"I can't contact these companies for interviews! If I do, word may get back to my boss that I'm looking for another job, and then I'll be in a real jam."

"This blind ad describes my dream job, but what if the advertiser is my own company? No matter how much I want the position, I can't risk submitting my resume."

"I'd like to post my resume online, but my employer might find it."

These fears are common among employed candidates who seek new positions. To prevent detection, they use strategies such as only contacting a limited number of organizations. This may keep them from applying to companies in their field that are likely to value their experience most and provide the best opportunities for greater responsibilities and compensation.

Don't let fear of jeopardizing your current position stop you from pursuing good prospects, earning interviews and landing the job you want. Instead, apply other search techniques that allow you to generate meetings with prospective employers while protecting your identity.

By using any of the following four tactics, your name doesn't even have to be mentioned until after an interview has been arranged. In several instances, you can schedule interviews with any company you choose before giving out your name.

Employment professionals believe that 65% to 70% of all job hunters find positions through personal referrals. But this approach has another benefit: It allows you to contact companies while maintaining confidentiality. There are two ways to proceed.

The first is to initiate a telephone campaign. Compile a list of organizations where you'd like to interview, then the names of managers you know -- or know of -- who might be able to arrange introductions for you at those employers.

Decide who'll approach which organizations by showing your list of target companies to each contact. Ask your sponsors to arrange interviews with line managers rather than members of the personnel department. The latter can't create a position for you and usually aren't aware of managers' hiring plans. This approach typically works to your advantage because your sponsor has a relationship -- and considerable credibility -- with each manager he or she calls, which provides you with credibility. Additionally, your sponsor doesn't need to reveal your name unless an interview is arranged.

The more contacts you can enlist to make calls for you, the larger the "sales force" you create to help with your search. You may be amazed by how effectively your network functions. This was the experience of Ezra Marcus, a television news reporter for WLIG-TV in Riverhead, New York, who wanted to work in a larger market in Florida.

Mr. Marcus discussed his goal with several trusted friends. One confidant responded by saying he knew Gary Wordlaw, a television news director in Baltimore, Maryland, who had extensive contacts in the Florida market. A meeting was arranged, and Mr. Wordlaw offered to call colleagues in Florida on Mr. Marcus's behalf.

A few weeks later, Mr. Marcus received a call from Bob Morford, news director at WTVX-TV in Ft. Pierce, Florida. By the end of the conversation, Mr. Morford felt confident enough of Mr. Marcus's capabilities and qualifications to offer him a job, which Mr. Marcus promptly accepted.

"I put great stock in Gary Wordlaw's evaluation of you," he told Mr. Marcus, "and I feel I don't even need to meet you in person."

The second way personal contacts can assist is by writing letters or sending e-mail to managers who might have a need for and want to hire someone with your qualifications. Your sponsors don't have to know these hiring managers. They only need to hold respected positions in the same field. The name of their employer, along with their title in the signature block, will give them -- and you -- the necessary credibility. If you're fortunate enough to have a sponsor who's well-known in your industry, his or her endorsement will have even more impact.

This letter or e-mail should say that the writer represents an eminently qualified person who wishes anonymity because of a current employment situation. After describing your qualifications, your sponsors should state their willingness to arrange an interview with any hiring manager who wants to meet you.

Roger Cross, an advertising manager at a computer distributor in Cambridge, Massachusetts., wanted to change jobs within the computer industry but didn't want his employer to know he was looking. He enlisted the aid of a well-known advertising executive in a high-technology corridor on the outskirts of Boston. After composing a letter to hiring managers with his sponsor, Mr. Cross produced 50 personalized copies on his home computer for the executive's signature.

The mailing drew an impressive response, and a month later, Mr. Cross was hired as director of advertising at another Boston-area computer company.

There are two types of firms: retained, which are paid retainer fees even if candidates they suggest aren't hired, and contingency, which are paid only if candidates they propose accept jobs. Many specialize in certain functions or industries, and it's best to contact those in your field.

Retained firms usually work on assignments paying more than $100,000 annually. If you only work with retained recruiters, you don't have to worry about jeopardizing your employment since they never "broadcast" names of candidates. Remember, though, that these firms are employed by companies, not candidates, and seek individuals whose backgrounds match a current search assignment. If you lack the credentials they're seeking, they won't market you to employers.

Contingency recruiters typically fill positions paying between $30,000 and $100,000, and are constantly proposing names of marketable candidates to employers. Since contingency recruiters are likely to suggest you for more openings than retained consultants, your privacy may be threatened. Make sure these recruiters understand certain ground rules, such as never mass-mailing your resume to employers and always contacting you before proposing you for an opening. It might help to provide a list of companies where you'd like to interview.

