Optimizing your LinkedIn profile, building your number of contacts, and participating in groups are all actions to contribute to raising your LinkedIn visibility. But visibility and credibility go hand-in-hand. Credibility is key so those who view your profile see immediate social proof of your expertise. Compiling LinkedIn recommendations is among the best strategies for raising credibility.
Related:3 Things Your LinkedIn Summary MUST Say
Here are five tips to ask for – and get – a quality LinkedIn recommendation.
1. Identify ideal endorsers.
Instead of approaching all 3,000 members of your network with a mass email that says, “Will you endorse me?" be strategic about issuing your requests. Settle on a number: 10, 25, 50, or 100 people with whom you had a positive professional relationship.
Arrive upon as high a number as possible, but then reduce the overwhelm. Tackle this number in bite-sized chunks. For example, make contact with five people each week until you've reached your goal.
2. List your greatest hits.
Because the best recommendations are specific, it benefits you to zero in on the greatest achievements to highlight in your professional history. Doing so will contribute to you controlling the message and cultivating a theme across all your LinkedIn recommendations that reinforces your brand.
Review your resume, performance evaluations, and accolades from customers or superiors. Use these to compile your list of key accomplishments, which will provide the substantive material for the recommendations you request.
3. Give before you receive.
Show your social media savvy in the LinkedIn land of reciprocity. Don't demonstrate the bad form of asking for a recommendation – or anything else – without offering something that you can do for the other person. Identify people to whom you can give recommendations, then do so proactively.
Allow your act of giving to speak for itself. Some people will automatically reciprocate. For those who don't, gently nudge in the form of an inbox message after a week or so. Say, “You were on my mind and it occurred to me to write you a recommendation about our work together. Have you had a chance to see it?" Your inquiry should prompt a positive response, and likely a recommendation in return.
4. Request early and often.
Best practices call for requesting your LinkedIn recommendation either while you're still employed with the company where you worked with the prospective endorser, or soon after you leave. Your request will land in more open arms when you are fresh on the endorser's mind.
If the endorser doesn't respond right away, do not take it personally. Everyone is busy. Repeat your request, but this time, graduate to a quick phone call to make sure your request is heard.
5. Do ask AND do tell.
Most people will want to give you a recommendation, but they simply may not know how. The solution, then, is to ask for the recommendation and tell them what to say all at the same time.
Here's how this works best: recall a particular project you both worked on and mention it in your request. For example, “When we needed to roll up our sleeves and change our sales strategy with the ABC account, you said the idea I came up with was the one that sealed the deal. Perhaps you could mention that in your recommendation, and of course discuss any other point you find appropriate."
Your LinkedIn recommendations can prove critical to providing the potential employer with the exact information he needs to decide whether to call you. Structure your approach strategically, ask your ideal prospective endorsers, and guide them in saying something substantive that reinforces your brand. That's how to build a list of LinkedIn recommendations that serves you well.
This post was originally published on an earlier date.
Jewel Bracy DeMaio finds out who you are, what you do, and the value you bring, and articulates that in a way that invites the employers and recruiters to call you. Ms. DeMaio is a triple-certified, nationally-recognized executive resume writer and job search coach. Learn more at www.APerfectResume.com or call 855-JOB-FOUND.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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