Don’t Neglect This 2019 Professional Resolution

Resolve to spruce up your LinkedIn profile with fresh feedback.

We’re all familiar with the “New Year, New You” types of resolutions that crop up as January approaches. For 2019, why not apply a twist to that concept: instead of vowing to refresh your wardrobe or raise the bar on your workout regime, try revitalizing your LinkedIn profile with fresh feedback. Think of it as a little expansion—versus a trimming—to celebrate a shiny new year. To that end, start by identifying four people in your network whose LinkedIn recommendations would add important insights to your professional experience.

While you’re at it, why not broaden your focus to include those connections you enjoyed partnering with in 2018? This is an ideal time to harness the energy and excitement that come naturally with a new year and highlight four additional people in your circle worthy of a little professional love.

Why this resolution?

Committing yourself to giving and requesting LinkedIn recommendations at the start of a new year provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the work you’ve accomplished and the people you’ve collaborated with most recently. Overall, the act of giving and receiving feedback about shared, positive work experiences is mutually beneficial; the good feelings that result will resonate, causing others in your circle to think about their interactions with you and reflect on their own experiences as well.

In addition, spontaneously-offered LinkedIn recommendations provide their own set of valuable perks. They allow you to:

1. Surprise and delight your connections with unprompted recognition;

2. Think deeply about the person you’re recommending and contemplate the meaningful impacts they’ve had on your professional life;

3. Thoughtfully offer feedback versus turning around a quick, off-the-cuff response to a request. Best of all, the idea that you took initiative and made time to share your experience without being asked will leave a lasting impression.

Recommendations vs. Endorsements - what's the difference?

A LinkedIn recommendation is a written testimony of your experience working with a LinkedIn connection. It is your opportunity to add context to your professional relationship and explain what’s special about that person and their skills and talents. Once a connection has accepted your recommendation, it will appear at the bottom of their profile and at the bottom of your profile. Endorsements, on the other hand, are based on individual skills; these are automatically added to your connection’s profile.

Choosing the right person to recommend you.

Ideally, you’ll want to request a recommendation from a first-degree LinkedIn connection with whom you’ve had positive, professional experiences. This should be someone you’ve enjoyed interacting with on successful projects or tasks. Think about what they could say about your interactions—any experiences they share should be complimentary and constructive.

Deciding who to recommend and what to write.

Spend time thinking about the people whose work made a difference for you over the past year. Consider vendors, clients, interns, colleagues, candidates (if you are a recruiter) and bosses. Briefly explain how you know them, when you worked together, and in what capacity you collaborated. What did they do that impressed you, helped you or gave you an idea of something you could do better in your own work? Try to share an acknowledgement that sets them apart as experts in their field.  

Follow these steps to give or receive a recommendation.

When you’re ready to either write or request a recommendation, follow these steps in LinkedIn. Remember you must be 1st degree connections with these individuals. I always suggest that you draft your recommendation request and draft your recommendation for someone else in a Word document first; this will minimize spelling and grammatical errors.

Requesting a Recommendation:

1.     Go to the person’s profile

2.     Click “More”

3.     Click “Request a Recommendation”

4.     Describe your relationship using the drop-down menu provided and select the role you held at that time

5.     Write a brief note requesting a recommendation, such as: “Hi Anna, I really enjoyed working with you when we were both at Northwestern Mutual. Would you mind writing a LinkedIn recommendation for me and speaking to my leadership in our office, my communication style and ability to see a project through execution? Thank you very much.”