Are Your LinkedIn Recommendations Worthless?

I interface with numerous HR professionals, hiring managers, and recruiters through my business as a resume writer and career consultant, and LinkedIn recommendations are a hot topic. While some LinkedIn members have none, others have hundreds. Can you have too much of a good thing? And, what makes a recommendation attractive to a company that may be interested in interviewing you?

While there is a minimum number of recommendations sourcers believe that an experienced professional is expected to have, (usually at least 10), quality is much preferred over quantity. They also understand outside sales reps will typically have more than a programmer.

Hiring managers are very adept in reading recommendations to determine if there is a legitimate and direct understanding of the jobseekers talents. Then many will take it a step further, and will review the recommenders profile to fully appreciate the connection. Having an unsubstantiated quid pro quo recommendation (not directly working with the individual and observing their actual work), or weak recommendation can do more harm than good, and works unfavorably for even an otherwise qualified candidate.

Many sourcers are frustrated with the maneuvers around recommendations, and will circumvent the process all together. They will look at the candidate's connections list for names of co-workers or managers that worked at the same company at the same time, then directly contact them to discuss the candidate, even though they have not provided a recommendation on LinkedIn.

What do most managers and recruiters look for in a recommendation? Here are some basic guidelines:

• Proximity:  How close and on what level is the business relationship, and have they directly worked with the candidate in a meaningful capacity.
• Detail:  Does the recommender have an actual understanding of the jobseekers key skills, abilities, and achievements, and are they described in any detail.
• Sincerity: Is it clear the recommender appreciates, admires, and likes the person they are recommending.
• Relevancy: How recent is the recommendation, and does the information pertain to the position that the company is trying to locate candidates for.
• Legitimacy: Is the professional offering the recommendation a customer or manager – or a friend or colleague trading a recommendation for one on their profile.

While recommendations are a great starting point for a company to review your qualifications or informally background check you, don’t rely on them exclusively to promote your talents. They must be supported at every touch point the company will examine to identify your credibility, brand, and unique value.

August Cohen is an award-winning, triple certified resume expert and executive coach supporting professionals in achieving their next-level career goals. Directing determined job seekers in all aspects of modern career management, her services encompass powerful branded resumes, focused interview practice sessions, and targeted job search strategies. Recently featured in the Yahoo! HotJobs article “Resume Writer Secrets for Pumping Up What You Know,” August is also a contributor to the upcoming book, “The Twitter Job Search Guide,” due out in March 2010.

 

 

Community Contributors - Career Advice by August Cohen