The LinkedIn recommendation feature is the modern-day digital equivalent of a recommendation letter. It’s a commendation written by a fellow LinkedIn member to recognise your work and vouch for your abilities.
It’s important to remember these are different from LinkedIn endorsements. Where your connections can click on your listed skills and endorse you for them. Recommendations take a little more time and consideration. This is why we’re here to help you use The Power of LinkedIn Recommendations to its full potential!
Requesting a LinkedIn recommendation
It can feel a little overwhelming navigating all the available features LinkedIn has to offer. But, when it comes to requesting recommendations it couldn’t be easier!
You can request recommendations from your 1st-degree connections. These can be current or former colleagues, peers or others in your network that can vouch for your character and work attributes. Once you’ve secured a recommendation from a connection you’ll be notified with a message from the sender. This is all accessed through LinkedIn, where the platform allows you to accept, dismiss or ask for a revision of the recommendation. This ensures the recommendation is exactly as you want it to appear and will be beneficial to your career prospects.
How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation
The easiest way for you to acquire more LinkedIn recommendations is by writing great ones for others. Writing a positive and glowing recommendation for your network increases your chances of them returning the favour.
It can be a little daunting knowing where to begin. This is why we’ve got a six-stage approach to constructing the perfect recommendation.
- Start by explaing the nature of your professional relationship: This can be a brief description or powerful opening hook, just be sure to give context.
- Be sure to provide details of the position you’re recommending that person for – It’s great to explain some of the most notable parts of their job description to help give a real sense of all the attributes they have and precisely what they’ve done in terms of work.
- Explain how they’ve grown at the company: This is a great one for those that have reported to you or still doas you can document their growth throughout this time and potential adaptability as the company has expanded.
- Indicate how their contribution helped grow the team or company: This could be how this person has helped hit targets or show leadership potential with colleagues.
- Explain what these achievements reveal about that person: This is an opportunity to explain how these specific qualities create a larger overall recommendation, the person could show cleat hard-working attributes or a great sense of team motivation and morale. Whatever it is be sure to include it!
- End with a note about the personal aspect of working with him/her: It’s always nice to end on a positive note, this is a final chance to mention your working relationship or your hopes for their career and future.
How many LinkedIn recommendations should I have?
Two to three recommendations from each job you have had are a good starting point. Some employees won’t look at profiles with any less than 10 while others will be more lenient. Either way, there’s no harm in having an abundance of glowing recommendations! It also gives you a chance to reconnect with old contacts and build a stronger network. It can feel a bit silly asking for a recommendation, but this is your professional network. You want people to see what you have to offer, and have that offering backed up by testimonials.
Do recruiters look at LinkedIn recommendations?
Your LinkedIn profile is a great way to showcase your work portfolio and one thing recruiters are often drawn to while scouring your account is undoubtedly the recommendations section. As a prospective candidate, your recommendations are written statements that could offer valuable insight into your capabilities. It’s crucial to utilise this!
So, why not reach out to your network and get some great recommendations?
