Dear Joyce: I'm a little concerned after not hearing back for two weeks on a job offer. Although my overall record is excellent, I do have one negative reference from nine years ago. I'm aware that previous employers, fearful of litigation, are unlikely to say much. But I've just heard of a worrisome reference-checking technique: Recruiters call references when they are likely to be unavailable then leave a cryptic message: "Bob Thomas is a candidate for employment with us and gave your name as a reference. Please call me back if Mr. Thomas was outstanding." The idea is that if you're good, references will call back right away. In contrast, if they don't call back promptly, they must think you're a dud. It's a slick tactic, because it avoids the legal problems of a bad verbal reference. Could this be why I haven't received the anticipated offer?

The no-news-is-bad-news gambit you describe is a rare variation of a cutesy old reporter's tactic. Don't worry about the people who play this game -- do you want to work with that kind of mind?

More likely your stall comes from elsewhere in the hiring process, from lack of budget to a better qualified candidate -- hard to tell from the outside. Is there a reason why you're not calling back to ask about the status of filling the job? If you're tongue-tied, any number of job-search books have scripts. Or take a look at the phone script on Monster.com.

When the offer you want does come through in this booming job market, Marilyn Moats Kennedy (no relation) suggests that you put on the brakes long enough to get a written offer and job description and that you make sure you understand management's expectations.

In her Career Strategist newsletter, Kennedy describes a client who recently lost three jobs in a flash, forgetting that good times don't compensate for your blind choices and weak performance.

The preeminent career advisor also lists the latest crop of job interview questions for professionals and managers, including these Kennedy Strategist excerpts:

• How do you measure your own productivity? Any method reassures that productivity is tops with you.
• Have you fired anyone in the past year and why? Show courage and conviction in doing what must be done rather than blowing smoke about trying to rehab deadwood.
• If the job didn't work out, how soon would you cut your losses? No certain answer, but anyone who doesn't admit cutting losses within a reasonable time is suspect. New graduates can expect especially heavy focus on this topic.
• Tell me how you use an assistant in your job. A trick question aimed at finding out whether your computer skills are adequate.

As we head toward Y2K and as low unemployment rolls long, worry about complacency in the management of your career. This is no time to coast. As Intel Chairman Andrew Grove says in a career-inclusive revision of Only the Paranoid Survive be prepared in your career to deal with "strategic inflection points" (loose translation: the sky is falling) which is what happened when the Japanese forced Intel out of the computer memory business into microprocessors in the mid '80s.

The ability to maneuver smartly through hiring systems and find desirable new jobs has never been more crucial as global competition grows. Planning is challenging.

From Grove: "Plan the way a fire department plans: It cannot anticipate where the next fire will be, so it has to shape an energetic and efficient team that is capable of responding to the unanticipated as well as to any ordinary event."