You might have noticed that a few weeks ago, chaos reigned with LinkedIn Recommendations. You could request a recommendation, but the intended recipient did not receive the request. You could accept a recommendation, but you couldn’t ask for a revision – and the recommender could not submit a revised LinkedIn recommendation.

Yes, this happened to me. All of it.

Thankfully, these issues have been resolved with the new LinkedIn Recommendations section – well, mostly resolved. My new edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile will have all the updated information that you need. Here are the basics of how LinkedIn Recommendations works now. There’s more in the book!

The New LinkedIn Recommendations Interface

From anyone’s profile, you will now find the option to request or offer recommendations by clicking on the “More” button, or (depending on your version) on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the person’s top information box:

If you want the person to recommend you, choose “Request a recommendation” and you’ll be brought to this screen:

Or, scroll down to the Recommendations section of your profile and click on the “Ask to be Recommended” button:

 

Write a friendly note to the person and ask if she would be willing to write you a recommendation. If you haven’t been in contact for some time, be delicate. Maybe start with a phone call. And at some point you might want to remind the person of something that will refresh their recollection of your skills and accomplishments. Then ask your recommender to tell a clear, specific story or two about you.

Accepting or Revising Recommendations

Once you receive a recommendation, you should be notified in your inbox.

You can also check your pending recommendations by clicking the link in your Recommendation section:

Or visit this direct link: https://www.linkedin.com/recs/received

You’ll have the opportunity to accept or dismiss the recommendation. If there is an error or something you’d rather that someone say differently, you can ask your recommender to correct it, which I encourage you to do if what they wrote is not exactly the way you want it! Most people are very cooperative when you make a request for a replacement.

Unfortunately, LinkedIn eliminated the feature that allowed the recipient to request a “replacement” recommendation, so if you need a revision, you’ll have to “Dismiss” the original recommendation and request a new one. Accompany your request with a copy of the original recommendation and your suggested changes so your recommender does not have to start from scratch.

Recommendation Challenges

Here are some issues that commonly come up with people seeking LinkedIn Recommendations:

1.  “I haven’t talked to my recommender in 5 years… I would be so embarrassed to ask!”

In this situation, think about how you would respond if the tables were turned. Wouldn’t you be happy to hear from someone who did good work for you or who was a great boss or colleague 10 years ago? I say it’s always worth asking if you think they will say something valuable!

2. “My recommenders aren’t on LinkedIn.”

In this situation, there are at least three options that can address the issue:

• Invite the person onto LinkedIn. It might be just the nudge your recommender needs to join the millions of LinkedIn users!
• Attach your recommendation under the relevant job as a link or file.
• Include the recommendation in the summary or experience section of your profile.

3. “My previous company has a policy against recommendations.”

If your past supervisors are precluded from recommending you due to company policy, you might have hit a dead end—but your coworkers might still be able to write a recommendation; and keep track of those supervisors, as they might move to a new company and be freed up to write a recommendation for you. Pay attention to the daily emails you receive with updates and look for news about potential recommenders!

Show or Hide LinkedIn Recommendations

You can display the LinkedIn Recommendations you choose at any given time. To show or hide your recommendations, click on the pencil icon:

If you do not want to display a recommendation, click the “Show” slider to change it to “Hide” and the recommendation will be hidden (see example below).

Giving Recommendations

I encourage you to recommend people as well as to request recommendations. Here’s how:

If you want to recommend Nancy, go to her profile and click “Recommend Nancy.”

You’ll be brought to this start box:

Tracking Your Recommendations

Want a quick run-down of all your received and given recommendations? Scroll down in your profile and here’s what you’ll see:

Or, want to see all the recommendation requests people have sent you? Go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendabernstein/detail/recommendations/requests/?view=received

Looking Good in Your LinkedIn Recommendations Section

By accumulating recommendations, you will gain the trust of potential employers, clients, and whomever else you want to impress on LinkedIn—trust that can translate into business or into a job. I have had many people choose to work with The Essay Expert based on the strength of the recommendations posted on my LinkedIn profile. Imagine, if you are a business or sales person, having clients come to you already having decided you’re the person they want to work with!

Recommending people can also get attention from recruiters. It’s a little-known fact that recruiters search on the recommendations you’ve given, not just on the ones you receive!

In summary, the strength of your recommendations can get you your next client or your next job. What are you waiting for?