How To Receive Raving Recommendations On Linkedin

To state it more simply: you ain’t goin’ nowhere, without the help of your friends. One of the

most powerful and persuasive forms of advocacy is the testimonial: the proof of your

character and competency from someone who knows you - and your work - well.

LinkedIn recommendations are one of the newest and most sought-a�er forms of public

testimonial. But, if you’re anything like the professionals we coach, the protocols for getting

the right ones from the right people can be downright confusing.

CareerBlast to the rescue. Read on for the simple whys and the how-tos of LinkedIn

recommendations.

There is no advancement without advocacy.

With the world gone virtual, your online profile is now your first impression. When someone

wants to check you out, they either go straight to LinkedIn or they Google you, only to find

your LinkedIn profile at the top of their Google search. Either way, what comes up is your

digital first impression. And, it’s darn hard to change!

That’s because your first impression is being formulated based on - not one – but

five dimensions of digital branding:

Linked profiles support all five dimensions of digital branding, and LinkedIn

recommendations support the 5th dimension: validation. Recommendations allow others

to reinforce your claims, adding credibility to your visibility. The recommendations also

show up in the profile of the person who provided it (under Recommendations: Given) and

are searchable, connecting you easily to people who need what you have to o�er.

1 ▶ Purity: Is the found content about you or someone who shares your name?

2 ▶ Volume: How much content is there about you?

3 ▶ Relevance: Is your content relevant and interesting to the viewer?

4 ▶ Diversity: Is your content displayed not only in text, but also in pictures and videos?

5 ▶ Validation: Do others speak for you and confirm your content?

DIVERSITY

VOLUME

RELEVANCE

PU

RIT

Y

V

ALI

DAT

ION

Why do I even need LinkedIn recommendations?(Can’t I leave that section empty?!)

Step 1: Ask the Right People

Let’s start with the who? Make a list of people who have witnessed your work, through

permanent positions, internships, or volunteer work. Choose people who:

▶ Are thought leaders, known in your industry or function (Known)

▶ Work for companies or organizations that are respected and revered (Respected)

▶ Have impressive titles, like CEO, SVP or Founder (Impressive)

▶ Can speak to the skills you will need for your next role (Relevant)

▶ Have a LinkedIn account because you need to be connected to them! (Connected)

Then, prioritize. It’s useful to have several recommendations, especially those that can

validate your most recent experience. Use the table below to help with the prioritization:

Give each of the people you identified a score of 1 to 3 for each of the 5 criteria, then total their

scores to help you make a prioritized action list for reaching out.

NAME Known Respected Impressive Relevant Connected SCORE

Step 2: Influence the Outcome

Next we turn to how you ask for a recommendation. While you can request directly through

LinkedIn, we recommend that you first send an email, asking if it’s okay to send a LinkedIn

recommendation request. This will make it more likely that you’ll get a recommendation,

given that people may ignore or miss a LinkedIn message. It also allows you to influence

what your recommendation says!

In your email, tactfully include the concepts you would like them to include, o�ering a rough

dra�. Of course, be authentic, suggesting ideas that are both accurate and comfortable for

your contact.

Here’s a sample email from Samson, who is seeking a role in strategic planning in her

organization and wants to show decision makers she has experience managing people. The

bold indicates her subtle hints of what she’d like included.

Hello Ryan,

I hope all is great with you. I’m updating my LinkedIn profile and would like to reach

out to you through LinkedIn to request a recommendation for the work I did when I

was on your team. The projects you assigned me allowed me to be the most

strategic I have ever been in my career. I am so appreciative of the opportunity you

gave me to lead and manage others – it was a valuable growth experience for me.

I know you are busy, and I certainly don’t want to add a major item to your do-list! I’d

be happy to send you a dra� recommendation you can edit (or of course, just ignore),

if that would be easier for you.

Thanks in advance for your support. And wishing you continued success!

Step 3: Let LinkedIn do the Work

Once you receive a yes! reply, reach out through LinkedIn, which takes you e�ortlessly through

this process:

▶ In your profile, scroll down to Recommendations and click on “Ask to be recommended.”

▶ Choose the role for which you want to be recommended.

▶ Identify the person you want to recommend you (from your connections). You can add up to three people, but it’s best to only include one person, customizing each request.

▶ Identify your relationship to them and their role.

▶ Write your message. In the message you send, include your dra� for them to edit (unless they ask you not to send one). Even if they ultimately decide to start from scratch, reading your dra� will likely influence their content.

▶ Then…be patient. Remember, people are busy and they want to help, it just may not be

at the top of their do-list. The people who met the five criteria in your table are likely

really busy!

A�er you receive the recommendation, you’ll be given the option of accepting and adding it

to your profile. You can reorder your recommendations in edit mode, using the arrow to the

right, placing your most powerful ones visibly at the top of your list.

Step 4: Say Thank You!

For some recommendation providers, the request is a big ask. They may have many

people who have worked for them with similar requests, and when they sign their

name to something that becomes public, they spend time on it. That’s why it’s

important to express big gratitude: A special email or better yet, a snail-mail note, an

e-card, or a small gi�.

Is there anything else I need to do?

That’s really all there is to requesting and receiving a raving recommendation. When

you get the right ones from the right people and add them to your LinkedIn profile,

you’re putting yourself in good company – while sharing compelling evidence of your

talent – to advance professionally.

Of course, there is one thing you can do. Pay it forward!

If you want to take RAVING RECOMMENDATIONS to a whole new level, consider

writing one, unsolicited, for someone you admire and respect for every

recommendation you receive!