"You’ve probably heard the advice over and over again that you need to become an authority and build your own personal brand to stand out.

"Before experience, educational background, or skills, a small profile picture on LinkedIn is often the first thing a recruiter sees when making a judgment about a potential hire.

Uncovering your micro-motives — that collection of super-specialized things that make your particular heart sing — are key to finding fulfillment and success at work, say social scientists Todd Rose and Ogi Ogas.

"My point is that your role isn’t necessarily meant to be a 24/7 enjoyable experience—that’s why you get a paycheck for doing it.

Richard Feloni covers the work of Dr.

"Having a cluttered desk or inappropriate items in your workspace could be making a bad impression on your colleagues or employers.

"3 tips for breaking the ice.

"Avoiding opportunities, falling behind, and overworking are just some of the very real consequences of perfectionism.

Emily Liou (photo, left) answers the following Ask a Credible Career Coach question: "I’ve only been at my current job for a few months, but I know for certain that it’s just not right for me.

"But for us little guys — the companies who hire dozens instead of hundreds; the start ups looking to change the world with team members who are equal parts talented and passionate; the tribes where each new person immediately sends ripples through the culture — we read every cover letter, and make our interview decisions based on them.

"As soon as something goes wrong in our lives, we as humans tend to fall into negative thinking patterns.

"Are job seekers who are currently employed more desirable candidates?

"Most of the time finding a new job is about who you know and your networking strategies.

"As Cathy Benko and Molly Anderson predicted in their 2010 book, we’ve gone from a corporate ladder to a Corporate Lattice, in which professionals’ career progress may only sometimes be linear — and often, may instead appear diagonal or horizontal.

This in-depth guide based on extensive research tells you what works and what doesn't.

"While the classic refrain focuses on how jobs will be lost to the robots, it’s not all doom and gloom for the human race explains Jason Hill, financial services expert at PA Consulting.

25 TED speakers answer the question.

According to David Jensen, "As an advanced-degree holder in the sciences, you don’t have to be on the job market to feel beat down.

"If you have a skill that’s in demand, chances are you’ve received more than one job offer.

"Building relationships at work takes time and patience, but it’s crucial to your career.

"Happiness.

"My career fantasies," writes Erin McDermott Peterson, "consisted of me getting to just focus on recruiting all day—finding and interviewing people, making offers, and convincing them this was the right opportunity for them.

"Great results are more than half the battle.

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is already becoming entrenched in many facets of everyday life, and is being tapped for a growing array of core business applications, including predicting market and customer behavior, automating repetitive tasks and providing alerts when things go awry.

Lydia Bowers (photo, left) fields a question from a reader about changing careers at 60.