How to Get LinkedIn Recommendations
Make a deliberate effort and take the time to request recommendations from your friends and associates. Asking for recommendations from people you have worked with and can vouch for your work ethics, personal attributes and experince can carry a lot of weight. To a potential employer, a good LinkedIn recommendation can be the clincher to getting that new job.
Follow these simple steps to request a letter of recommendation
Click on:
- Profile
- Recommendations
- Request Recommendations
Scroll down and click on "Pen" icon and select "Ask to be recommended"
Follow the steps 1 through 3 and ask you connections for recommendations.
To craft a good SPECIFIC request, delete the default message (above) and use following guidelines:
It's important to make sure that the individual who is recommending you for can give you not just an average reference, but a good reference.
- A warm greeting.
- A reminder of when, where and in what capacity you worked together. If you are asking someone that maybe you worked during a short project or assignment, remind them of the situation and context.
- The request for the recommendation.
- The specific personal attributes, qualifications and results you would like that person to mention.
- An “Opt Option” to allow the person to say no if they choose not to participate or in case they aren't comfortable giving you a positive recommendation.
- Thank them, in advance for taking the time and offer to help them in return.
So, let’s take a look at how this might look
Hi Tracy, I hope you are having a wonderful summer
I had the pleasure of working with you on launching our services and penetrating the Tennessee market last fall. If you recall, I was hired as a consultant to expand our territory. We had great success in securing 15 new accounts and gaining significant market share in a short duration. At the time, I was working as a contract and my assignment with the company will end in couple of months.
I’m writing to request a recommendation for my LinkedIn profile so that I am prepared for my upcoming job search and career launch.
If you could recommend me, I’d greatly appreciate it. I would most value your comments that speak to:
My work ethic and my ability to work with diverse groups of people and handling simultaneous projects and meeting deadlines.
My prospecting, networking and product demonstration and representation skills.
- My ability to recruit and develop a high performance sales team.
- If you are not comfortable with providing this recommendation, please do not hesitate to opt out. However, any feedback you have that might help me would be greatly appreciated.
- Thank you so much in advance. Please let me know what I can do to support you in return.
Best regards,
Richard Maze
You have about 1,900 characters for a recommendation request. The above example is about half of that and should be more than enough. Use bullets and white space so it’s inviting to read.
Approve and post!
Once the recommendation is written, you will have the chance to review it, approve it, and post it to your profile.
You’ll also have the option to ask the person to edit the comment in some manner. Do so only if necessary. If you write a good request, you’ll be in good shape.
Once the recommendation is written, approve and post to your profile.
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