Stay competitive in your career by focusing on practical yet creative strategies to improve your game, says author Roy Osing. If you aren't getting noticed in your position, "Develop a 'be visible' plan that, in a simple and factual way, presents your achievements and what you do day-in and day-out to execute your organization's strategy," he writes.

Deal with passive-aggressive behavior from a co-worker by keeping emotion out of the conversation, calling out the behavior, and being specific with what you need, says Karin Hurt. "When you stand up to passive-aggressive behavior, you make life easier for you and your team and serve as a role model for other people stand up, too," Hurt writes.

Step outside of your circle and commit to having engaging, personal and fulfilling conversations when you find yourself surrounded by people you don't know, says Cassie Werber. Conversing with strangers can make you vulnerable, bold, and can lead to changing preconceptions, Werber writes.

The IRS has released a draft of the 2020 W-4, and the Department of Labor is expected to enact new rules regarding overtime pay for salaried workers. With six months until the new regulations are likely, Rachel Rapoza of Kronos encourages companies to be proactive in evaluating, tracking and communicating with employees.

The question "Why do you want this job?" is bound to be asked at every interview, but give yourself a leg up and respond by discussing why you're the best person for the job, writes Ashira Prossack. Don't give generic responses, and be true to yourself because "It's the details that really help set you apart from other candidates," Prossack writes.

When judging a company's culture during the interview process, don't simply rely on your intuition, writes Eileen Hoenigman Meyer. To quantify a company's culture, MIT researchers used Glassdoor data to develop a tool that ranks a company based on nine values that include collaboration, diversity, innovation and respect.

If you must work while on vacation, categorize your tasks into what kind of work you should do and what kind of work you should not do, says Stephanie Vozza. Keep balance by avoiding messaging platforms and opening emails, and by choosing to focus on urgent, unobtrusive tasks, Vozza writes.

A 61-year-old man -- who chose to remain anonymous -- in Ypsilanti, Mich. has won a state lottery jackpot worth $351,180. The five winning numbers he selected, 4-11-21-28-38, are the same ones that the man regularly plays and they were chosen from the lucky numbers on a fortune cookie.