Linkedin Profile: Recommendations

Diving into some more Linkedin profile sections today - this time Recommendations!

What is a Linkedin Recommendation?

Linkedin Recommendations are like a mini reference that recognise work or skills a person has evidenced during a particular role or project.

They are a great extra to have on your Linkedin profile as they can help back up your application for roles by providing first hand evidence from others of your skills and what you are really like to work with.

Giving a Recommendation

Recommendations can be given to your 1st degree connections.

1. Head to their profile and then click on the More button at the top of their profile, and then select Recommend.

2. The Recommendation modal will then pop up on screen, all fields are required to submit the recommendation.

Relationship

What was the relationship between you and the person you're recommending? Were they your boss, a mentor, a colleague, a client etc. Choose the option that best fits your relationship.

Position at the time

Select the position the person you're recommending held at the time you worked with them.

Recommendation

This is the actual recommendation that others will see. There is a 3,000 character limit, but don't feel like you have to write a lengthy recommendation - sometimes short and to the point can work better.

Reminder: You should only be giving recommendations for people you actually know and have worked with. Recruiters are well versed in spotting 'fake' recommendations, and these could reflect poorly on the person recommended as well as yourself, as recruiters are also be able to see all the recommendations a person has given!

Receiving a Recommendation

If someone provides you a recommendation, you will be notified with a message from Linkedin with a link to the recommendation.

A pending recommendation modal will open, allowing you to view the recommendation. You may then choose to accept, decline or request a revision.

Once you accept a recommendation, this will be added to the recommendations section of your profile.

Requesting a Recommendation

Linkedin also allows you to reach out to contacts to request a recommendation. The procedure is similar to giving a recommendation:

1. Go to the persons profile, click the more button on the top of their profile and then select request a recommendation.

2. You will then need to complete all the fields before sending the request.

Relationship

What was your relationship to your connection at the time you would like them to write a recommendation for?

Position

What was their position at the time?

Personalised Message

As connections aren't required to provide you with a recommendation and have the choice to decline, it can really help to add a personalised message thanking them for their time and perhaps suggesting a project that you worked on or some points/skills that you would like them to consider when writing the recommendation. This can help to refresh their memory of what you worked together on, especially if some length of time has passed!

Further Reading

I've collated some useful articles below that dive into more detail into how to give or request a great recommendation that may be useful:

• How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation for Anyone (With Examples!)
• How to Write a Stand-Out LinkedIn Recommendation (with examples)
• How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation in 2023 [Quick Tip + Examples]
• 4 Keys to Scoring Amazing LinkedIn Recommendations

I'd love to hear if you have any tips or advise relating to recommendations - feel free to share them in the comments below! 😊