One of the most powerful features of LinkedIn is the ability to collect recommendations on your profile. If you take the time and effort to set up your LinkedIn profile correctly, it becomes your online resume. And recommendations are an important part of that. Instead of a leather portfolio filled with letters of recommendation, in today's world recommendations are part of your online LinkedIn profile. Let's take a closer look.
Ask for Recommendations
It's perfectly acceptable to ask a colleague for a recommendation. However, it's customary to return the favor so if you don't feel comfortable recommending a colleague, don't ask them to recommend you.
Here's how to ask for a recommendation. Go to your LinkedIn profile (you've already signed in at this point), then choose Profile > Edit Profile.
Hover over the arrow next to View profile as and choose Ask to be recommended. This allows you to select someone in your Connections list to send them a message.
Here are a few tips for gathering recommendations:
- It's acceptable to send a message and ask them to recommend you for a certain skill or role. I once had a colleague recommend me on LinkedIn by emphasizing how "fun" I was to work it. I politely thanked them for their recommendation but asked them to edit it, and focus on my project management skills (which he did).
- Don't recommend anyone you would not trust to work for you. Your reputation is in play here; so friend or not, if they aren't a good candidate–don't recommend them!
- Don't send 150 requests for recommendations in one day. When people recommend you, it leaves a time stamp. Fifty in one day looks suspicious and recruiters notice things like that.
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