LinkedIn Recommendations and Endorsements

LinkedIn offers you the opportunity to serve as a professional reference for people you may have worked with or others and to advocate and certify the skills and expertise of those in your network. There are two way you can promote your connections: Recommendations and Endorsements.

Recommendations are comments written by any LinkedIn member to recognize the work of a colleague, business partner, or other professional. They are the equivalent of a job reference. There is no limit to the number of recommendations you can request or give; you can only recommend those who are first degree connections.

Pull up the Connection’s LinkedIn Profile.

• Click More... under the person’s name to get an additional set of actions. One of which is the ability to Recommend this person.
• Follow the LinkedIn prompts which will ask you to clarify your professional or educational relationship.

• Write a recommendation.
• Click Send.

You can "Ask for Recommendations" at any time from your connections and based on the positions you’ve held and schools you’ve attended. Asking for a recommendation may seem intimidating, but it’s a key step in maintaining your profile and professional presence. A good rule of thumb is to request recommendations shortly after wrapping up a project, while your project and work ethics are still top of mind.  

Tip: You can “Ask for a Recommendation” when viewing your profile. When requesting one, it’s helpful to include with any request a reminder of the project you worked on or a shared experience that would be the basis for their recommendation.

When you receive a recommendation, follow-up with a thank you note and, if you feel comfortable, write a recommendation in return.

"Skills and Endorsements" are the list of abilities on a user’s LinkedIn profile that explain what a person is proficient in.

When you set skills to feature on your profile, any first-degree connection can validate and digitally “vouch” for your expertise. Example of such areas include: Media Relations, Community Outreach, Philanthropy, Public Relations, Program Development, Public Health, Strategic Planning, or Public Speaking.

• View your LinkedIn profile by clicking the "Me" icon, scroll down to the "Featured Skills & Endorsements" section.
• Click the "Add a New Skill" icon.
• Start typing the skill you would like to add.
• You can specify up to 50 “skills” but it's a best practice to be specific and limit the skills you truly excel at professionally.

Offering endorsements for your connections helps strengthen their profile and is also an opportunity for you to get better acquainted with your connections' holistic skills set. You can endorse someone for as many skills as you like; once you endorse a connection, your LinkedIn picture will appear to the right of that skill. Users who view your picture will be able to see your shared connections.

It’s important to note that, while Endorsements are easy to send, you should always be thinking about what you add to someone’s profile, as it is a reflection of your knowledge of their work. You can revoke an endorsement at any time.