LinkedIn has become one of the most respected and oldest business network tools since its started back in 2002. With active users of more than 400 million as of April 2016 with 2 new people signing up every minute, recommendations can be very credible as it influences the opinions of potential customers, vendors or professional contacts even for small businesses.

A recommendation is mostly written by a LinkedIn member who recognizes  a colleague or a business partner. These are comments from people who value your work, service or products.

In planning to include recommendations on your LinkedIn profile, you need to make sure that the recommender can enhance and give meaningful recommendations- someone that can actually speak of your skills, work ethic or experience.

Here are some 5 Best practices when asking for a LinkedIn recommendation:

Make it personal. Although LinkedIn has an auto-generated email requesting a colleague for a recommendation, the response rate will more likely increase if it’s written personally as it will make them feel good.

Ask recommendations from a colleague. LinkedIn is a professional site so request an endorsement from someone who: could actually speak of your experience, an individual that you have worked directly  on a specific project for years, someone that can attest to what is it like to work with you- these could help set the stage for the readers as to why your colleague is writing the recommendation. It spotlights qualities that could go above and beyond and would also indicate to your readers or profile viewers that you’re a  “real” person.

Don’t overdo it. Collect several different recommendations but not too much. Just request at least one recommendation of your different abilities and or experiences. You can also add feedback from your previous employers as this will give readers a more comprehensive view of you as an employee and as a person.

Request your recommender to end it with how he/she felt working with you, their hopes for your career or prediction in the future.

Consider recommendations as part of building up your LinkedIn profile. Send a few requests to former or current co-workers and make sure to return the favor. If someone asks, be courteous to complete it in a professional and timely manner.

Need other LinkedIn tips to help your professional image? Give us a call at 1(888) 375-3058 to find out what our LinkedIn marketing strategies include.