QRecently, I have been seeking employment and have been turned down by everyone regardless of my obvious qualifications. My job search is now pushing upwards of 100 applications and endless interviews. I am wondering if there is any way of finding out from those prospective employers the results of their reference checks and/or other information. I fear that one of my previous employers whom I submitted a letter of resignation to is possibly saying that they terminated me or worse. What are your suggestions or recommendations in finding out what kind of information is actually out there?

A. This is a frustrating situation, and if you can get a handle on it, your job search will go better.

First, the good news: You’re getting interviews. With 100 applications, you have done well to get more than a handful of meetings. For that reason, I’m going to assume that your resume is fine and that you are applying for jobs at, or slightly below, your skill level. Up until the interviews, employers seem to be willing to consider you as their next new worker.

The question is, what’s happening after that? There are three possibilities: The interview isn’t going well, the references aren’t checking out well, or you are being beat out by better candidates. We’ll take them one at a time.

Are you getting second interviews at any of these jobs? If so, your basic interview skills are probably fine. If not, that’s the first thing you need to improve. Chances are, your references aren’t getting checked until after the second interview.

Now let’s look at your reference list. Who’s on it? You should be bringing a typed list of references to each interview, to encourage the employer to call the people on your list rather than the supervisors you may have named on previous applications.

It doesn’t always work, but it’s worth a try. The list should note two or three work references and two or three personal references. In each case, give the person’s name, phone number, address and e-mail. Then add a line explaining how long you’ve known each other or which projects you worked on, or a similar “connecting” item.

When you do this, you give the interviewer a lead on what to ask the reference. Of course, before you give this list to the interviewer, you should have contacted each person on the list. It’s more than courtesy – it’s strategy. Your contact will help each person remember you well.

This doesn’t answer your basic question, however: What are your references currently saying? To find out, you can either call and ask him or her directly, or you can have a trusted friend call and pose as an employer. In either case, make note of what you’re hearing. If the person is not speaking well of you, take him or her off your reference page. On applications, find someone else to use as a contact at the company.

Don’t forget the third possibility for not getting an offer – you might be getting beat out by a better candidate. If that’s the case, just keep plugging away. Job search is largely a numbers game, and eventually you will be the better candidate.

Amy Lindgren writes for the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

A. Actually, no. As a job search strategist, I know the sender of that letter has no plan for follow-up – how can you call a company and ask for the sirs and madams? If you don’t have a name to put on the letter, you probably have no business sending a letter at all. Do everything in your power to find a name.

For those rare times when a letter must go out and there is no name, I would skip the greeting altogether. Jump into your main paragraph instead, and you will avoid calling attention to the omission.

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(Amy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgrenpioneerpress.com.)

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AP-NY-07-01-03 0609EDT