Q: I’m about to enter the job market. A few years back I had some serious health problems. I’m fine now, but I worry about a recurrence. How much information does an employer need to have about my health history? – Manny

A: Kate: A potential employer needs to know only whether you can perform the essential functions of the job. An employer is not allowed to ask you other health-related questions, such as whether or not you have had major health problems in the past.

Dale: Health information can, however, sneak into the application process. I’ve been reading a helpful e-book about background checks called “The Job Hunters’ Secret Weapon” by Jan Maxwell. (It’s a PDF file available online at purplepress.com for $13.) If a company calls your references, someone might say, “I’m glad he came through surgery OK.” So you might want to ask your references to be discreet.

Kate: The other issue is health-care coverage. Before you take the job – and after you get the job offer – simply ask the human-resources person if you can see the health-insurance plan. This is not an unreasonable request. If need be, you can call the health-insurance company to find out about coverage for pre-existing conditions. My brother took a job at a lousy company, and the insurance didn’t start for six months – then he had to wait another year before having knee surgery. Health insurance has become a key factor in deciding on job offers, and that’s especially true in your situation.

Q: I was struck by something you said in a recent article: “With a great boss there are no bad jobs; with a lousy boss there are no good ones.” I’ve had four jobs in the past three years, with nine different bosses. None of them was “great.” So where are these great bosses? – Melanie

Dale: Based on my ongoing search for the best bosses in America, fewer than one in 20 qualify as what I think of as a “gifted boss.” So, Melanie, if you keep going the way you have been, you’ll soon surpass 20 bosses, and you’d think that eventually the odds would turn to your favor; however, that’s not the way it works. Great bosses rarely resort to the traditional job market. You could go through a hundred bosses without running into one gifted one. Rather than sorting through resumes, great bosses tend to be talent scouts. Further, because gifted bosses are masters at developing talent, everyone wants to work for them, and the best employees seek them out.

Kate: I often talk about putting the “research” in “job search,” and it’s even more true here. There are two kinds of research – primary and secondary. The latter refers to what is written about companies, especially the annual reports and press releases (usually available at a company’s Web site). Primary research is mostly talking to people, and that’s especially relevant when searching for a great boss. This probably makes you think of a formal networking effort; however, when you’re on an airplane or at a bus stop and someone says, “What do you do for a living?” you say, “This is what I do, and this is what I’m interested in doing next.” The other person might be able to tell you about an industry, company or manager. That, too, is research.

Dale: Most people who work at good companies hear “Are you hiring?” all the time. They hear it so often that they don’t really give it a thought, automatically offering up an outright “no” or a soft “no” (“I’ll keep my ears/eyes open.”). Imagine how much more intriguing it is for such people to be asked, “Who’s the best boss at your company? What’s he/she like?” That gets the other person’s mind engaged, yielding valuable information on people who can become part of your target list.