Stay focused in noisy open-office environments by first embracing the positives, such as the camaraderie in such situations, and then set rules as to agreed-upon norms with your team. Involve your manager to get everyone on the same page as to rules and common courtesies, such as whispering when a co-worker is on an important call.

Start each day using the power of visualization to create a productive and successful workday in your mind. Visualize your everyday routine in great detail from start to finish, as the power of visualization is well-documented and powerful, writes Leigh Wedell.

Taking mentorship a step further, create your personal board of directors as your go-to source for information and inspiration in all aspects of your career. The five key players to have in this network include someone who sparks your creativity, a skeptic, a young up-and-comer a networking expert, and your future self.

General Motors is helping 33 workers, 31 of whom are female, who have been underemployed or entirely out of the workforce for at least two years, return to employment through its Take 2 program. In addition to promoting diversity, the program, which is now in its sixth round and also seeks minorities, helps GM simultaneously find the engineers it needs while bridging the skills gap.

Although artificial intelligence is utilized early on in the hiring process, the day when robots actually make the hiring decision is a long way off, mainly due to biases discovered in early testing, AI expert Brian Kropp points out. An experimental project reported on by Reuters found that robots "taught" themselves to be biased, choosing men progressively more over women in testing.

Negativity in many different forms, such as why you want to leave your current job, can taint an otherwise great job interview, writes Emily Moore. Instead of focusing on negative traits of a previous job, focus on the positive traits you're seeking out with your next move, experts say.

IT professionals can avoid burnout by simplifying and automating processes that are tedious or time-consuming, while conducting preventative maintenance on current systems to keep things running well, suggests Tom Merritt. Build relationships with fellow employees and clients and look for new areas for training, he adds.

Municipalities in Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Maryland are among those that have banned children older than 12 from trick-or-treating, saying it will decrease vandalism. The age restriction in Chesapeake, Va., includes the ability to charge people with a misdemeanor that can land six months in jail and fines.