LinkedIn recommendations seem to be a dime a dozen. Some profiles show hundreds of recommendations. Do they really matter?
The answer is YES. Here’s why:
LinkedIn is a fairly static social network that relies on the creator of the profile to provide all of their own information. As such, you could, if so inclined, make up your entire work history, education, specialties, etc.
What you can’t make up is your recommendations. (Well, I suppose by an elaborate scheme, you could…). Other people have to recommend you. Hopefully people who have worked with you, managed you, gone to school with you, done business with you, or interacted with you in some meaningful way. LinkedIn recommendations provide us with a means to TRUST what we read on a profile.
Giving and receiving recommendations on LinkedIn may seem uncomfortable or awkward at first. But don’t let that stop you. LinkedIn is built on recommendations, and you cannot have a complete profile without both giving and receiving a recommendation. It’s the norm.
What value does GIVING LinkedIn recommendations provide:
Giving a LinkedIn recommendation is like putting your footprint on someone else’s profile. It is a link back to your profile. It says something about you, about your communication style, about your willingness to give back.
Every time you recommend someone on LinkedIn, you are cementing a relationship with a connection. The person you recommend is more likely to recommend you in return. You are crafting a circle of influence where your word is trusted and you are seen as someone who is valuable as a connection.
What value does RECEIVING LinkedIn recommendations provide:
LinkedIn recommendations are social proof that you are who you say you are. Recommendations can be from a variety of connections who know you in a variety of areas and can provide a well-rounded picture of you as an employee and as an individual.
Receiving a LinkedIn recommendation, especially unsolicited, signals to you that one of your connections has cared enough to take the time to write something good about you. It also should be a signal that you should return the favor.
A LinkedIn recommendation can say about you things that you cannot (or should not) say about yourself. The fact that someone else said them, is equivalent to that person putting their stamp of approval on your profile.
A few hard-and-fast rules concerning LinkedIn recommendations:
- Only recommend people that you know well.
- Only ask for recommendations from people that you know well.
- When requesting a recommendation, give the writer a specific aspect of your work to recommend you for
- If you can, reciprocate when receiving a recommendation
- Keep it short and sweet
- Give more than you get
This isn’t rocket science. People can’t recommend you if you’ve only met them for coffee once or twice. You shouldn’t be recommending them either. Wait until you have something of substance to say.
LinkedIn recommendations are not like those your professor wrote for you when you applied for grad school. They are about a paragraph. Leave out the fluff, and stick to the meat.
The last part is about generosity. Being generous is one of the unwritten rules of success on the social web. When people see that your are recommending others often, and writing really decent recommendations, they will want to get in on the action. Maybe they will recommend you, and then you’ll recommend them, and the circle grows.
So today, go and look through your list of connections, find a few who you know really well and have something of value to tell others about. Write those recommendations and see what kind of reaction you get. You may find it makes you feel good, and it will definitely make them feel good.
Then make it a habit.
