Older workers who get laid off often get stuck in the overqualified applicant pile, even though they are vying for a job they are fine taking, and this creates a confounding cycle of never getting to tell their story, says Ofer Sharone, sociology professor and author of "The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed." Sharone suggests older job seekers reach out to a career coach and expand their support group to include more networking opportunities.

Making new employees feel welcome during the onboarding process is crucial, according to a BambooHR survey that found 29% of new hires make judgments on whether the job is the right fit within the first week. Retaining these employees will hinge on company culture, flexibility, performance reviews and training efforts.

Licensed social workers are among on-site mental health professionals serving employees of Delta Air Lines, which provides counseling at 15 US locations and in other cities worldwide. Other companies that have added mental health resources at the workplace include Comcast, which has a full-time English-Spanish bilingual therapist at its Miami office and Shaw Industries Group, which considers the benefit part of its retention strategy.

Some school districts in South Carolina are spotlighting their diverse programs during Career and Technical Education Month. Richland One's career and technical education program focuses on skill development, offering students preparation for the workforce, college studies or military service, allowing them to become job-ready candidates with dual-credit opportunities, industry certifications and real-world work experience.

Passion and purpose are important aspects of finding career fulfillment, but a more useful way of thinking about one's career path is the idea of a cardinal direction, a dynamic framework which incorporates your values, skills, capabilities and your ideal environments and collaborators, according to author and former Nike executive Christiana Smith Shi. Those who are early in their career can begin to find their cardinal direction by pursuing a job of interest and using it to define broader career goals, say Smith Shi and co-author Grace Puma.