Sayra Loftus signed on as mentor for a group of teen entrepreneurs, she saw a handful of teenagers who were curious, interested and completely lacking in business experience. By the time they were selected from among fourteen U.S. and Canadian companies by Junior Achievement as winners of the 2011 North American JA Company of the Year Competition in Washington, D.C., Loftus’ group had been transformed into young, eager, ambitious and successful professionals.

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