Ah, the holiday party, font of office gossip, graveyard of ruined career dreams. But it doesn't have to be this way. If you follow a few tips from business relationships expert Andrew Sobel, you can actually use the holiday party to boost your career, instead of tank it.

Picture this: it's lunchtime and the office kitchen is crowded with people using the microwave. The smells start to aggregate. A Lean Cuisine here. Leftover lo mein there. Then, before anyone can intervene, some fool coworker commits the biggest offense of all: he or she reheats last night's trout dinner. For the rest of the day, the office smells like the deck of a fisherman's vessel on a hot day.

It's no surprise that this season is a boon for retailers, but Target is remaining cautious when it comes to bringing on seasonal workers. The discounter recently said that it planned on hiring 2,000 to 12,000 fewer seasonal employees this year compared to 2011.

Whether it's investing in leadership training or implementing productivity improvements, more and more companies are realizing that their success is dependent on the individuals they employ. This means taking personal branding and corporate culture in a new direction.

Military veterans have a wealth of services at their disposal aimed at helping them find civilian jobs with military-friendly companies, but Google's VetNet Entrepreneur Track hopes to help vets dive into entrepreneurship. Will this tool inspire more service members to start their own businesses?

For the person who waits tables for a living, few things are more intense than the fear of being stiffed on the tip. Restaurant servers know what I'm talking about. When it is the end of the month and you have one more Saturday night shift left before rent is due, you are literally banking on your customers to keep a roof over your head. But for those who have never waited tables, you have to wonder -- are tips really that important? To find out, check out PayScale's recently released 2012-2013 Tipping Study. 

Mashable is reporting that daily deals site LivingSocial has plans to lay off 400 employees from its team in the U.S., citing the Washington Business Journal's source "with knowledge of the daily deal giant's plans." The news comes just two years after LivingSocial raised over $800 million in funding, including $175 million from Amazon.

Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO, is in the news again. The new mother made headlines when, after giving birth in August, she took just two weeks of maternity leave. Recently, she spoke at Fortune Magazine's "Most Power Women" dinner and shared the secret of her success: ruthless prioritization. 

Ordinarily, the word "habit" can conjure up negative ideas, but a healthy habit can be a really good thing. This is especially true in this infographic, which demonstrates the habits of successful leaders.

Google Fiber, the tech giant's high-speed network, is currently being built in Kansas City. Its Web speeds are up to 1,000 times faster than the traditional cable or high-speed Internet offered by other companies. Will Kansas become the next hotbed for tech startups?

For many of us, Black Friday came early this year, thanks to stores like Walmart and Toys R Us who decided to open up early, on Thursday night instead of the usually crack of Friday morning. But what about the employees who had to work on Thanksgiving? Turns out, many of them were less than thrilled to go face the crowds from the other side of the register so soon after dinner.

Here at PayScale, we are dedicated to helping you know your worth, interact with your professional network, and get timely, practical career advice. Our newest release expands different areas of our site, adding features that could help you move your career forward. Curious? Read on to learn about the new things that have us so excited!

When I was in college, it wasn't uncommon to find me looking for clever ways to earn a quick buck. Many of my friends suggested plasma donation, which could have made me up to $200 richer, but I was too prissy for such things. This generation of college students might not be so squeamish. When it comes to paying for college, it could be that today's economy is forcing students and parents to get creative -- and a bit personal. 

One field that continues to boom, despite economic hardships and layoffs, is the health care industry. With 71 billion baby boomers scheduled to retire, more assistance and care is needed, resulting in 24.3 percent of available hospital jobs left open.

Joe Lueken is the owner of Lueken's Village Foods, and he's planned a stellar way to celebrate his faithful employees upon his retirement: He's giving them the three-store company. Is he the best boss ever?

The dishes are clean, the leftovers are long gone, and holiday excitement is in the air. Today is Cyber Monday, the day many websites have their own Black Friday-esque deals and steals. With holiday gift giving on our minds here at the PayScale office, we wondered how budgets have changed since last year. Would our users be spending more on gifts this year?

What did you want to be when you grew up? If you're one of the lucky 30.3 percent of respondents to a recent LinkedIn survey, your childhood dream job might be pretty close to the one you have now.

Will the battle of the sexes ever reach a peaceful resolution? If recent studies are to be believed, it doesn't look likely to even out anytime soon. Even as we approach the year 2013, women and men are still being treated differently in the workplace when it comes to take-home pay.

For years now, we've been hearing that crying at work is a bad idea -- especially for women. We've heard that it makes you look less professional, weaker than more stoic colleagues. So it is ever OK to shed a tear at the office?

On the surface, it might seem kind of strange to ask a college dropout for his advice on how to reform our educational system. But when that college dropout is Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and philanthropist, well, maybe we want to bend an ear.