Where can I see my LinkedIn recommendations?

LinkedIn recommendations are an important part of building your professional brand and establishing your credibility on the platform. Recommendations allow your connections to endorse your skills, expertise, and work ethic. Having several recommendations on your LinkedIn profile can help you stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. But where exactly can you access and manage your LinkedIn recommendations?

Viewing Recommendations on Your Profile

The easiest way to see any recommendations you’ve received on LinkedIn is to view your own profile. Recommendations will be displayed in the “Recommendations” section, which is usually found on the right rail of your profile page. The recommendations are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent recommendations at the top. Clicking on a recommendation will expand it so you can read the full text.

To view your recommendations:

1. Go to your LinkedIn profile
2. Scroll down to the sidebar on the right
3. Find the “Recommendations” section
4. Click on any recommendation to expand it and read the full text

This section will display the profile pictures of the people who provided recommendations for you, along with their names, job titles, and the companies they work for. You can click on any of these profile pictures to view the full profiles of your recommenders.

Looking at the Recommendations Tab

LinkedIn also provides a dedicated tab where you can manage all your recommendations in one place. To access it:

1. Click on the “Me” icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage
2. Select “View profile” from the dropdown menu
3. Click on the “Recommendations” tab at the top of your profile

This tab shows you all recommendations you’ve received in a list format. You can use the filters at the top to sort your recommendations by received date or recommender.

Key Features of the Recommendations Tab

• A summary of how many recommendations you’ve received and given to others
• Search bar to easily find recommendations from specific connections
• Filter options to sort recommendations by date or alphabetically by the recommender’s name
• One click options to thank, share, or remove individual recommendations
• “Request a recommendation” button to ask your connections for a recommendation

Scrolling down on this page will display the full list of all your recommendations received, with the most recent at the top. From this tab, you can efficiently manage your recommendations – customize which ones are featured, delete any unwanted ones, or request new ones.

Who Can See Your Recommendations?

By default, your recommendations on LinkedIn are visible to anyone who views your profile. However, you can choose to make them private so they are visible only to your 1st-degree connections.

To change the privacy setting of your recommendations:

1. Go to your Recommendations tab
2. Click the “Manage recommendations settings” link
3. Under “Select who can see your recommendations”, choose “Only 1st-degree connections”
4. Click “Save changes”

This will restrict the visibility of all your recommendations so only people directly connected to you can see them. Recruiters will need to connect with you first before being able to view your recommendations.

Customizing Featured Recommendations

You can choose up to 3 recommendations to showcase in a prominent “Featured” section at the top of the Recommendations tab. Featuring your best and most relevant recommendations can make your profile stand out.

To customize your featured recommendations:

1. Go to your Recommendations tab
2. Hover over any recommendation and click the “Feature” button
3. Repeat this to feature up to 3 recommendations
4. To remove a featured recommendation, click the “Remove from featured” button

The featured recommendations box will always display your most recent 3 featured recommendations. So featuring a new one will displace the oldest featured recommendation.

Requesting New Recommendations

The best way to expand your recommendations on LinkedIn is to proactively request them from colleagues, managers, or clients you’ve worked with. LinkedIn makes this easy by providing a pre-written email template you can use.

To request a new recommendation:

1. Go to your Recommendations tab
2. Click the “Ask to be recommended” button
3. Enter the contact’s name, or search your connections to select them
4. Customize the pre-written email if desired
5. Click “Send” to send the request via LinkedIn’s messaging platform

The recipient will receive the message prompting them to write a recommendation for you. If they accept, their recommendation will automatically be added to your profile.

Removing Unwanted Recommendations

Over time, you may wish to curate your recommendations by deleting old or irrelevant ones. For example, if you have a recommendation from a previous job that no longer reflects your current career, you can remove it.

To remove a recommendation:

1. Go to your Recommendations tab
2. Hover over the recommendation and click “Remove”
3. On the popup, choose a reason for removing the recommendation or write your own
4. Confirm that you want to remove the recommendation

This will permanently delete the recommendation from your profile. However, the original recommender will still be able to see it on their own profile and resume.

Importing Recommendations From Your Resume

If you have recommendations or endorsements included on your resume, you can easily transfer them over to your LinkedIn profile:

1. Go to your Recommendations tab
2. Click “Import from resume”
3. Upload or copy/paste your resume text
4. LinkedIn will extract any recommendations and add them to your profile

This can be a quick way to populate your recommendations section, but direct written recommendations specifically for your LinkedIn profile tend to carry more weight.

Giving Recommendations to Others

Giving recommendations can be just as valuable as receiving them, since it builds reciprocity. When you recommend your connections for their skills and accomplishments, they are more likely to want to in turn recommend you.

You can easily recommend your connections by:

1. Going to their LinkedIn profile
2. Clicking the “More” dropdown below their profile picture
3. Selecting “Recommend”
4. Writing your recommendation and clicking “Send”

Take the time to provide thoughtful, detailed recommendations that will help others showcase their abilities. The more value you can provide through your recommendations, the more likely people will be to do the same for you.

Pro Tips for Managing LinkedIn Recommendations

Here are some additional tips for collecting impressive recommendations and managing them effectively:

• Personalize recommendation requests by highlighting specific projects or skills you want endorsed
• Offer to write a recommendation first before asking for one in return
• Send reminder messages if you don’t receive a response to a recommendation request
• Keep your recommendations updated by periodically requesting new ones
• Monitor comments on your recommendations and respond/thank as needed
• Consider having some recommendations focus on soft skills like leadership, communication, or teamwork
• Feature recommendations that use compelling language and highlight your biggest accomplishments

Conclusion

LinkedIn recommendations provide third-party validation of your capabilities and professionalism. Curating a strong set of recommendations can significantly boost your personal brand and attractiveness to recruiters on a competitive platform like LinkedIn.

Maximize your profile by proactively seeking out quality recommendations, customizing the most impactful ones to feature, and keeping your list up-to-date over the course of your career. With the strategies discussed here, you can build an impressive showcase of recommendations that will make your LinkedIn profile stand out.