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The economic downturn has forced employers to tighten their belts and do more with less. With fewer resources available, many companies have refrained from handing out raises, even when an employee is given additional responsibilities and a title change. According to a recent study from OfficeTeam, a subsidiary of staffing firm Robert Half International, about one in five human resources managers have acknowledged that awarding promotions without salary increases is at least a "somewhat common" practice at their company.

Ten years ago, Facebook didn't exist. Ten years before that, we didn't have the Web. So who knows what jobs will be born a decade from now? Though unemployment is at a 25‑year high, work will eventually return. But it won't look the same. No one is going to pay you just to show up. We will see a more flexible, more freelance, more collaborative and far less secure work world. It will be run by a generation with new values - and women will increasingly be at the controls. Here are 10 ways your job will change. In fact, it already has.

Q: I worked in the health-care industry for 15 years as a geriatric nursing assistant, but I recently decided that my career wasn't paying the bills and went back to school for a B.A. in organizational management and communication. The problem is, I have never worked in an office setting and I'm not sure how to go about learning etiquette, how to speak appropriately, etc. I thought that once I got a degree, everything would be self-explanatory, but it really isn't. Can you help?

Honestly, most of us only care about the salary when we choose a career, even it begins at choosing the major before entering the college.

Many job seekers have been paying big bucks to have professionals rework their résumés, but when it comes to career counseling, free help abounds. By visiting a government-sponsored job center, your alma mater and even your local library, you can tap into a pool of professionals who will help you create or critique your résumé. By visiting a government-sponsored job center, your alma mater and even your local library, you can tap into a pool of professionals who will help you create or critique your résumé.

I think it`s pretty undeniable that nepotism pays, but don`t worry if your daddy`s not a big executive. You`re in luck because you can create your own nepotism. You don`t need a blood relationship for someone in power to take an interest in you and put you on the fast-track. Here are ideas that can give you the same advantages as those born with great connections.

Internships-temporary positions that pay little or no salary-are typically designed for college students or recent graduates exploring potential career paths. But with unemployment at 9.5%, some older laid-off workers are taking on these stints to stay busy, gain new skills and expand their networks. In the meantime, they continue to job hunt and, in some cases, collect unemployment benefits.

Seventy-seven percent of members of Freelancers Union, which has 120,000 members nationwide, have had clients that didn't pay at least once, says Sara Horowitz, executive director. Worse yet, more companies are trying to renegotiate lower prices with freelancers after work has been delivered, says Gary Swart, chief executive of oDesk, a freelance-management Web site that acts as a liaison between freelancers and clients.

Work is always a cause of stress, but lately, it seems like it's been even more so. Layoffs have put millions out of work. People who are still employed are often seeing their workloads increase, but not their pay, and they're worried about their own job security.

A few months ago, Andrea Kornfeld was working on a computer program to shave milliseconds off of transactions at Merrill Lynch. Now, she's spending her severance pay on a mosquito net and malaria pills for her new job: as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching computer skills to high-school students in Cameroon.

Google, Apple, and Facebook are known for offering attractive perks, great pay, and excellent workplace cultures - so it's no surprise that they're also three of the world's most sought-after places to work right now.

Do you have an inner feeling that you are being underpaid despite performing well in your office? You are not alone to face such a dilemma. Most people hesitate to ask for an appraisal, thinking that it would portray them as self-centered or too individualistic. Such a reservation plays in the minds of people of all age groups, from junior level executives to Presidents of MNCs.

"Daniel Nicholson firmly believes in the value of company loyalty. At 46, the vice president of global quality has worked at General Motors in Detroit for 29 years, though he admits that his longevity isn't the norm."

Recession-scarred families are still not ready to go out and splurge on vacation. In fact, many are still cutting back on their big summer holidays.

It's no secret that U.S. workers are in trouble, with the unemployment rate at 8.9% and rising. At the same time, the world faces a long-term climate crisis. But what if there is a way to solve both problems with one policy? A number of environmentalists and economists believe that by implementing a comprehensive energy program, we can not only avert the worst consequences of climate change but also create millions of new jobs - green jobs - in the U.S. "We can allow climate change to wreak unnatural havoc, or we can create jobs preventing its worst effects," President Barack Obama said recently. "We know the right choice."