One of the more outspoken ways of
indicating that you are being liked on a professional level is having
recommendations on LinkedIn.
There is a lot of debate on the
usefulness of such recommendations. Will they give you a head start in a
selection process? And if you don’t have any…does this disqualify you immediately?
Let start by saying that I am not a
huge fan.
Admitted…I have some people who
have recommended me, people whose opinion I value so I am grateful for it.
But when it comes down to a
selection process, whether you have or you don’t have any recommendations on
linked in will not be a decisive factor.
Nevertheless, I am human, so
testimonials that are published on your profile will have an impact on my
perception of you, whether it is positive or negative. So here a few ground
rules!
First of all, as nice as it may be
for your ego, there can be too much of a good thing. Having over 50
recommendations of all sorts of people is more of a showstopper than an
advantage. It pictures me a popularity contest and you being the prom queen.
This effect is even doubled if you have returned the favor for each of the
people who have recommended you.
So, rule number 1, carefully select
the people that you ask for recommendations. Choose people who have actually
worked closely with you and select only one or two for each type of business
relationship: your direct manager, your client and someone who reported into
you. Asking colleagues is nice but will add little value to your profile.
And then comes the recommendation
itself. That you are a pleasant person to work with is not really something
that will make you stand out. Ask the people you request to recommend you to
write down specific examples of your achievements and your added value. Ask
them to mention where you have made the difference.
A last ground rule has to do with
how you ask for a recommendation. Yes, there is a button you can push and the
request is made automatically. But how can you expect that people will know
what type of recommendation you are looking for if they get an automatically
generated mail? If you ask them personally, you can clearly indicate the
objective you want to achieve with the recommendation and give them a few clues
of what you would like them to write.
Following these 3 basic rules
should allow you to have glowing recommendations that do not only enhance your
self esteem (there is nothing wrong with that) but they may actually give you
that edge to stand out from the crowd.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel
Through a personalized and
tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in
attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company
Follow me on Twitter
@IngeniumSearch
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