Author: David Weiner
(1) Timing on offering a mutual recommendation: WAIT 2 WEEKS TO RECIPROCATE! In conjunction with each recommendation prepared on your behalf, LinkedIn prompts you to reciprocate. Yes, you want to respond in kind, BUT you have to time it right. Here’s why. Weekly, each LinkedIn member receives an update of changes from all contacts in their respective network. This includes recommendations make by AND make for each contact member in their network. If you offer a recommendation for someone right after they recommended you, both are likely to appear next to each other. The effectiveness of the recommendation is lost since Back-scratching is implied ("I will says something good about you if you say something good about me"). Don’t fall into this trap.
(2) Proof each received recommendation: SPELL CHECK! We have become complacently dependent on the spelling functions in our work processing systems, but LinkedIn does not have any built in features to check spelling or grammar. So you should - always. Don't be afraid to ask for a recommendation to be amended for spelling errors. The person who recommended you will appreciate that you protected them from such a published error. Don’t post it until you like it. (And, when you are offering a recommendation, type it 1st in your word processing system so that your spelling and grammar are monitored – then cut and paste it into the LinkedIn recommendation. That’s how I wrote this BLOG – and was able to include bullets, in addition to making sure I had no spelling blunders).
(3) Make recommendations timeless: EDIT OUT "HIRE ME STATEMENTS!" Recommendations that encourage you to be hired that remain on your LinkedIn site may cause your next employer to suspect that you are still job hunting. Recommendations can be worded to champion you as a good candidate for employment consideration without stating that so obviously.
(4) Don’t be shy: YOU DON’T GET WHAT YOU DON’T ASK FOR! Look at who you worked with, worked for and served in your current employer and each of the companies you have worked for in the past. When you make this request, honor them with a personal note on why receipt of their endorsement is personally important to you. Do this when you have a job. You won’t have adequate time to do this when you are looking.
(5) Target the right mix: INCLUDE CLIENTS / PEERS / DIRECT REPORTS / SUPERVISORS! This will offer a more complete balanced picture on you. Make sure you have representation from each of the companies you have worked for.
(6) Provide guidance: MAKE IT EASY! With the velocity of e-mails and time demands, you will want to make it as inconvenient as possible for someone to provide a recommendation on your behalf. If they feel rushed, it is likely to come through in the tone of the recommendation. Without your guidance, demanding someone to craft all of the text from scratch, it is likely to be less complete than you desire. No one can read minds or guess exactly what you want them to offer in a testimony. Offer the signature themes and accomplishments you want your contact to address on your behalf through some talking points. Consider e-mailing a personal updated narrative biography to provide full context of your career experiences. This is particularly critical when requesting a recommendation pertaining to a position held many years ago when you are likely to be remembered for whom you were then and not how you have matured and developed since. And, if “a-long-time-ago-in-a- galaxy-far-away” … the more foggy the recollection of your work. Help them come out of the fog - at light speed offering the information that your contacts can serve you with a recommendation with clarity and ease.
Regularly request AND recommend thoughtful testimonials through LinkedIn. My six secrets are out. Good career journeys to all.
This article points to David's Linkedin Profile. Please click here to know more.
(1) Timing on offering a mutual recommendation: WAIT 2 WEEKS TO RECIPROCATE! In conjunction with each recommendation prepared on your behalf, LinkedIn prompts you to reciprocate. Yes, you want to respond in kind, BUT you have to time it right. Here’s why. Weekly, each LinkedIn member receives an update of changes from all contacts in their respective network. This includes recommendations make by AND make for each contact member in their network. If you offer a recommendation for someone right after they recommended you, both are likely to appear next to each other. The effectiveness of the recommendation is lost since Back-scratching is implied ("I will says something good about you if you say something good about me"). Don’t fall into this trap.
(2) Proof each received recommendation: SPELL CHECK! We have become complacently dependent on the spelling functions in our work processing systems, but LinkedIn does not have any built in features to check spelling or grammar. So you should - always. Don't be afraid to ask for a recommendation to be amended for spelling errors. The person who recommended you will appreciate that you protected them from such a published error. Don’t post it until you like it. (And, when you are offering a recommendation, type it 1st in your word processing system so that your spelling and grammar are monitored – then cut and paste it into the LinkedIn recommendation. That’s how I wrote this BLOG – and was able to include bullets, in addition to making sure I had no spelling blunders).
(3) Make recommendations timeless: EDIT OUT "HIRE ME STATEMENTS!" Recommendations that encourage you to be hired that remain on your LinkedIn site may cause your next employer to suspect that you are still job hunting. Recommendations can be worded to champion you as a good candidate for employment consideration without stating that so obviously.
(4) Don’t be shy: YOU DON’T GET WHAT YOU DON’T ASK FOR! Look at who you worked with, worked for and served in your current employer and each of the companies you have worked for in the past. When you make this request, honor them with a personal note on why receipt of their endorsement is personally important to you. Do this when you have a job. You won’t have adequate time to do this when you are looking.
(5) Target the right mix: INCLUDE CLIENTS / PEERS / DIRECT REPORTS / SUPERVISORS! This will offer a more complete balanced picture on you. Make sure you have representation from each of the companies you have worked for.
(6) Provide guidance: MAKE IT EASY! With the velocity of e-mails and time demands, you will want to make it as inconvenient as possible for someone to provide a recommendation on your behalf. If they feel rushed, it is likely to come through in the tone of the recommendation. Without your guidance, demanding someone to craft all of the text from scratch, it is likely to be less complete than you desire. No one can read minds or guess exactly what you want them to offer in a testimony. Offer the signature themes and accomplishments you want your contact to address on your behalf through some talking points. Consider e-mailing a personal updated narrative biography to provide full context of your career experiences. This is particularly critical when requesting a recommendation pertaining to a position held many years ago when you are likely to be remembered for whom you were then and not how you have matured and developed since. And, if “a-long-time-ago-in-a- galaxy-far-away” … the more foggy the recollection of your work. Help them come out of the fog - at light speed offering the information that your contacts can serve you with a recommendation with clarity and ease.
Regularly request AND recommend thoughtful testimonials through LinkedIn. My six secrets are out. Good career journeys to all.
This article points to David's Linkedin Profile. Please click here to know more.
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