LinkedIn recommendations are testimonials written by contacts to highlight skills, accomplishments, and character. They appear on your LinkedIn profile and are visible to your network and beyond. But do these recommendations need approval before being shown?
The answer is: it depends. When you add skills to your LinkedIn profile, you can choose to allow recommendations from your contacts without approval. Or you can choose to approve each one first before it’s visible.
Here’s an overview of how LinkedIn recommendation settings work:
Allowing Unapproved Recommendations
By default, LinkedIn allows recommendations to be shown on your profile without approval. When someone writes you a recommendation, you’ll get a notification, but it will appear automatically.
Allowing this can help you accumulate recommendations more quickly and easily. People are more likely to write them if they know it’s a seamless, instant process.
However, the downside is you lose control over what appears on your profile. The recommendation could contain errors, exaggerations, or information you’d rather not highlight.
Since recommendations are publicly visible, it’s important to consider their content and quality. An unvetted recommendation could do more harm than good.
Requiring Approval for Recommendations
Alternatively, you can choose to approve each recommendation first before it appears on your profile.
When someone writes you a recommendation, you’ll get a notification and will need to actively accept it before it’s shown. If you decline, it won’t be visible.
Requiring approval gives you full control over your recommendations. You can carefully review each one, checking for any inaccuracies or undesirable content.
This helps maintain the professionalism and credibility of your profile. Subpar recommendations won’t be associated with your name.
The catch is that requiring approval may deter some people from bothering to write recommendations in the first place. An extra step for the writer means you’ll likely receive fewer of them.
But for many professionals, quality trumps quantity when it comes to recommendations. A few excellent ones can be more powerful than a large number of mediocre ones.
Changing Your LinkedIn Recommendation Settings
Your LinkedIn recommendation settings are customizable at any time. Here are steps to change them:
Turn Off Approval for Recommendations
1. Go to your LinkedIn profile
2. Click on the “Edit public profile & URL” button
3. Select “Show readership”
4. Under “Recommendations”, uncheck the box for “Review and approve recommendations before they’re shown on your profile”
5. Click “Save”
This will allow recommendations without approval moving forward.
Turn On Approval for Recommendations
1. Go to your LinkedIn profile
2. Click on the “Edit public profile & URL” button
3. Select “Show readership”
4. Under “Recommendations”, check the box for “Review and approve recommendations before they’re shown on your profile”
5. Click “Save”
Once enabled, all new recommendations will be pending your approval.
Keep in mind you can also adjust settings for skills and expertise separately. Even if you allow automatic recommendations, you could still require approval for skills that are added by contacts.
Best Practices for Managing Recommendations
When weighing the pros and cons, here are some best practices most professionals recommend:
– Carefully vet anyone who will provide a recommendation and only accept them from trusted, credible sources. Don’t allow recommendations from vague or unfamiliar connections.
– Craft customized recommendations for close contacts who you feel comfortable endorsing you. Provide details they can include to ensure relevancy.
– Regardless of settings, proactively manage your recommendations by periodically reviewing existing ones and removing any that are outdated, irrelevant, or unhelpful.
– View your profile as a visitor to objectively evaluate how recommendations appear from the outside perspective.
– Balance the volume of recommendations with other profile content so they don’t overwhelm your overall brand.
– Use settings to control recommendations for skills specifically. Keep approvals turned on for expertise where quality matters most.
Pros and Cons of LinkedIn Recommendation Settings
Here is a summary of the key pros and cons of each option:
Allowing Automatic Recommendations
Pros:
– Accumulate recommendations quickly and easily
– Require minimal effort for the person providing them
– Can demonstrate you have an engaged professional network
Cons:
– Loss of quality control over content
– Risk of inaccurate or poorly written recommendations
– Spam recommendations could appear from unknown contacts
Requiring Recommendation Approval
Pros:
– Full control over which recommendations appear
– Ensure recommendations are high-quality and relevant
– Cultivate select recommendations from trusted sources
Cons:
– Slower to accumulate recommendations
– Extra barrier may deter some people from bothering
– Requires time and effort to review each one
Examples of LinkedIn Recommendation Settings
Here are a few examples of how professionals may choose to configure their LinkedIn recommendation settings and why:
Emma, Marketing Manager
Emma opts to allow recommendations without approval. She wants to quickly grow the number of recommendations to showcase engagement within her large network. She’s less concerned about controlling quality as most of her contacts are reputable marketing professionals who provide relevant testimonials.
Noah, Software Engineer
Noah chooses to review all recommendations before they’re shown. He’s meticulous about curating his skills and expertise section with trusted technical sources. The extra step discourages spam recommendations while letting him carefully verify each one before endorsing it.
Olivia, Recruiter
Olivia takes a mixed approach. She permits automatic recommendations but has approval required for skills specifically. This allows volume while still ensuring quality control over skill validation from colleagues, which is vital for her role.
Conclusion
LinkedIn’s recommendation settings provide flexibility based on your preferences and strategy. The choice depends on your priorities – quantity versus quality, convenience versus control.
Most professionals suggest erring on the side of caution by requiring approvals, at least for key skills and expertise. This helps mold your image using credible testimonials.
But an approval process is also more hands-on. Be sure you have the bandwidth to actively manage recommendations over time. The right settings ultimately come down to your specific needs and profile goals.
| Setting | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Allow Automatic Recommendations | – Accumulate quickly – Minimal effort for sender – Shows engaged network |
– Loss of quality control – Risk of inaccurate content – Chance of spam |
| Require Recommendation Approval | – Total control over content – Ensure high quality – Cultivate trusted sources |
– Slower to accumulate – Deters some senders – Requires review time |
