In order to have a 100% complete profile on LinkedIn, you must have three recommendations.
All recommendations – or endorsements – are not created equal. The best LinkedIn recommendations are ones that give specific results or tell a story of transformation. To request a LinkedIn recommendation you must be connected to the person you want to receive it from.
When you go to the Profile link on your LinkedIn account you will notice a Recommendations link drop down. Clicking this leads you to Manage Your Recommendations. This is your opportunity to turn your LinkedIn profile into what I call your power resume! LinkedIn has a great feature that allows people you are connected with to endorse you.
A stream of positive, glowing recommendations can be an excellent catalyst to new jobs, new clients, new traffic. It’s super-important to get them from your LinkedIn connections who also have great recommendations. So be selective… sure, recommendations are recommendations, but ones from people with credibility carry a lot more weight – so start with them!
And yes, you may have to summon up a little courage to ask for a recommendation. It’s the pinnacle of shameless self-promotion, asking someone to say nice things about you in public. But if has to be done!
When asking for a LinkedIn recommendation, customize the message with specifics on how you want your contact to recommend you. In fact, make it easy and write it for them and let them know they can adjust it as they want.
Not sure what to write? Do a short poll of your closest friends & colleagues – ask them first, and ask them to list what they view as your best qualities and strengths, or for brief examples of how you may have helped them. (There, you just got some testimonials, wasn’t that easy?)
When asking for a killer LinkedIn Recommendation, include these important keys in your sample:
- Mention your positive character traits (friendly, high integrity, caring, listens well, great teacher, etc.)
- Share specific results and/or a the change that your service or product produced
- Mention a problem everyone looking for your product/service has, that your contact overcame by using your product/service
A great format for such recommendation includes:
- The state they were in or the problem they had before using your service,
- The positive experience they had while working with you,
- The results they produced.
- A statement “I would highly recommend ___ to anyone who wants ____.”
Got questions ask @CoachLaura on twitter.
