With the current job market saturated with people looking for work, those doing the hiring might be taking a closer look at candidates' references.

If you are in the job hunt, career experts advise you find out the reference policy at your former employer and attempt to secure a written recommendation from supervisors or colleagues who will provide it.

Most companies don't provide references other than confirming your dates of employment and your job titles.

But that doesn't mean the place where you hope to work next won't aggressively seek out some details about your performance at past jobs.

"We are seeing a definite trend of more prospective employers contacting not only the human resources department where the candidate worked, which is the traditional venue, but in addition, they are increasingly contacting the candidate's last supervisor or recent supervisors," said Jeff Shane, vice president, Allison & Taylor of Rochester, Mich., a firm that checks references for executives and professionals who are looking for jobs.

Obviously, a supervisor will be more familiar with the candidate's skills and abilities than someone in HR who glances at a file to confirm dates, Mr. Shane said. What's more, the former boss is likely to add candid comments about the person in question. And in a crowded job field, that's what prospective employers want to hear.

"To narrow down the list, and with an abundance of qualified candidates in this market, they can afford to be more choosy and conduct a little more due diligence in checking references than they might have in the past."

Because your references may be more critical than ever to your job search, don't assume the only people who will be contacted about you will be names of personal contacts you supply with a resume.

"The job seeker should not be complacent and think personal references will make or break their prospects," said Mr. Shane.

His firm suggested you find out what your former employer will say -- and get it in writing -- before you leave the job. If company policy mandates they provide only the dates you were employed and job titles, you could have legal recourse if they provide other information.

You can retain a firm like Mr. Shane's to check out your references in advance, or seek positive written recommendations on your own.

"It's fine to ask for a written recommendation," said Alison Doyle, job search expert for About.com.

Besides a hard copy letter, Ms. Doyle suggested requesting a recommendation from your former supervisor and colleagues that can be posted on the Internet networking site, LinkedIn.

"That will be available online for prospective employers and networking companies."

Typically, the human resources department at your former employer should be able to tell you company policy on what information will be released about you in the future, she said.

Letters of recommendation are not always as effective as they were in the past, said Mr. Shane, because hiring managers may assume the candidate had significant input into what they say and may not consider them to be credible.

"They are increasing their efforts to speak directly with former supervisors of the candidate .... If they are able to obtain a more candid or revealing profile of their candidate and [his or her] credentials, they will welcome the additional information."

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