Going against conventional wisdom can help you break free of monotony and take creativity and innovation to the next level, writes Jay Acunzo. Get out of your comfort zone to begin going beyond cultural norms, and ultimately this will help unlock the best career path for you.

Subtle changes in behavior and thinking can lead to massive career growth, including having a positive attitude, viewing yourself as a winner and never settling for less than you deserve. These changes require the same effort you're currently putting into your career, just that the mindset shift will make all the difference between being average and excelling within your field, David Neagle writes.

Determine who is speaking at an upcoming convention you plan to attend, and strategically contact them via social media, such as Twitter. Send out a few tweets prior to the event, and then ask questions or meet them at the event, and it may help connect you with thought leaders in your industry, writes Jane Burnett.

Rules from the IRS, the Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services that remove a three-month cap on short-term health insurance policies have taken effect. Insurers can sell policies with a duration of 364 days in states that allow them.

Ask for a letter of recommendation from someone high up the ladder at a former company who knows you and your abilities, writes Kat Boogaard. In your request, keep things simple by highlighting the key areas you'd like the letter to touch on, such as specific skills or accomplishments, and be grateful in your initial request.

Before accepting a new job, take a step back and think about the company culture, your priorities, and career advancement opportunities several years down the line. Compare the pros and cons of taking the job, and if the pros win out, proceed to the negotiation phase to see if you can improve upon some of your concerns in area of salary, work-life balance or other criteria, suggests Hannah Morgan.

Requesting time off for mental health reasons is nerve-wracking, but framing it in the perspective of any other type of sickness, such as the flu, can help make it an easier request. How you ask is determined by the type of mental health issue, such as whether it's a one-off stressful event or an ongoing issue that would require frequent time off or role changes.

In May, a Wikipedia entry on Donna Strickland was taken down because the online encyclopedia said the posting on the optical physicist failed to "show significant coverage (not just passing mentions) about the subject." However, Strickland won a Nobel Prize in physics this week -- making her the only woman alive to receive the award -- and a new biographical entry was posted an hour and a half after her historic win was announced.