LinkedIn: To Give A Recommendation or Not?

You pay a visit to your faithful family physician, Dr. Jones, who discovers an unusual lump under your left shoulder blade.

“Hmmm,” the doctor says. “This may be nothing, but I want to check it out. You must see a specialist.”

So, you ask, “Who do you recommend, Doctor?”

“I think you should see Dr. Smith.  He’s got quite a reputation as a lumpologist,” she says.

Confident that your trusted family physician has your best interests at heart, off you go to see Dr. Smith.

While he’s poking and prodding at your shoulder, you ask, “Dr. Smith, how did you meet Dr. Jones?”

He says, “Well I’ve never actually met Dr. Jones. But I do follow her interesting postings in an online discussion group on Linkedin.”

Your confidence begins to slip. “You’ve never met her?  Did you talk to her on the phone?”

“Well, no, not actually,” says Dr. Smith.   “Our encounters have all been online.”

“Has she sent many patients to you?”

“Nope, you are the first one,” says the doc.

Puzzled, you ask, “If she does not know you, and has never sent any patients to you, why did she refer me to you now?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” replies Dr. Smith, with a grin. “We decided to trade Linkedin recommendations. She posted a recommendation to my profile, and I posted one to hers. We thought that would be a good way to drive new patients to both our practices.”

You faint.

The story above is fictional (I hope!) but the point is this: be very careful to use the Linkedin ‘recommendation’ feature properly. Your reputation may be at stake.

Recently, I received an email that began like this:

“We are directly connected on LinkedIn and I hope you have been following my postings.

May I ask you for a brief recommendation? I have many references already. Every new reference is important to me, because it shows other users that connecting makes good sense! I need 300 recommendations by the end of 2010.  If you write a recommendation for me, I’ll write one for you too!”

I take a fundamentalist approach to giving (or accepting) recommendations on Linkedin.  When I recommend someone, I am putting my reputation on the line.   Linkedin Recommendations are not to be given lightly, nor should they be viewed as trophies.

Linkedin Recommendations should be requested and accepted when:

• You have done work for the Linkedin member
• The Linkedin member has done work for you
• You are colleagues at the same company
• You were once colleagues at the same company

A recommendation of any other type — for example, one written for a former classmate — is a personal recommendation, based on the receiver’s character, good nature, etc. These can be given, but won’t always carry the same weight as a recommendation based on a business relationship.

And remember…when giving recommendations, avoid the impulse to recreate the receiver’s resume! Speak from your heart and your own experience working with the individual.

Finally, be cautious of member profiles which include dozens of non-work related recommendations. Avoid a reputation for easily handing out recommendations to those for whom you can’t truly speak about quality, results and other characteristics of professional behavior. Your credibility is on the line. Be authentic. Be truthful. And learn to say “No” to recommendation requests when you really aren’t qualified to vouch for someone based upon personal experience.