Tips on conducting a stealth job hunt

Dear Liz:

I am job-hunting, and I don’t want to give my current supervisor’s name as a reference. When I apply for positions, the application form asks for my current job details and my supervisor’s name. But, of course, I don’t want my supervisor to know I am job-hunting. We have a great relationship, but she would be very unhappy to know that I’m looking for a new job.

Also, most of my past references will give me great recommendations, but there is one manager from several years ago who never really took to me and vice-versa. He was not a great manager in my opinion, and I’d hate for him to be included as one of my references. Must I give this manager’s name and contact information when I fill out job applications?

I do not want to spook prospective employers by saying, “By the way, this manager didn’t like me,” but I fear what he might say on a reference call.

Any advice for me?

- Clarence

Dear Clarence:

Your first question is easy. No prospective employer should require you to share your current manager’s details when you’re in a stealth job search. You can include the company name, and leave the manager information blank. It is reasonable for employers to ask for this information on their application forms so that applicants who have already left their past jobs can include it. But you, as a currently employed and under-the-radar job-seeker, aren’t expected to share your current boss’ contact info.

You will notify your boss that you’ve been job-hunting, but you’ll do it after you’ve accepted an offer.

Now, for that boss back in the day who didn’t see eye to eye with you - that’s not so difficult either. You must provide a reference associated with each job you’ve held. Ideally, that reference is your own manager. But managers leave companies all the time, and you aren’t responsible for ensuring that every single reference you provide is your own boss, much less your last boss on the time line, at every job you’ve held over the years.

It’s more important to have a positive reference who will recommend you highly, even if that means that your reference will be a higher-level manager, a peer to your manager, or a manager you held at an earlier period on the job. So, you could put down the name of your boss’ boss, when you next have the opportunity to fill out an application form.

You could also use a different manager in the company - maybe someone who supervised you at one time, before your not-so-wonderful manager took the reins. You could list a manager who has left the company. As long as the person was in a leadership position at your old employer, knows your work, and has positive things to say about you, he or she will make a good choice as a reference-giver.

Be sure to call up this person and prep him or her before that phone rings! It’s always polite to ask a reference-giver for his or her permission to be included on your reference list. And, it doesn’t hurt to refresh his or her memory about the things you’ve been doing since you saw one another, and a few specifics about the jobs you’re pursuing now.

Like they say, networking is forever!

Liz Ryan is a former Fortune 500 VP, a 25-year HR veteran and an expert on careers and the new millennium workplace. An award-winning entrepreneur and workplace adviser, Ryan is author of "Happy About Online Networking" and founder of the global online community www.AskLizRyan.com. E-mail Ryan at liz@asklizryan.com.