LinkedIn recommendations are an important part of building your professional brand and reputation on the platform. They provide valuable third-party validation of your skills, accomplishments, and work ethic from people you’ve worked with. However, sometimes recommendations can become outdated, no longer relevant, or you may wish to remove a recommendation for other reasons. So can you actually delete recommendations on your LinkedIn profile?
Can You Delete a LinkedIn Recommendation You’ve Received?
The short answer is no, you cannot directly delete a recommendation or endorsement that someone else has written for you on LinkedIn. LinkedIn does not allow members to delete recommendations or endorsements given to them by others. Only the person who initially wrote the recommendation can delete or edit it.
So if you want to remove a recommendation from your profile, you need to contact the person who wrote it and request that they delete it. Some reasons you may want to do this include:
- The recommendation contains inaccurate or misleading information
- The recommendation is poorly written or reflects poorly on you
- The recommendation is from a person you no longer want to be associated with
- The recommendation is outdated and no longer reflects your current job or skills
If you are unable to get the original reviewer to delete or update the recommendation, your only option is to hide the recommendation from your profile. This prevents it from being visible to others who view your profile, but does not actually remove it.
How to Hide a LinkedIn Recommendation
To hide a recommendation on your LinkedIn profile:
- Go to your profile and click on the “Recommendations” section
- Hover over the recommendation you want to hide and click the three dots icon next to it
- Select “Hide this recommendation from my profile”
This will immediately remove the recommendation from public view on your profile. However, it will still exist in LinkedIn’s database and will reappear if you choose to unhide it.
Considerations Before Hiding LinkedIn Recommendations
Before rushing to hide a recommendation, keep a few things in mind:
- Hiding a recommendation is not the same as deleting it – it can still impact your reputation behind the scenes.
- Sudden changes to your visible recommendations may raise questions from connections.
- The recommendation writer will not be notified if you hide their recommendation.
- Hidden recommendations still count toward your total recommendations number displayed on your profile.
In most cases, it is better to leave a mildly negative or unflattering recommendation visible rather than hiding it abruptly. Unless the content is factually incorrect, misleading, or damaging to your reputation, hiding it may only draw more attention.
Can You Delete Recommendations You’ve Written for Others?
Yes, you can delete a LinkedIn recommendation that you wrote for someone else. This removes it entirely from their profile and LinkedIn’s records.
Reasons you may want to delete a recommendation you gave include:
- You make a mistake in the recommendation text
- Your relationship with the person deteriorates after writing it
- You leave the same company and no longer want to be associated
- The person’s performance declines and the recommendation is no longer accurate
To delete a recommendation you wrote for someone else:
- Go to your profile and click “Recommendations given” under the Accomplishments section
- Locate the recommendation and click “More” next to it
- Select “Delete recommendation”
The recommendation will immediately be removed from the other person’s profile. They will not be notified of the deletion, but they will notice it is gone.
Ethical Considerations for Deleting Recommendations
Before removing a recommendation you wrote for someone, reflect carefully on the ethics of doing so:
- Did you write the recommendation willingly and in good faith at the time?
- Has the person truly changed or are you acting on emotion/impulse?
- Does deleting it significantly impact their current job search or reputation?
- Is there a more constructive way to address your concerns?
Deleting recommendations affects other people’s reputations and livelihoods. Recommend honesty and transparency whenever possible.
Can LinkedIn Admins or Staff Delete Recommendations?
In very limited cases, LinkedIn’s administration team may delete recommendations that violate site policies and standards. This could occur if a recommendation:
- Contains offensive, abusive or harassing content
- Appears to be spam or fraudulent
- Violates someone’s privacy rights or lawful requests
- Is reported and confirmed to be factually untrue
Under most circumstances though, LinkedIn will not interfere with recommendations or their removal. They view this as a matter between the creator and recipient.
Best Practices for Managing LinkedIn Recommendations
To maintain a strong yet ethical reputation on LinkedIn:
- Vet recommendations before accepting them to ensure quality.
- Keep recommendations current by politely requesting updates from past coworkers.
- Address misleading or concerning recommendations transparently.
- Treat others’ reputations the way you want yours treated.
- When deleting recommendations, communicate reasons clearly.
With thoughtfulness and care, you can cultivate the most accurate representation of your capabilities through LinkedIn recommendations.
Conclusion
In summary, while LinkedIn members cannot directly delete recommendations received from others, they can request the original author to remove or update the recommendation. As a last resort, members can hide unwanted recommendations from their profile view. When deciding to hide or remove recommendations, tread carefully and consider the ethical implications.
Recommendation writers have full control to delete recommendations they authored for others at any time. However, this ability should be exercised sparingly and with transparency to avoid unfairly impacting someone’s reputation.
Maintaining truthful, up-to-date, and relevant recommendations is a joint effort between profile owners and their connections. With mutual respect and consideration, a LinkedIn profile can serve as a credible representation of a member’s capabilities and achievements.