3 Ways To Create A Superstar Portfolio

We are in a business powered by superstars. You already know that.

Having a “talent” attached to your project will help get it done, but having a superstar makes all of your funding, marketing, and partnership problems go away.

Forget about the celebrities you work with for a minute. What category are you in? Are you simply talented or a stand out superstar? Which slot does your sample of work, your portfolio put you in?

In the entertainment industry I know too many people who spend bunches of time and money perfecting their reels, organizing their clips, and polishing their CVs, yet none of that actually lands them gigs. On the flip, I also know a few people who have Superstar Portfolios that attracts offers, closes deals, and earns referrals to new opportunities.

I’ve been on both sides of the table as a job hunter and hiring manager, so I know what it takes to have a Superstar Portfolio. Here are 3 ways to create your own.

Your old math teacher told you to “show your work” when you took your high school exams. That’s good advice today when building a Superstar Portfolio.

In addition to your polished samples, you should include a written or visual explanation of your process, the framework you used to make your creative decisions.

Smart companies and clients will ask you to describe your process anyway. They know that even if they don’t personally like your portfolio, it may just be that your former bosses had different objectives for your work. What matters to them is that you will nail the specification at the new gig they’re considering you for. Describing your methods will prove that.

A superstar portfolio anticipates the “What’s your system?” question and lays it out as careful as the polished pieces. For a great example of what it means to show your process, see what Jacob Cass did for a client, step-by-step.

Most portfolio websites have only two visitors a day – you from work and you from home.

Not even the hiring manager across you from at the interview wants to be sent to your website, which is why printed portfolios and DVD reels are still popular. With a “talented portfolio” the only way you can get people to check out your stuff is to literally hand it to them.

Compare that to a Superstar Portfolio, which attracts an audience, sends you leads, and is passed around over email and social media. What’s the difference that makes one sweet honey and the other bitter vinegar? The answer is “usefulness”.

A portfolio that attracts its own attention and spreads is one that’s independently useful. It you include a solution to a problem in your work, people will be happy to spread it around for you.

Think about the emails you forward or the links you share. They are either extremely entertaining (solving the problem of boredom) or insanely useful (solving the problem of, well everything else).  

As entertainment minded people we instinctively try to produce work samples that will make our future employers laugh, dance, or cry. I have a better suggestion for you that’s less difficult and more memorable.

Why not create work samples that solve a simple problem that’s common and specific to the people who will hire you?

In my former life as a music journalist, I solved the “How to open a CD Case” problem, and it became the most popular post I published on my blog.

Let’s say you’re a make-up artist. You can film yourself solving the “How To Apply Foundation At An Outdoor Shoot” problem. If it’s truly useful, don’t you think a video like that will spread amongst insiders further than the flat example photos in your talented portfolio?

It is illegal for your potential employer find out anything negative about your job performance from a former employer, but that won’t stop him from making those calls. A Superstar Portfolio beats them to the punch by offering testimonials that prove how amazing you are.

Be clear though – a great testimonial is not a like recommendation letter. No, no. 

Unlike a bloated rec letter, a testimonial is short. Multiple blurbs from past employers and partners should fit on the same page.

The testimonials should leave out the hyperbole that you find in a rec letter. Share specific results produced by your work and your credibility will skyrocket past anyone else who is applying for the same position.

Last off, please don’t follow the rec letter method of letting past bosses write it for you. Instead, you should interview them and write the relevant blurb yourself. Sean D’Souza shared 6 questions to ask to pull effective testimonials out of people. Even the busiest former bosses will stop to answer those questions about your job performance, then thank you for not expecting to write a long recommendation letter for you.

There’s a cruel irony to the “talented” portfolio. After spending so much effort creating one that properly shows off your work, you still have to network, interview, and negotiate to find a great position just as hard as before.

On the other hand, a Superstar Portfolio does the heavy lifting of your job search for you. You get to focus on doing great work, while your portfolio is out there attracting your next break.

The work you do already makes you a superstar. Makes sure your portfolio shows that.