Having a strong LinkedIn profile is crucial for any professional looking to advance their career or find new job opportunities. One of the most effective ways to enhance your LinkedIn profile is by getting recommendations from previous managers, colleagues, or clients. LinkedIn recommendations serve as third-party endorsements that highlight your skills, expertise, and work ethic. However, to get the full benefit of LinkedIn recommendations, you need to ensure they are publicly visible on your profile.
Why LinkedIn Recommendations Matter
LinkedIn recommendations provide social proof of your qualifications and abilities. According to LinkedIn, profiles with recommendations are 7x more likely to be viewed. Recommendations also act as peer testimonials that support your skills and experience claims. This helps establish trust and credibility with recruiters and hiring managers viewing your profile.
Further, LinkedIn recommendations can improve your visibility and search rankings on the platform. Profiles with more recommendations tend to rank higher in LinkedIn search results. This gives you a competitive edge against other candidates in your industry or niche.
In short, LinkedIn recommendations are critical for:
- Validating your skills and credentials
- Showcasing work achievements or unique capabilities
- Strengthening your professional brand or reputation
- Increasing discoverability and search visibility on LinkedIn
However, for recommendations to provide these benefits, they need to be publicly visible on your profile.
How to Make LinkedIn Recommendations Public
Here are the steps to make LinkedIn recommendations appear on your profile:
Step 1: Add New Recommendations
Start by reaching out and asking managers, co-workers, clients, or college professors to write new LinkedIn recommendations for you. Provide details on your background and experience working with them to make the process easy. The more relevant and recent the recommendations, the better.
Step 2: Review Recommendation Content
Once you receive new recommendations, review the content carefully. Make sure the recommendations are positive, with specific details on projects, accomplishments, skills, or qualifications you want highlighted. Provide suggestions if any key info is missing.
Step 3: Accept Recommendations
After the recommendation content looks good, accept the recommendations. This publishes the recommendations on your profile. However, they still won’t be visible to public visitors at this point.
Step 4: Change Visibility Settings
To make recommendations public, go to your profile and click on the “Review” tab. Next, click “ Manage recommendations.” In the visibility section, change the toggle from “Private” to “Public.” Save the changes.
Step 5: Customize Recommendation Display
Under the manage recommendations page, you can also choose which recommendations are featured at the top of your profile. Edit the ordering or hide any recommendations you don’t want highlighted publicly.
Additionally, go to your profile and use the “Featured” section to showcase certain skills or recommendations upfront. You can customize both the content and presentation to your liking.
Tips for Getting Recommendations
Here are some tips to get high quality LinkedIn recommendations:
- Ask shortly after completing major projects or milestones when details are fresh.
- Follow up personalized requests with reminders or LinkedIn messages.
- Offer to draft initial recommendation content they can update or approve.
- Highlight specific skills or accomplishments you want emphasized.
- Request recommendations from higher-ups or people you worked closely with.
- Show appreciation by endorsing their skills after receiving a recommendation.
LinkedIn Recommendation Examples
Here are two sample LinkedIn recommendations illustrating the type of content that makes an impact:
Recommender | Recommendation Text |
---|---|
John Smith, Senior Project Manager | I highly recommend Jane as an incredible software engineer who was the lead developer on our top mobile apps. Jane has outstanding technical skills and the ability to clearly communicate complex programming concepts with stakeholders. She wrote quality, maintainable code on tight deadlines and spearheaded major app upgrades. |
Sarah Lee, Marketing Director | Jane is simply one of the best marketing professionals I’ve worked with. She is results-driven, creative, and has an exceptional ability to develop integrated digital marketing campaigns that deliver. Jane executed multiple successful campaigns for our company that directly improved leads and sales. |
As you can see, great recommendations provide specific details on projects, skills, and quantifiable accomplishments. The more personalized and genuine recommendations are, the more impactful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I see my LinkedIn recommendations?
If you cannot see recommendations on your LinkedIn profile, it’s likely because your visibility settings are set to private. To make recommendations public, go to your profile, click “Review,” select “Manage recommendations,” and change the visibility to public.
How do I ask for LinkedIn recommendations?
Reach out to previous managers, co-workers, clients, professors, or others you worked closely with and tactfully ask if they feel comfortable providing a LinkedIn recommendation for you. Provide details on projects or experience you shared to make writing recommendations easier.
How many LinkedIn recommendations should I have?
There is no ideal number of LinkedIn recommendations to have. However, most LinkedIn experts recommend having at least 3-5 recommendations from various connections to demonstrate credibility. The quality and relevance of recommendations matter more than pure quantity.
Who should I ask for LinkedIn recommendations?
Prioritize asking current or former managers, direct supervisors, or senior leadership that can endorse your work. Also consider asking coworkers, direct reports (if you were in a leadership role), clients, vendors, or business partners that saw your skills and contributions firsthand.
How do I provide a recommendation on LinkedIn?
To provide a LinkedIn recommendation, go to the profile of the person you want to recommend. Click “More” and select “Recommend.” On the next screen, fill in details on how you know them, their skills/attributes, and outstanding accomplishments. Check for typos before sending.
Conclusion
LinkedIn recommendations offer valuable social proof and peer endorsements that strengthen your professional reputation. However, they only provide benefits if visible publicly on your profile. Use the steps outlined to manage visibility settings, curate top recommendations, and strategically ask contacts for new recommendations. With a robust set of recommendations, you can demonstrate your value and stand out from the competition on LinkedIn.