How many LinkedIn recommendations is good?

Having a strong LinkedIn profile with quality recommendations is becoming increasingly important for job seekers and professionals looking to advance their careers. LinkedIn recommendations provide social proof of your skills, accomplishments, and work ethic from people you’ve worked with. But how many LinkedIn recommendations should you have to be considered a strong candidate? What’s the optimal number of recommendations to aim for?

Why LinkedIn Recommendations Matter

LinkedIn recommendations serve several useful purposes:

• They validate your skills, knowledge, and experience in the eyes of recruiters and hiring managers
• They show you’re a respected team player that colleagues are willing to endorse
• They give you credibility and “social proof” as a professional
• They can boost your LinkedIn profile’s search rankings and authority

Essentially, LinkedIn recommendations are mini testimonials that help paint a positive picture of who you are as a worker and colleague. The more tailored, sincere recommendations you have, the better.

How Many Recommendations Should You Have?

So how many LinkedIn recommendations are considered good to have? Here are some general guidelines based on career level:

So for most professionals, aiming for 10-15 quality recommendations is a good goal. The more seniority and experience you have, the more recommendations you should shoot for.

Students and Recent Grads

If you’re just starting out in your career, recommendations from professors, internship managers, coaches, or organizational leaders can go a long way. Focus on getting 3-5 recommendations highlighting qualities like work ethic, teamwork, and leadership potential.

Early Career

Once you have a couple years of experience under your belt, recommendations become even more important. Try to get 5-10 endorsements from colleagues and managers at jobs you’ve held. The goal is to show progression and growth.

Mid-Career

By the time you’ve reached a mid-career level, you should have a robust network of former coworkers, clients, supervisors, and direct reports who can vouch for your abilities. Shoot for 10-15 recommendations by this stage – the more recent and relevant the better.

Experienced Professionals

For directors, senior managers, and other seasoned professionals, having an ample amount of recommendations (15-25+) carries a lot of weight. It displays years of building positive working relationships and influencing others. Focus on getting endorsements from people in prominent or respected roles.

Executives/Leaders

Once you’ve reached an executive or VP level and beyond, recommendations act as crucial social proof that you have the experience, leadership skills, and influence to justify a top role. Striving for 25+ recommendations from well-known professionals and former reports is key.

Quality Over Quantity

When it comes to LinkedIn recommendations, quality matters more than the raw number. It’s better to have a handful of thoughtful, personalized recommendations than dozens of generic, vague endorsements. Each recommendation should showcase:

• Specific skills, accomplishments, or traits you exhibited
• First-hand experience working with or managing you
• Unique ways you added value to a project or team
• Your impact on the recommender or organization

Prioritize getting recommendations from current and former:

• Managers
• Direct reports
• Colleagues in senior roles
• Cross-functional partners
• Well-known leaders/executives

The recommender’s role and qualifications matter too. An endorsement from your company’s CEO looks much more impressive than one from an entry-level assistant with no profile photo or background info.

Strategies to Get More Quality Recommendations

Here are some best practices for garnering more meaningful LinkedIn recommendations:

• Provide recommendations first: The best way to get recommendations is to give them first. Be generous in endorsing former coworkers, colleagues, managers, etc. They’ll often reciprocate.
• Request during offboarding: The exit interview is a perfect time to ask managers or direct reports to provide a LinkedIn recommendation reflecting on your work together.
• Suggest key talking points: To encourage personalized recommendations, provide 3-4 bullet points of specific accomplishments or impacts you made.
• Follow up politely: Checking in with your recommender politely after a few weeks ensures they don’t forget to write the endorsement.
• Show gratitude: When you receive a recommendation, thank the person and highlight the specific aspects that made it meaningful.
• Keep improving your work: The best way to continue getting great recommendations is to keep performing highly and making positive impacts.

Recommendation Etiquette

Here are some important etiquette tips when requesting LinkedIn recommendations:

• Only ask people who’ve worked closely with you and can speak first-hand to your abilities.
• Give recommenders plenty of time to complete endorsements thoughtfully, without rushing.
• Keep recommendation requests professional and polite. Don’t demand or press aggressively.
• Accept any feedback from recommenders gracefully and maturely.
• Always express gratitude for a recommender’s time and kind words.
• If needed, gently remind busy recommenders after a few weeks have passed.
• Never ask for recommendations solely because someone is prominent or well-known.

Following these etiquette practices helps ensure you continue building positive relationships with recommenders. While growing your number of recommendations, avoid burning bridges in the process.

Keep Recommendations Updated

Make sure your LinkedIn recommendations remain relatively current and relevant over time. Here’s how:

• Occasionally rotate out stale, outdated recommendations that no longer reflect your latest experience and skills.
• Request new recommendations after significant career milestones, achievements, or promotions.
• Aim for at least a quarter of your recommendations to come from roles within the last 2-3 years.
• If you change careers or industries, focus on recommendations that highlight transferable skills.

Keeping your recommendations updated prevents them from becoming irrelevant over the long haul. They should showcase your progression, not just past accomplishments.

Give Recommendations Freely

The best way to amass quality LinkedIn recommendations is to give them freely and generously yourself. Adopting a “pay it forward” mentality leads to positive reciprocity that benefits everyone:

• Endorse colleagues who consistently do great work and exhibit leadership.
• Recommend those who’ve taught you important skills or mentored your career growth.
• Validate direct reports who contributed meaningfully to projects and goals.
• Show gratitude to vendors, agencies, or partners who excel at their services.

Giving recommendations freely builds your reputation as a collaborative, supportive professional. And studies show that givers tend to rise faster in their careers over the long run.

In Summary

Here’s a quick recap on optimal LinkedIn recommendation numbers:

• Aim for 3-5 recommendations as a student or new grad
• Strive for 5-10 once you have a couple years of experience
• Build up to 10-15 recommendations by mid-career
• Maintain 15-25 as an experienced professional or leader
• 25+ recommendations display executive-level credibility and influence

But the quality and relevance of your recommendations matter much more than just racking up quantity. Solicit thoughtful endorsements from those who know your work best. Keep cultivating new recommendations over time. And freely give recommendations to others too. Follow these best practices, and your LinkedIn recommendations will serve as a persuasive career testimonial.