Jon: I’m sitting here (on Google Hangouts) with Will Wegert. He has a company called Cold Collar, and he is a professional resume writer and branding expert. So I wanted to have him on a quick interview for today’s Tip of the Day. Will, tell us what you do and then we will get into some quick questions.

Will: Awesome. I will give you the super quick summary: Like you said, personal branding guru. Mostly I work with job seekers, entrepreneurs as well. My goal is to help them create authentic, marketable tools; tools they need to take the next step in their career. Specifically, resumes, LinkedIn profiles and personal websites – those are the tools that I use.
Jon: So if somebody is looking to start a new job, and they’re resume is old school and they need someone to make an impact and get it to the top of the pile, how do you service them?

Will: Yeah, I’m going to work with them very closely and do some client interviews, we are going to spend an hour or two on the phone, they’re going to do a questionnaire, we are going to dig deep into their background to create an authentic story, and a story that sells. So I am going to work with them and give them guidance not only on how to use their resume, but the core is creating a draft that really sells who they are on paper, so it gets to the top of the stack.

Jon: And why is this so unique? You are doing it differently than anybody has been doing it in a really long time and you are soaring. Your business is exploding. Why this approach? Why now?

Will: I think that I am kind of unique in the market because…everyone else is certified they followed the system that has been in place forever. But what really happens is you’re dealing with real people if you’re applying for a job: It’s real person to real person. So I went an unconventional route:  I started just kind of hacking the system to figure out how do I get real people in touch with real people, ignoring all the rules, ignoring  certification, ignoring what has been done. And guess what? When you’re a little bit different than everyone else, people start to notice. That works for the job seekers too, so I’m deliberate about being just a little different than everybody, maybe with a little flash of color, maybe a little bit of creativity, maybe a little first person. It depends on the person; it depends on the job. But it’s gotta be different; got to be different.

Jon: So tell everybody two things that they can do to connect with you and say how they should be thinking differently to get a new job today.

Will: If they just Google Will Wegert they should be able to find all my social profiles. I’m rebranding right now so the best place to connect is probably LinkedIn. And I forget the other question.

Jon: What can they be doing differently today to get off their procrastination, to find a new job, to start a new job?

Will: Three quick tips: Define your brand. You gotta have it really clear and concise with respect to who you are and what do, and then you’ve got to display it on your Twitter, on your Facebook, on your business card. So when someone says, “Who is John? Who is Will, you know immediately, no matter where they look, it’s that same clear brand. And then finally, you got to promote it. My first two pages on Google are packed with great results about me. Most people have nothing. You’ve got to find it, display it and promote the heck out of it!

Jon: Anybody who is looking to start this year in a new career, you have to become a good story teller when it comes to pitching yourself. Will is the guy. So reach out to him, and to those of you listening, good luck. Will is also going to be on an upcoming episode of the 7-Minute Sales Minute. Thanks, Will. Goodbye and good luck!