Dear J.T. & Dale: I’ve been at my current job for a year, but this fall my hours will be cut to part time, and I want to look for something new. At my previous job, I was “let go,” mainly because of a lack of experience. How should I manage my references? — Roni

J.T.: My suggestion is to quietly reach out to a trusted co-worker or two and see if they would be willing to be peer references. You can tell potential employers that your current manager is unaware that you are looking, and thus, you’d prefer that they not contact him or her until you’ve accepted an offer.

Dale: “Quietly reach out,” eh? I have never gone wrong in assuming that anything I say to a co-worker is the same as posting it on the department’s bulletin board. Instead, I’d go to former co-workers who have moved on to other companies, including those from your prior job. You won’t just be lining up references, but perhaps making references unnecessary by finding a job through someone you’ve worked with. If that fails, and you end up needing references from your current employer, you can always line them up after a new company has shown serious interest in hiring you, making the risk of “quietly reaching out” worthwhile.

Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and founder of the consulting firm jtodonnell.com. Dale Dauten’s latest book is “(Great) Employees Only: How Gifted Bosses Hire and De-Hire Their Way to Success” (John Wiley & Sons). Please visit them at jtanddale.com, where you can send questions via e-mail, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

© 2008 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.