A LinkedIn recommendation can be a powerful tool for promoting an HR recruiter’s skills and experience. When applying for jobs or looking to build your professional network, recommendations from past managers, colleagues, and clients validate your capabilities and track record of success.
For HR recruiters, recommendations should highlight key skills like sourcing and recruiting top talent, interviewing, onboarding, relationship building, compliance, diversity hiring initiatives, and more. The most compelling recommendations provide specific examples of the recruiter’s contributions to the business.
Here are some best practices and examples of strong LinkedIn recommendations that HR recruiters can use to strengthen their professional brand and reach their career goals.
Highlight Specific Contributions and Achievements
The most effective LinkedIn recommendations for HR recruiters cite tangible examples of their accomplishments. Rather than making vague, generic statements about their skills, compelling recommendations get into the details of the recruiter’s unique contributions.
For instance, a recommendation could state:
“John rapidly scaled up our startup’s engineering team, hiring 20 top-notch software developers in just 6 months. His creative sourcing strategies helped us connect with passive candidates who perfectly matched our stack and culture. He coordinated rigorous interview processes, ensuring we only extended offers to candidates who would thrive here. John’s recruiting excellence was essential for meeting our ambitious growth targets last year.”
This example provides excellent context about John’s specific achievements, like hiring 20 engineers in half a year, devising creative recruiting tactics, and upholding rigorous screening standards.
Other examples of specific contributions could include:
– Successfully managed full-cycle recruiting for 15 roles in just 3 months during a rapid company expansion
– Reduced time-to-fill metrics by 30% by optimizing the hiring funnel and introducing more efficient processes
– Built relationships with engineering managers at top tech firms, enabling us to hire 5 senior developers from those companies
– Created internship program and onboarded 10 interns, with 60% conversion rate to full-time hires
– Oversaw hiring for new product launch that drove a 20% increase in customer conversions within 6 months
Highlight Specialized Skills and Expertise
For HR recruiters, recommendations should emphasize the specific domains and functions they excel in. This helps demonstrate their capabilities and experience in areas relevant to the roles they are seeking.
For example, an HR recruiter who specializes in tech recruiting could receive a recommendation stating:
“Janet is an exceptional technical recruiter who has sourced engineering talent for our software company for the past 5 years. She has established connections with engineering leaders across the city’s top tech firms and startups. Janet structures interviews that thoroughly assess candidates’ coding proficiency, system design skills, and problem-solving abilities. She has a keen understanding of our technology stack and roadmap, enabling her to effectively evaluate candidates’ fit. Janet has recruited over 100 developers and engineers for our product and R&D teams, keeping our technology organization robust and innovative.”
This highlights Janet’s specialized expertise in recruiting for software engineering roles, including her tech network, technical interviewing capabilities, and experience hiring software developers.
Other examples of specialized skills to highlight include:
– Deep knowledge of employment law and compliance practices, minimizing legal risks in hiring processes
– Creative sourcing techniques tailored to niche candidate pools like healthcare providers, financial analysts, or skilled trades workers
– Partnerships with diversity-focused organizations and skill at recruiting diverse candidates in line with company goals
– Implementation of digital recruiting platforms and AI tools to modernize and accelerate hiring
Emphasize Soft Skills and Cultural Contributions
While HR recruiter recommendations should cite tangible achievements, they also provide an opportunity to highlight critical soft skills like communication, relationship-building, and cultural understanding. Especially for recruiters who aim to provide a smooth, positive candidate experience, spotlighting these people-oriented capabilities can be impactful.
For example:
“As our startup grew from 50 to 200 employees, Joanna skillfully managed rapid hiring while preserving our close-knit, mission-driven culture. She takes time to get to know each candidate as a person, going beyond skills and experience. Joanna upholds our values when sourcing and interviewing candidates, ensuring new hires reinforce our culture. Her warm, relatable communication style puts candidates at ease during the recruiting process, creating goodwill that strengthens our employer brand.”
This recommendation emphasizes Joanna’s cultural awareness, focus on soft skills and cultural fit, and personable communication abilities as key strengths.
Other examples of soft skills to highlight include:
– Acting as a trusted advisor on internal mobility, career development, and growth opportunities for employees
– Fostering an inclusive, welcoming interview process that gives all qualified candidates an equal opportunity
– Cultivating long-term relationships with candidate pools and community partners to support ongoing hiring needs
– Resolving complex hiring scenarios with diplomacy, versatility, and resourcefulness
Use Metrics and Data to Demonstrate Impact
Quantifiable data can make HR recruiter recommendations even more compelling by highlighting the scale of their impact. Metrics like hiring numbers, cost and time savings, and quality of hire add tangible evidence of their effectiveness.
