Establish Credibility Through Recommendations

As a CEO, you know the importance of showcasing your professional abilities to potential clients, marketing partners, and hiring managers. LinkedIn is a powerful platform that can help you achieve this goal. Everything you do on LinkedIn, from posting updates to engaging with other professionals, will lead others to your profile. This is why it's crucial to display endorsements and recommendations from your peers, as they can serve as social proof and back up what you say in your profile.

LinkedIn recommendations are the ultimate social proof in your profile. They are little testimonials given by your contacts that validate your experience and abilities. When people look at your profile, you want them to see you as a real, verified professional, and there is no better way to achieve this than by being recommended by peers who can help verify that you have the skills and experience you claim to have. In other words, recommendations are a way of “proving” your abilities on social media.

With so many fake and incomplete LinkedIn profiles, having a few compelling recommendations from peers in the industry can really make your LinkedIn profile stand out!

This is why it's crucial to be proactive about collecting recommendations.

Before you ask for recommendations for those in your network, start by paying upfront and recommend others you have worked with in the past for their skills and experience. Human nature predicts that some of these connections may also ask you if you would like to get recommendations from them. But never write a recommendation with the sole purpose of getting it in return.

You don't need many recommendations for social proof. Previously, LinkedIn recommended having at least three people to create a "complete" profile. If you feel that you need a few more, now is the time to reach out to your old managers, colleagues, subordinates, customers, and partners and ask for recommendations by reminding them of your achievements in your request. Many busy professionals actually prefer that you send them a draft recommendation along with your request if the content is accurate and faithfully represents them. When you write a draft or ask for a recommendation, always keep in mind the specific actions you have taken to achieve concrete results. Vague recommendations practically do not bring any use.

In summary, LinkedIn recommendations are a powerful way to showcase your professional abilities and validate your experience and skills. As a CEO, it's important to be proactive about collecting recommendations and displaying them on your LinkedIn profile. By doing so, you can differentiate yourself from other professionals and demonstrate your credibility to potential clients, marketing partners, and hiring managers. If you still have questions about your profile dont hesitate to contact "I'm Not so Social", we will be happy to help.