A great resume and a glib interview might still leave you jobless if you haven’t paid attention to that crucial last piece of landing a job: having good - and helpful - references. Try these steps:

Mix well. Besides previous supervisors, include references who have worked more closely with you, such as colleagues, clients or mentors. As long as they’re familiar with you and your work, offer up the most supportive people you can.

A typical worker might list two current or past immediate supervisors, a higher-ranking executive, a colleague you have worked with closely and one wild card, such as a client, a widely respected person, a teacher, a friend or someone you did volunteer work with.

Offer guidance. Before listing people as references, check with them to make sure all is well. Tell them who might be calling, explain which skills and experiences you would like them to emphasize, and make sure you’re not asking them to do something they’re uncomfortable with. If you haven't worked with them in years, remind them of projects you handled.

Unless your career has been pathetic, you don’t want a reference who will simply give your dates of employment and job titles. If you have people like that on your list, you're wasting an opportunity.

Don’t offer too early. If you have the pope, the president and the Dalai Lama as references, mention them before you even request an interview. Otherwise, though, don’t offer up people’s names until you know that you want the job and are a serious candidate. You don’t want your references to get lots of unnecessary phone calls.

Keep them informed. Phone your references later to see if any employers called, and let them know whether you got the job. And send a thank you note.

Make sure to stay in touch over the years, asking about their lives as well as telling them about yours. As with any other people on your network, your references will have a more genuine interest in you if you show a genuine interest in them.