Do not, do not, DO NOT include a photo with your résumé!

Just don't do it.

These 20 questions cover five key areas that are critical to your accurately evaluating how well you're doing at work. Your answers (or score) predict whether you're likely to be promoted, fired or kept simmering in the same spot for years to come.

How often are you impressed by someone to the point you want to go the extra mile to make a difference in their life? That's what happened when I met 21-year old Lauren of LN Accents at the WGN Studios in December. She was just 19 years old when she began LN Accents, which has already garnered media attention on Daily Candy, Seventeen Magazine, ABC and WGN. The most impressive attribute about Lauren? She chose college over her booming business because "it provides more opportunities."

There is one word that will undoubtedly get you on the way to that job interview, or a meeting with a prospect or referral source - even a potential investor. This magical word will work for you when you use it in person, on the phone, in an email subject line, a text or a social media message. It's that good.

There's a caveat of course. You can't just hurl this magic word or use it disingenuously. You can't demand, cajole, nag or otherwise be irksome. You have to really mean what you're asking for, with all your heart.

Considering a new career? Before you jump into a new industry or profession, read this. From personal chefs to commercial pilots, corrections officers and celebrity realtors, here's what they actually made last year.

Some might argue that 2011 was the year personal branding really stepped into the forefront as one of - if not the - most important ways to take control of our life. I'd argue that 2011 was just a fraction of the overall growth this industry is going to see in 2012, and beyond. Google, Twitter, and Facebook have all seen enormous growth in personal branding related discussion, searches, and information. 2012 should bring more of the same. In fact, it is estimated that 70% of all new jobs are filled through networking with existing people in your social circle. To me, that signifies that there is no better time than the present to increase your social circle, network, and form meaningful relationships. But... how is that done exactly? Here are a few things you can work on in 2012 to increase your brand, your presence, and ultimately, your bottom line.

As we enter yet another very challenging year for the overall job market, with "official" unemployment still stubbornly hovering in the nine percent range and no real relief in sight, many job hunters-perhaps you included!-are seriously wondering if they should begin "reinventing" themselves today in preparation for the jobs of tomorrow.

If you are the typical job hunter in today's job market, I strongly suspect that you are among the legions of those who are doing the same things over and over and still expecting different results. (Isn't that the true definition of "insanity"?!) What I'm referring to here concerns going to the job boards to find and then apply for a multitude of open positions, many, if not most, of which you may not even be qualified to perform.

About a month ago a mid-level executive I know in California asked my advice about getting a new cell phone. He said, "I don't really need or want a smart phone, I don't text or email from my phone. My old phone is dying though and they don't make this brand anymore, what would you recommend?" My answer surprised him; I said, "Do you realize what your phone is saying about you? It's something to think about."

It's a question that you can expect to be asked sooner rather than later during a job interview. It's a question that seems to be a "loaded" one in every sense of the word, and usually that's in fact what it is. It's a "trick" question too. It's designed to quickly and efficiently eliminate as many candidates as possible from a hiring manager's "candidate pool." It's also a question that, if you're like many job candidates today, you absolutely dread having to answer. The question can be phrased in a variety of ways, but it's usually phrased something like this: "What salary are you expecting?"

In days where it's becoming harder and harder to find a qualified employee, some workplaces learned that the best way to avoid acquiring qualified applicants is to retain the ones they already have. With the average time spent at the same job falling to just under 4 years in the United States, we're a long way from our parents and their "work the same job all your life, and then retire" mindset.

The truth is, whether it's you resigning your position, or your job terminating you or down-sizing, that kind of "work until you retire" attitude simply doesn't work in our risk-averse economy.

Great news! All your job search activities have paid off and you've landed a telephone interview with a prospective employer. This is an opportunity, correct? Well, yes and no.

You have made it all the way to "round one," and that's certainly something positive, something to celebrate. But wait! You still have to go into "round two," either a subsequent phone interview, or it is hoped, the all-important "face-to-face" interview, which is the only goal you should have for the outcome of a phone interview.

Imagine for a moment that an exceptional job candidate is about thirty minutes into an important job interview. The candidate, whom we'll call Joe, and the hiring manager seemed to have hit it off almost from the start. Joe has nailed every job-related question the hiring manager has thus far asked him. Because the hiring manager has such a pleasant personality and relaxed, friendly manner, she has put Joe completely at ease. He is absolutely certain at this point that he is a virtual "shoo-in" for the job. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the hiring manager asks him, "So, tell me about your boss."

You are employed. You are extremely busy. In fact, you are harried, frazzled and often any semblance of a good work-life balance seems a very distant, almost quaint memory.

Additionally, you have seen your colleagues downsized. You have either gone without pay raises or the ones you have received have been less than hoped for. Promotions? Much slower in coming these days! You currently are doing the work of at least 1½ people, and quite probably even more.

A common question from job seekers these days is, "How do I explain being out of work for a year or longer?" This is where a few sales techniques may successfully be applied.

The first is to approach the problem from a positive standpoint and leave fear behind. Whenever you meet with clients or hiring managers, speak with confidence.

As discussed in a previous blog (Winning the Face-to-Face Interview by "leading the Witness"), in an interview you actually have much more power than you might think. Still, during the course of the typical job interview, either on the telephone or face-to-face, you can expect to be asked a series of "standard" questions and it is critical that you answer them in the "right" way.

Want some help on preparing for a job interview? Watch ABC's "Shark Tank." This "reality" TV show, which features a panel of five wealthy entrepreneurs ( the sharks) considering investment proposals from would-be entrepreneurs, can give you a glimpse at today's business environment. It makes clear what's really important to the ultimate decision-makers in business today: Making money!

That's the driving force in any business today. Fail to grasp and thoroughly understand this fact and you are doomed to fail in the job market -- whether you currently have a job or need one.

Yes, you read the headline correctly! Job hunting did in fact just become easier -- and safer!

I know what you're probably thinking . . . Skip, have you completely lost your mind?! Don't you know what's been happening on Wall Street?! Don't you read the bleak "jobs reports?!" Don't you know there is genuine fear that we could have a "double-dip" recession?! Are you aware that consumer confidence is at historic lows?! Don't you know that the "sky" may actually be falling?!