There are 450 million users on LinkedIn, and one of the best ways to stand out is to get LinkedIn recommendations.
You may also be asked to give a LinkedIn recommendation to a colleague, so in this article, I’m going to give you some of the best LinkedIn recommendation examples so you can write your own with confidence.
Let’s get started…
Best LinkedIn Recommendations Examples
Here are some of the best examples of LinkedIn recommendations for you to copy.
This is what you should aim for if you’re trying to get people to write recommendations for you (you can show them these as an example). This is also what you should emulate if you’re trying to write a recommendation for someone else.
This first LinkedIn recommendation example is from my profile:
This is one of the best formats to use in a LinkedIn recommendation. I call it the “before and after”. He talks about struggling before working with me, and how much better it was after he worked with me.
This is a classic format for any testimonial (on LinkedIn or elsewhere) and is a good example of an effective LinkedIn Recommendation.
Let’s look at one more example now…
This next LinkedIn recommendation is one I wrote for a colleague:
This LinkedIn recommendation is an example of how to write a LinkedIn recommendation for a more senior colleague.
You can give and get LinkedIn recommendations from people more senior than you, more junior than you, at your same level, etc. There are no rules. I’d aim for having a variety on your profile – for example, one former boss, one former colleague, and maybe someone you trained/mentored/led.
As a final note about these examples above… The best LinkedIn recommendations for you will depend on your industry. So along with looking at the two examples above, I’d recommend going out and finding a few examples from your own industry (by searching LinkedIn and browsing profiles).
Now let’s look at some LinkedIn recommendation samples from people other than myself:
The LinkedIn recommendation example above talks about specific work that this person completed successfully, but also some of her general qualities and positive attributes. It’s nice to combine both of these types of info when writing a LinkedIn recommendation for a colleague.
The example above is brief yet effective in describing the person’s positive attributes and exactly what she brings to a team, making this a great format for writing a LinkedIn recommendation for any colleague who you appreciate.
You can, of course, share more detail in a LinkedIn recommendation, and you can see this in the sample above. It’s best to limit the number of general traits you share, though. You don’t want to list 20 attributes like “hard-working” and “attentive.” So if you want to write a longer LinkedIn recommendation like this example above, focus at least 75% of your time describing the specific work they did and how they were successful in their work-related tasks.
That’s one of my best tips for how to write a great recommendation for a colleague. Let’s finish with a couple more good LinkedIn recommendation examples for a colleague:
The above LinkedIn recommendation is another example of how you don’t need to be long-winded or write multiple paragraphs to give an effective, impressive recommendation to a colleague. Sometimes less is more, so don’t be afraid to be brief.
And you can, of course, share more detail if you feel it helps. In general, if you can at least share one or two specific tasks or projects that your colleague completed, it will make your recommendation more powerful.
Why Recommendations Are The Best Way To Improve Your LinkedIn Profile
Above, I showed you how to write a great recommendation for a colleague, but what about gathering your own LinkedIn recommendations?
Having at least one or two recommendations is the most powerful thing you can do to improve your LinkedIn.
There is no better way to stand out and impress employers and I’ll explain why in a second.
And if you use my method for how to get LinkedIn recommendations, it will be easy and should take less than 15 minutes total.
It just takes a tiny bit more effort than most quick-fixes on LinkedIn. Which is why most people don’t do it, and why you’ll look great if you do.
I think most people don’t do this because it’s intimidating if you’ve never done it. Or if you’re not sure how to ask friends and colleagues.
So I’ll walk you through exactly what to do and I’ll reveal the exact word-for-word message you can send to get results.
How To Ask For LinkedIn Recommendations – Steps & Example Script
Step 1:
Write down a list of 10 people who know your work somewhat well. It can be previous bosses and managers. It can also be other colleagues you worked with, or even someone you trained, managed, or supervised. If you’re a freelancer it can be a client.
If you’re a recent graduate or entry level job seeker, you can use professors, classmates you worked with on a project, people from internships, or from groups/organizations you were a part of.
Think for a bit. I know it’s not easy to come up with the names but sit down with a pen and try. You’ll be surprised what you come up with.
Step 2:
Take that list and contact them through LinkedIn or email. If you’re already connected on LinkedIn, that’s probably easiest.
Here’s the word-for-word example I would use to get LinkedIn recommendations:
“Hi ____. I’m working on improving my LinkedIn profile and one of my goals is to get a couple of recommendations from colleagues that know my work well. Would you be able to write me a LinkedIn recommendation in the next couple of days to help me improve my profile? I could do the same for you if you’d like, just let me know.”
Will This Work Every Time?
No. But it’ll get you a good response rate (it should be over 50-75% if you ask the right people). And the best part is that it’s risk-free. You’re asking in a friendly way while staying professional, and won’t ruin any business relationships. It’s a win-win and the payoff is huge…
Even getting one or two recommendations on your LinkedIn profile will grab the reader’s attention and stop them from scrolling past. This means recruiters will spend more time on your profile and will be more likely to get in touch.
Or if you message them, they’ll be a lot more likely to respond.
The only other snag you might run into: Not everyone knows how to leave a recommendation.
So if you email someone and they aren’t sure how to do it, tell them to go to the top section of your profile, hover their mouse over the little downward arrow, and then click “recommend.”
If you want to see how it looks, check out the YouTube video I created about the subject. This link will start the video at the exact spot where I show it (3:08).
What To Do Next:
So your job now is to go build your list of 10 people and get started. Coming up with the list and sending out messages should only take 10-15 minutes and you will have these recommendations on your profile forever.
I have six recommendations on my profile and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself on LinkedIn.
Go try it now, and if you have a question leave a comment below.
LinkedIn Recommendations vs. Skill Endorsements
Endorsements are associated with the skills you list on LinkedIn. Someone can endorse you for a skill, and a tiny box with their photo appears next to it.
When LinkedIn introduced this a few years ago, everyone loved it. It was great to have those boxes filled out. It gave you credibility.
Unfortunately they’ve become somewhat meaningless. You can endorse someone for any skill, without even knowing the work they do. I get endorsed for “contract recruiting” all the time and I’ve never been a contract recruiter in my life. It’s just junk at this point.
Recommendations are completely different. Recommendations are a note that someone took the time to write, not just a button they click. They’re written by people who know your work. Each recommendation will show up under a specific job, and in a “recommendations” section lower down on your profile.
Here’s an example of how it looks:
Which do you think is more impressive? Which one will get read (and not just skimmed). I can tell you that recruiters will stop and look if you have recommendations. It’s one of the few things that will stop someone from skimming and turn them into a reader.
Now that you’re hopefully convinced, use the steps outlined earlier to get great recommendations for yourself in under 15 minutes.
And any time a colleague asks you to write them a recommendation on LinkedIn, ask them to return the favor! It doesn’t matter if they were your boss, a colleague, or someone you managed/supervised. Those are all beneficial recommendations to acquire.