For instance:
“As lead recruiter, Monica reduced our agency-side recruiting costs by 50% in 2 years by building an impressive in-house sourcing and vetting function. She also decreased our average time-to-fill by 20 days through process improvement and leveraging AI tools, enabling us to seize top talent more quickly. Monica hires an average of 15 new employees per month while maintaining the highest retention rate among new hires compared to external recruiters.”
The numbers demonstrate the significant cost, time, and quality of hire improvements this recruiter delivered for the business.
Other examples of metrics to potentially include:
– Increased applicants per open position by 150% by expanding digital recruitment marketing
– Lowered job board costs by 30% by optimizing paid and organic posting strategies
– Reduced interviewer hours per candidate by 25% via streamlined screening procedures
– Achieved over 80% retention rate for new hires after 12 months
– Received ‘Highly Recommended’ marks from 75% of interviewed candidates regarding process experience
Quote Feedback from Leaders and Candidates
Direct feedback quotes from stakeholders like hiring managers, executives, and candidates can make recommendations even more compelling. Relevant quotes highlight the recommender’s positive experiences working with the recruiter and admiration for their capabilities.
For example:
“We’ve worked with Michelle for the past two years as our lead technical recruiter. She has been instrumental in helping us scale our software team during a period of rapid growth and change. Michelle understands exactly the type of talent we need to accomplish our product roadmap, and has a sixth sense for identifying candidates that will thrive in our unique engineering culture. She is a gem and I cannot overstate the immense value she has brought to our organization.” – John Smith, CTO
“I had the best recruiting experience of my career with Alex. He made sure I understood the company’s mission and role expectations from the start. Alex moved quickly while also taking time to address all my questions thoughtfully. Above all, he made the process personal and welcoming. It was clear Alex cared about finding the perfect fit for both parties, not just filling the role.” – Candidate testimonial
These quotes help illustrate the tangible value the recruiter delivered, as observed directly by key stakeholders.
Highlight Partnerships and Collaboration
HR recruiters often collaborate closely with hiring managers, executives, candidates, and coordination partners like interviewers. Demonstrating success partnering across groups makes a strong statement about their capabilities.
For instance:
“Janine is the model of a collaborative recruiter who consistently makes things easy for hiring managers and candidates. She takes time to understand the unique needs of each open position and profile of ideal candidate. Janine works seamlessly with our engineering leads to craft job descriptions, source prospects, and evaluate technical skills. Shecoordinates smoothly with interviewers and scheduling to make sure each candidate has a positive experience from screening to offer. We are so grateful for the way Janine partners with us through the complex recruiting process.” – Engineering Department Head
This example highlights this recruiter’s close collaboration with various stakeholders and commitment to delivering a smooth, coordinated process.
Other examples of strong partnerships include:
– Working hand-in-hand with executives to define and source for key strategic roles
– Coordinating with marketing to develop targeted recruitment content and campaigns
– Partnering with universities and professors to attract graduate talent
– Collaborating with employee resource groups on diversity pipelines and community outreach
Highlight Passion and Work Ethic
For HR recruiting specialists who pour their energy and dedication into their work, recommendations can emphasize their passion, positivity, and tireless work ethic. This helps convey why they excel and stand out in their field.
For example:
“Andre brought infectious energy and optimism to his role as our startup’s first recruiter. He loves meeting new people and learning what motivates them. That passion shines through in each stage of the hiring process – from sought-out Earth and every candidate feels like a priority. Andre built our entire 30-person team from scratch, working nights and weekends without complaint. His relentless drive to find our company the best possible talent made all the difference in our success.” – Founder & CEO
This example highlights the recruiter’s passion, high energy, and willingness to go above and beyond to build a talented team.
Other examples include:
– Bringing creativity and enthusiasm to sourcing top-tier candidates even for hard-to-fill roles
– Conducting mock interviews and career prep sessions for student groups on weekends
– Constantly expanding recruiting skills and networking capabilities through conferences and classes
– Exuding positivity and resilience dealing with high-pressure hiring scenarios
Conclusion
Exceptional LinkedIn recommendations can significantly boost an HR recruiter’s professional brand and career advancement. The most compelling recommendations cite specific examples and metrics demonstrating their tangible value add through strategic recruiting. Conveying specialized expertise, soft skills, cultural understanding, partnerships, and passion for recruiting through vivid examples makes a recommendation stand out. As the war for talent grows ever more intense, investing in powerful LinkedIn recommendations can help HR recruiters achieve winning results and reach new heights in their careers.