LinkedIn recommendations can have a significant impact on your professional profile and career opportunities. A recommendation is a written statement from a LinkedIn connection that endorses your skills, accomplishments, and character. Recommendations function as a form of verification that you have the qualifications and attributes you claim in your profile. In addition, recommendations can improve your visibility and credibility on LinkedIn.
How do LinkedIn recommendations work?
On LinkedIn, you can request recommendations from your 1st-degree connections. These are people you are directly connected to on LinkedIn. When you request a recommendation, the person will receive an email with a link to a page where they can write and submit the recommendation.
You can choose to display some, all or none of the recommendations you receive on your profile. Recommendations you accept will appear in the Recommendations section of your profile. They will be visible to anyone who views your profile.
Who should give you a recommendation?
Ideally, recommendations should come from people who have worked with you professionally and can endorse your skills, qualities, and achievements. Good sources of recommendations include:
– Former managers or supervisors
– Colleagues at current or previous jobs
– Clients, customers or vendors
– College professors if you recently graduated
– Peers who have worked closely with you on projects or teams
The best recommendations are written by people who:
– Have known you for several years
– Have interacted with you recently
– Can speak in-depth about your abilities and character
How many recommendations should you get?
There is no specific number of recommendations you must have. However, having at least 3-5 recommendations looks strong on most profiles. Here are some benchmarks to aim for:
– Recent graduates – At least 2-3 recommendations, primarily from professors or internship managers
– 5+ years of experience – At least 5 recommendations from a mix of managers and colleagues
– 10+ years of experience – 8-10 recommendations from managers, colleagues, clients etc.
– Highly networked profiles – 10-15 recommendations
Quality matters more than quantity. Strive to get thoughtful recommendations from credible sources who know you well.
What makes a good recommendation?
A compelling recommendation provides specific details and examples that back up your skills and achievements. The best recommendations:
– Are 1-2 paragraphs long
– Describe how the person knows you
– Give specific examples of your achievements, strengths or abilities
– Use measurable facts and figures when possible
– Contain positive language praising your attributes
– Are recent within the past 1-2 years
For example:
“Michelle was the lead UI designer on my team from 2018-2020. She redesigned our client portal, increasing monthly traffic by 30%. Michelle has outstanding visual design skills. She is also adept at gathering user feedback to create interfaces that are intuitive and easy-to-use. Michelle is a talented designer who I’d highly recommend.”
This provides excellent supporting details.
How do recommendations benefit you?
Here are some of the key ways that getting recommendations can benefit your profile and career:
– **Boosts credibility** – Third-party endorsements make your skills and accomplishments more credible.
– **Provides references** – Recommendations can serve as references to future employers.
– **Improves visibility** – Recommendations contribute to your LinkedIn profile strength. This can boost visibility in search results.
– **Verifies your achievements** – Specific examples back up achievements you’ve stated in your profile.
– **Shows you’re valued** – Recommendations convey that companies and colleagues value working with you.
– **Encourages engagement** – Requesting recommendations promotes engagement with your network.
– **Supports career moves** – People sometimes check out recommendations before hiring or partnering with you.
Do recommendations impact LinkedIn search ranking?
Yes, recommendations can improve your LinkedIn SEO and search visibility in a couple of ways:
– **Profile completeness** – Getting recommendations helps complete your LinkedIn profile. A more robust profile has a better chance of ranking well in search results and suggestions.
– **Content refresh** – Recommendations add fresh content to your profile. This signals to LinkedIn’s algorithm that your profile is being actively maintained.
– **Profile strength** – LinkedIn considers recommendations as part of overall profile strength. Strength influences how high you rank in search results.
Here is a table summarizing how recommendations can impact LinkedIn SEO:
| Factor | SEO Impact |
|---|---|
| Profile completeness | Complete profiles have a better chance of ranking well |
| Fresh content | Recommendations signal an active, engaged profile |
| Profile strength | Recommendations increase overall profile strength for better visibility |
Should you recommend other people?
Yes, it’s good practice on LinkedIn to not just request recommendations, but provide them as well. Here are some benefits of giving recommendations:
– **Strengthens connections** – Recommending others fosters reciprocity and helps build your network.
– **Shows appreciation** – It’s a nice way to recognize someone’s contributions and value.
– **Encourages involvement** – When people see you recommend them, they become more active on LinkedIn.
– **Builds goodwill** – Taking time to provide thoughtful recommendations creates goodwill.
– **Reinforces skills** – When you recommend others, it underscores your own expertise and judgment.
Aim to recommend several connections each month. Focus on those you respect and would be happy to endorse.
Tips for getting great LinkedIn recommendations
Here are some best practices to follow when requesting and managing LinkedIn recommendations:
– **Choose relevant people** – Ask those who’ve worked with you closely and can endorse specific skills.
– **Make it personal** – Send customized messages explaining why you value their recommendation.
– **Provide reminders** – Follow up if you haven’t received the recommendation within two weeks.
– **Give examples** – Provide bullet points of accomplishments or skills you’d like highlighted.
– **Request current recommendations** – Try to get recommendations from projects and roles in the past 1-2 years.
– **Keep it under 15** – Display your best 8-12 recommendations. Rotate these out over time.
– **Return the favor** – Be generous about recommending others when you can.
Can you remove or edit recommendations?
Yes, you can manage recommendations in a few ways:
– **Decline** – Before accepting, you can decline any recommendations you don’t want displayed.
– **Remove** – After accepting a recommendation, you can remove it so it’s no longer visible.
– **Edit** – You can request edits from the person who provided the recommendation.
– **Add context** – Provide clarifying context about the project or role the recommendation refers to.
– **Rotate recommendations** – Refresh your recommendations section by displaying different ones over time.
It’s appropriate to remove recommendations that are no longer relevant, overly generic, or otherwise not representative. However, use discretion – completely removing a recommendation may offend the person who took time to provide it. When in doubt, you can choose not to display a recommendation rather than deleting it.
Do recommendations have any downsides?
There are a few potential downsides to be aware of:
– **Time investment** – It takes time and effort to cultivate quality recommendations.
– **Perception of gaming the system** – Having hundreds of recommendations looks like you’re trying to exploit the feature.
– **Potential for irrelevant recommendations** – Some people provide recommendations even if they don’t know you well professionally.
– **Biased recommendations** – Close connections may provide “fluff” recommendations that are not objective.
– **Need to keep refreshing** – Recommendations get stale over time, so you’ll need to request new ones regularly.
The key is to focus on quality over quantity and use recommendations judiciously. A few thoughtful endorsements from credible sources are more powerful than dozens of generic recommendations.
Conclusion
In summary, LinkedIn recommendations can positively impact your career in multiple ways. They boost your professional credibility, demonstrate you have valued skills, and improve your visibility and search ranking on LinkedIn. To maximize their impact, strive to get thoughtful recommendations from managers, colleagues and clients who can speak in-depth about your capabilities. Providing recommendations to others also fosters goodwill. With a targeted approach,LinkedIn recommendations can take your profile and career to the next level.