In today's competitive market, make no mistake: If you're trying to get a new job, you need to make a strong first impression. Take advantage of this list of strong interview tips and 30 ways to make sure you're more than prepared when the big interview day arrives. (The Muse)

Laura Empson's research shows that employees' tendency to overwork and burn out is directly related to a combination of factors involving their profession, organization, and themselves. At the heart of it is insecurity. (Harvard Business Review)

A bipartisan deal proposed by Senate leaders has been conditionally agreed upon. The deal would lock in a two-year agreement on spending numbers, essentially taking shutdowns threats and continuing resolutions off the table for the time being. It also includes disaster relief funding to hurricane-ravaged Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. But there are still major steps that need to be taken before this deal is solidified. (CNN)

How influential you are in your job depends on many variables, but one thing that's certain to undermine your authority is how you convey thoughts and actions to your team. Utilizing certain verbs that are considered "weak" can undermine your authority. There are some words you should consider deleting from your vocabulary. (Fast Company)

The infiltration of knowledge associated with Black History Month can be overwhelming, and even upsetting, to many people. But if you stop to consider how much African Americans have overcome to be in a position to choose their own career paths now, you should be inspired. Here are some moments in black history to do just that. (Black Enterprise)

Morgan Stanley executive Carla Harris knows a thing or two about diversity in the workplace. Harris, who now oversees the company's Multicultural Innovation Lab, said if companies want to create and maintain a competitive edge, they must have many different kinds of people in the room. (Fast Company)

Research shows that companies which rely too much on referrals in the hiring process run the risk of creating a less diverse workforce without intending to do so. (NBC News)

At the annual MAKERS Conference in Los Angeles this week, more than 40 business leaders pledged to make changes to help women in the workplace. The companies announcing pledges range from Adobe and Aetna to Microsoft, Unilever and Univision. (CNBC)

The UAE and India are redefining their positions on the world stage. This week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the UAE, his second trip to the country in less than three years. (Forbes)

Black History Month is often used to remind us of empowering figures in the Black community, but often don't acknowledge the role historically black colleges and universities played in their success. The president of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund believes HBCUs deserve more of a starring role in American history because of the way the campuses continue to help our nation to realize its greatest potential through education. (Diverse Issues in Higher Education)

To understand the Civil War, one must recognize unequivocally that this conflict was about slavery, those who wanted it abolished and those who were determined to keep black men, women, and children in bondage, writes columnist Renee Graham. (The Boston Globe).

So you're one of millions of Americans who have severed ties with the cable company, but you want to check out the Winter Olympics. The event, broadcast by NBC, is geared toward pay-TV subscribers, so you'll have to find a suitable alternative. Over the 18 days of the event in Pyeongchang, South Korea, NBCUniversal plans to live stream or broadcast a record 2,400 hours across NBC and its other channels including NBC Sports, CNBC, USA and The Olympic Channel, the NBCOlympics.com site and the NBC Sports app. (USA TODAY)

Black entrepreneurs have traditionally struggled to obtain financing in an effort to grow their business. But beginning with the 2008 recession, large numbers of business owners began turning to Merchant Cash Advance. But is that a sound business decision for black entrepreneurs? (Black Enterprise)

Concerns about the bond market continued to be the catalyst for heavy selling on Wall Street. The Dow declined about 400 points, or 1.7%, on Thursday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were also solidly in the red. (CNN Money)

A recent report by the NAACP of Baltimore outlines the myriad of ways federal, state and local elected officials can negatively affect economic inclusion, and called on the city's public companies to step in and offer help. (Baltimore Business Journal)

When trade deals are established, political leaders try to sell it to the public by claiming it will create thousands of jobs. Economists, however, argue that trade changes the types of jobs in an economy but has no part in setting the level of employment. (Forbes)

A new 2018 report - 2018 Prosperity Now Scorecard - says the U. S. economic system is stacked against low-income Americans and people of color, instead favoring those with higher incomes. (Next Avenue)

In the midst of growing concern by investors about inflation, long-term mortgage rates in the United States climbed for the fifth consecutive week. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage increase to 4.32 percent, up from 4.22 last week - the highest since December 2016. (USA TODAY)

Macy's has announced it will launch a fashion line of "modest" clothes, including maxi dresses and hijabs, aimed at Muslim women. The department store joins Nike as part of a growing trend to market toward the Islamic clothing market. (The Washington Post)

Despite the Trump administration's repeated attacks on the Affordable Care Act, about 11.8 million people chose to sign up for coverage on the exchanges for 2018, a decrease of only 3.7 percent from 2017. Advocates for the program feared that sign-ups would greatly decline after the Trump administration cut the open enrollment period in half, slashed advertising by 90% and reduced support for enrollment assistance. (CNN Money)

Fred Whitfield is the only black CEO in the NBA. Whitfield is Hornets Sports & Entertainment’s chief operating officer, president and minority owner, and oversees all business operations.He is also heavily involved in activities outside of the Hornets organization through his charity endeavors. (The Undefeated)