Your LinkedIn profile is available 24/7 for the whole world to review. It provides an opportunity to put your best foot forward and reveal all the wonderful things that you can do for a prospective employer or client.
Unfortunately, far too many people don't bother to complete their LinkedIn profiles. One step required to reach 100% completion is to obtain 3 recommendations.
There are several reasons to get recommendations on your LinkedIn profile:
Helps substantiate all the wonderful things you're claiming about yourself: It's one thing to claim that you can do something, but it's better to have others say it for you. That provides the proof that you are indeed capable of what you say you can do.
Proves that you're good enough for people to put their own reputation on the line: Most people greatly value their professional reputations, so when someone recommends you on LinkedIn, they are actually sticking their neck out and stating that they believe in your value.
Recommendations are often a point of distinction, since most people on LinkedIn don't bother: If someone is evaluating you against another candidate who looks similar on paper, and you have plenty of strong, creative, and well-written endorsements on your profile, that might be enough to open a door for you.
Here are some tips for LinkedIn recommendations:
Only recommend and request recommendations from people you have worked with extensively and know well. These people should be very familiar with your skills and you with theirs. It's okay to refuse a request for a recommendation, and I have done it several times with casual social media friends. Since your word is at stake, make sure that you have a solid basis to make a recommendation.
Don't use the stock invitation requst form message. You're asking someone to do you a favor, and it will take a bit of effort on their part, so don't you think this deserves a personal, custom request?
You can write the recommendation yourself and suggest they use it. If you want to make it easy on someone, go ahead and draft a suggested recommendation. People often appreciate the assistance, and you get the added benefit of creating something that best suits your needs.
Strive for variety and balance. If you've been working for a while and have had several jobs, try to get recommendations from a few different ones. Chances are you applied your skills differently in each one, and your peers and former bosses can speak to a variety of your talents. Beware having cookie-cutter recommendations that all read the same on your LinkedIn profile. That seems fishy to prospective employers and clients, and it isn't really all that helpful.
Use your charity and community work. If you've done a great job in a volunteer capacity, and you're connected to someone you worked with within that organization, they may be able to offer insight into a different aspect of your personality, so don't overlook these opportunities to shine through a different kind of recommendation.
Reciprocal recommendations are fine if appropriate, but don't feel that is required. For example, several people who have attended my speaking engagements have recommended me, but I can't reciprocate because although they greatly benefitted from my work, I am not familiar with theirs. Our relationships don't run parallel. It also looks suspicious if every recommendation on your LinkedIn profile goes both ways, so try to resist that.
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