4 Keys To Scoring Amazing LinkedIn Recommendations

The Muse

How do we as humans make purchase decisions? In large part, we make them based on social proof.

What do others say about this product or that? Does someone we admire and trust rave on and on about it? Think for a moment about Yelp. How many times have you gone right over to Yelp.com—not company websites—before trying out a restaurant, a new hair stylist, or a resume writer?

My guess is plenty. You do this because you want to see what others are saying, and you’re going to base your decisions, at least in part, on these reviews.


The same exact thing goes on with hiring decisions. The “consumer” in this case is a hiring manager, recruiter, or HR person. Only, they’re not looking on Yelp; they’re over on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn recommendations provide you with the perfect opportunity to share third party endorsements—or social proof—of your talents with people trying to make purchase (in this case, hiring) decisions.

Don’t squander this opportunity.


Instead, follow these tips to score some amazing, relevant LinkedIn recommendations.

1. Find the “Ask to Be Recommended” Page
I’m not being a smart aleck. If you’ve never asked anyone for a LinkedIn recommendation, you may not even know how to find the page.

Here’s what to do: Hover over the tiny picture of yourself in the top right corner of the screen, and choose “Privacy & Settings.” From this screen, choose “Manage Your Recommendations” and then “Ask for Recommendations.”

2. Pick People Thoughtfully

This is no time to be willy-nilly with your requests. Your goal is to secure powerful recommendations that support your professional brand (more on that here) and the skills you most want to highlight. Ideally, you want to approach people who know your work well and can speak intelligently to the capabilities that will matter the most to your future employer.

Keys 3,4, and the complete Forbes article