A LinkedIn recommendation is a type of professional reference that is clearly displayed on your LinkedIn profile and can be seen by potential customers, future employers and recruitment agents. If you want to build your professional profile on LinkedIn, it’s great to have recommendations from people you have worked with closely over the course of your career.
Asking for a recommendation may feel a little awkward so it is important to make it as straightforward as possible for the person you are asking. Make sure you are specific about what you would like to be recommended for, whether it was a particular project you were involved with, or perhaps a particular skill you demonstrated or results you achieved. Make it clear you are not looking for hundreds of words, just a few lines.
Providing a LinkedIn recommendation is a good way to express genuine appreciation of someone’s work, especially if you have ‘gone the extra mile’ on their behalf. So don’t worry too much about asking for one; many people are flattered to be approached for a recommendation and are glad to be of assistance.
Don’t assume, ask again
Don’t assume that once you’ve asked for a recommendation that you will automatically get one. You can always send another request and then perhaps a reminder after a few weeks have gone by but if it doesn’t happen, don’t continue to chase it up as that will simply come across as being a nuisance.
Remember, when you are looking for a new job, one of the first things a potential employer will do is to check out your activity on social media, especially LinkedIn. Some good recommendations on your profile will really help build up a positive impression of your work life. If you have made recommendations too, that shows that you are keen to acknowledge another person’s hard work and professional contribution, which will do you no harm in a potential employer’s eyes either.
A word of warning about LinkedIn recommendations
If someone asks you to recommend them and you don’t actually rate their work particularly highly, don’t just make up something positive to say. It’s better not to provide a recommendation at all than provide a false one. Also, just as with any kind of personal reference, don’t be tempted to recommend someone you don’t really know or haven’t actually worked with, as this is all too likely to come back to bite you at some point further down the line.