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 .

Low Ball Offer: Negotiating to get what you’re worth

Thursday, 16 February 2012 17:57 Julie Desmond

Newly engaged, and with her fiancé stationed halfway across the country in the Army, Sola wanted nothing more than to get out of Minnesota and get her life’s next chapter underway. She consulted me for some resume help and my strongest message fell on deaf ears: Don’t quit your job yet, I told her. She sent out her resume, interviewed twice and promptly gave two weeks’ notice to quit her job.

You’ve shot yourself in the foot, I told her. She gave notice on her apartment and started packing. Sometimes people make mistakes. Sometimes, so do I. Sola was confident. She knew there was a demand for her skills and she knew where she wanted to be. My experience says that finding a job is easier when you have a job, and negotiating a better salary is easier when you have a salary. Sola didn’t follow my direction, but she didn’t let me down, either.

What’s wrong with everything? 

Friday, 10 February 2012 14:45 Julie Desmond

Recent articles linked to through LinkedIn, the professional networking website: “What’s Wrong with Interviews?” “Why Your Resume Isn’t Working” “Forget About Raises and Benefits” and “More Companies Ban Sitting During Meetings.” I ask you, What’s wrong with sitting? I like sitting. I have a cushy chair and a solid oak conference table. Sitting lets me look you eye-to-eye and take notes comfortably. How does one take notes comfortably standing up?

Nice work at the job fair

Wednesday, 08 February 2012 14:52 Julie Desmond

Last week’s job fair was packed. Hundreds of ambitious, well-dressed, earnest people of all ages and abilities met with a few dozen employers for extreme speed dating, the Hire Me version. Competition for jobs is tough, but the people at this job fair were up to the task.

What impressed this employer was the level of professionalism of every candidate. For instance, Dinyar had a sturdy handshake. Some men think they have to be placid or just shake the fingertips of a female. Dinyar took my hand in his, palm to palm, gave it an appropriate squeeze and let go. This seems a small point, but a handshake can communicate confidence. Practice.

Working from home? Make it work for you

Friday, 27 January 2012 13:43 Julie Desmond

Telework, flexwork, ROWE. Call it almost anything and it usually comes back to, “Working from home.” According to a variety of surveys, 85% of companies offer flexible work arrangements to their employees; only 38% of companies allocate one desk per one employee; one company saved $195M in one year thanks to the increased productivity of its flexible workforce. Flexibility is good for companies and good for employees, but best practices are only starting to emerge. Following are some tips for making a work-at-home arrangement work for you.

Distracted? Help yourself stay on task 

Friday, 20 January 2012 17:24 Julie Desmond

People talk about ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder. My personal version of ADD is RADD: Radio Attention Deficit Disorder. Pandora is a great app because it introduces fresh music all the time. However, naturally curious, I listen to two-thirds of a cut and feel ready for the next one. Unfortunately, if you know Pandora, you know it allows you to pass on a few songs and then gently cuts you off because its license requires you to actually listen to each song in its entirety.

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