Spinning your wheels at the office might earn you a paycheck, but it’s unlikely to put you in line for a raise or give you much satisfaction. Fulfilling your responsibilities is good; trying harder can make you great. Step up your work game by putting in more effort in subtle ways that may just get you noticed.

It’s one thing when you don’t receive a reply from an employer after sending your resume and cover letter, but things get more personal when you don’t hear back after a job interview. Waiting for a response is stressful and it’s easy to let your mind run wild when coming up with reasons the employer hasn’t called. Was it your hair? Should you have answered a certain question differently? Put the kabosh on your what-if thought process; usually an employer hasn’t called back due to one of these eight reasons.

The weather outside is still frightful, and unfortunately, the calendar is no longer filled with homey holiday parties that keep you indoors and outside of stores. The simplest way to prioritize saving is to automate it, but there are plenty of other ways to maximize your saving potential rain or shine. Try these simple tips to keep your budget on track and bills manageable.

No one likes a Debbie Downer, but these are trying times, and you need a financial backup plan. Whether you feel a strong sense of job security or have a million bucks in the bank, it’s crucial that you embrace the motto of the Boy Scouts (“Be Prepared!”) so you don’t end up in a serious financial and personal conundrum should you draw a short stick. The calendar changes so quickly it’s easy to forget your nest egg and backup scheme amid the momentum, but follow these basic steps and suggestions to keep yourself on track.

When job hunting is your full-time job, you’ve got to do everything in your power to get an interview. That means using your open-ended days to exhaust all of your resources. Get out of your job-hunting rut and find more opportunities by tapping into these 10 places.

To honor the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that rocked the country last week, a movement calling for kindness has taken hold. It began with a tweet by TV host Ann Curry encouraging people to do 26 acts of kindness. It has since taken off, and people have displayed an outpouring of nice acts — sending coffee to the town and helping others in any way they can in their own neighborhoods — and folks have documented it using the hashtag #26acts on Twitter. It’s been an inspiration for us, and we hope it will be for you, too. Check out these heartwarming tweets and let us know what you plan to do.

The last days of 2012 are in sight, which means many of us are procrastinating with the rationale that we’ll be on top of our game in the new year. There are a handful of money and job-related tasks that can’t wait until the ball drops, so take advantage of your time off this holiday and accomplish these six things before the new year.

It’s easy to let the holiday spirit carry you into 2013 without paying attention to much else. Before you rush into the next year, be sure to do these seven things in December.

Splurge is the word of the season, whether pertaining to eggnog or gifts.The holiday music and displays make it a festive time of year, but it can also be a pretty pricey time if you’re not careful. No need to forgo celebrating all together this year, just follow some of my tips on spending less this month.

Luck has its place in a job search, but it’s certainly not everything. Put your searching smarts into action and you’ll be on your way to success; just be sure to save yourself from job hunting failure by avoiding these seven no-nos.