Many recruiters now have Web sites that list job openings and allow you to post your resume for positions that are or will be available.

Karen Young was a project coordinator servicing five pharmaceutical accounts at the William Douglas McAdams advertising agency in New York. When she felt ready to become an account executive, she contacted Bill Arsenault, a contingency recruiter who specializes in the advertising industry.

Mr. Arsenault knew that a Young & Rubicam Inc. subsidiary in Manhattan had an opening for an account executive on a pharmaceuticals account. He arranged an interview for Ms. Young, and it went so well that within a week, she was offered and accepted the position.

Companies that solicit responses from job hunters through online job postings or newspaper classified ads should be willing to protect them. Some ads ask you to respond only to an e-mail address or box-number address without disclosing the company's identity. Reasons companies use such so-called "blind" ads include to avoid being flooded with calls and letters, to replace a current executive, to learn whether current employees are thinking about leaving, or to survey salaries. Your immediate reaction may be to shun them since you don't know the company's name and fear inadvertently responding to your own employer. But since you can often learn the identity of companies using blind ads, you shouldn't automatically eliminate this approach.

To ensure anonymity, use either of the following tactics when responding to blind ads:

• Respond to the ad by having someone else write a letter or send an e-mail on your behalf. Ask someone who's known or holds a high-level position in the company's field to serve as your intermediary.
• The second way to ensure confidentiality is to provide only an e-mail address or post-office box number as your return address, instead of your actual name and address. This method isn't as effective as the previous one, since many employers eliminate applicants who don't identify themselves. However, in today's hot job market, many more companies will contact you than in years past.

Presuming the blind ad is for a legitimate job, you might wish to respond and may have more success than your responses to other ads, even though you withhold your identity, because fewer people reply to this kind of notice. The company's need for confidentiality will dramatically narrow the field of respondents.

If these approaches fail, try a trickier method. Respond to the ad with a perfect, one-page resume (not your own) that includes a bogus name and a friend's address and phone number. If the employer calls, your friend should say that the bogus person isn't available and ask for the name of the organization. You can then decide whether to apply for the opening. This method's deviousness may not appeal to you, but it does work.

For newspaper ads that list a post-office box number, call the post-office branch listed in the address and ask for the name of the advertiser. The postal service may provide the name of the organization and contact information, as long as the box was rented by a company and not an individual.

If the advertiser uses a newspaper box number, learning the name is more difficult. Some place may have laws requiring newspapers to comply with requests to identify advertisers, so start by calling the paper's classified advertising department and asking for the name.

Many sites offer a privacy mechanism enabling you to post your resume anonymously. They'll delete your name and address from your resume and substitute for an employer's name a brief company description, such as "Major Specialty Chemicals Company." Other sites will provide you with a list of the companies that are registered to view resumes, and they'll allow you to block the names of firms that you'd prefer not see your posting.

"To maximize your confidentiality, first get a copy of the list of companies allowed to view the site, then block the names you want. Never leave this task for a Web site to perform," says Margaret Riley Dikel, a Rockville, Maryland, online employment and recruitment consultant and author whose Web site, the Riley Guide, is a directory of online career and recruitment resources.

Pat Criscito, a Colorado Springs, Colorado, resume writer and author of "Resumes in Cyberspace," (Barrons, 2001), adds, "Despite your precautions, understand that 100% confidentiality can't be guaranteed. Most sites will even have a disclaimer to this effect."

Another way to get interviews confidentially is through career sites that allow you to post anonymously a skills summary, employment profile or your resume. Catering to free-lancers and contractors, these sites specialize in a particular industry, field or type of job, and they'll serve as a clearinghouse for employers interested in speaking with you. Monster.com's "Talent Market" allows employers to bid on your services, while withholding your identity and managing all the negotiating. The site will require payment for its services once you contract with a company.

Placing a position-wanted ad in a newspaper won't produce many interviews. Still it may be worthwhile to place an announcement of your availability in a trade magazine in your field. The ad should state the title of the position you're seeking and briefly list your key qualifications. For a typical one-column ad, you only need five to 10 lines of type.

Employed job seekers often don't realize how many options they have for contacting companies without their employers getting wind of it. Choose the methods that seem best for your situation, then apply them with as much determination as you would if you weren't worried about confidentiality. You'll feel doubly rewarded when you land a new position without having jeopardized your current situation.