If you saw me mentioned by Tory Johnson on Good Morning America, (You can watch it here, in case you missed it) you learned a success story of a 50 year and older professional in a tough job climate — how Jeff Ogden became a Director of Marketing without a resume or job application.  Not to mention the fact that I beat out well over 100 well-qualified candidates.   

Despite what Tory said, I was not a desperate job-seeker blasting out resume after resume, as I was President of Find New Customers, “Lead Generation Made Simple.”  Business was okay, but it was getting better and better.  The future was very bright before this company found me.

You’re here undoubtedly here to learn more about how you can duplicate the approach I used. 

For even more detailed information on these approaches, please visit Get Back to Work Faster.  This site and the book of the same name is a project I did with Jill Konrath of Selling to Big Companies.

Before we share our keys, let’s first talk about how the world of job search has changed.  Job searching and sales have a lot in common.  Job search is just sales where you are the product.  So job seekers need to study the world of sales.

Sales has been revolutionized by the advent of high speed internet.  Buyer self-education has changed everything.  In fact, MarketingSherpa found that 8 out of 10 deals occur when the buyer finds the seller.  In the employment field, it’s when the hiring company finds the employee.  Employers look for great candidates online today.

So the real key today is to make sure you are exceptional and findable online.  This is how I won this top marketing role.

Here are 4 tips on making yourself compelling online.

• Establish a strong online presence
• Focus and demonstrate expertise
• Become a publisher of great content
• Spread yourself everywhere

Establish a strong online presence

What does that mean?  I became very active and established myself on Twitter, Linkedin and FaceBook.  I also wrote a blog that grew quite popular called Fearless Competitor.  And I created a website to showcase my expertise, Find New Customers.  How popular did I become?  I just learned that I’m much more popular online than an NFL player with an identical name.   Beat the NFL?  You can do it.

Focus and demonstrate expertise

What are you expert in?  Or what can you become expert in?  Remember, if you don’t have a strong expertise, blogs and books can bring you up to speed quickly.  My area of expertise was demand generation — the approaches businesses use to find and acquire new customers.  Refine and hone your expertise.

Become a publisher of great content

For me, that meant writing a white paper called How to Find New Customers.  I first had to find a sponsor and a mentor, so it’s not easy.  But you can do it.  I interviewed experts for podcast and created eBooks like Prospect Driven Marketing.  If  you don’t know what a white paper, eBook or podcast is, start researching it online.  Look at the content on Find New Customers for samples.

Spread yourself everywhere

You don’t know where employers will look, so you need to be everywhere.  The big sites are Twitter, Linkedin and FaceBook — if you are not active and present on all three, you are selling yourself short.  Linkedin in particular is a place employers search.  (It’s where my new employer found me.)  If you’re not familar with these, research them online.  But don’t just sign up.  Be active online.  Search for information about a topic or company in Twitter, for instance.  If you find an article about your area of expertise, share it on Twitter.  Jason Alba of JibberJobber has an excellent DVD entitled Linkedin for JobSeekers.

Finally find yourself a great mentor.  Mine was the remarkable Jill Konrath of Selling to Big Companies (remember the similarities between sales and job search?).  Jill and I collaborated on the book Get Back to Work Faster.