A LinkedIn® recommendation is a written account of someone’s experience of working with you. It can add context and credibility to your profile, but the quality of the recommendation depends heavily on whom you ask and how you frame the request.
- Key Takeaways
- What Makes a LinkedIn® Recommendation Useful?
- How to Request a Recommendation on LinkedIn®
- Choose the Right Person
- When to Ask
- How to Write the Request
- What Not to Do
- Reviewing and Managing Recommendations
- Fit Recommendations Into the Whole Profile
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related LinkedIn® Guidance
The best requests are personal, specific, and easy to decline. They remind the recipient of the work you did together without dictating what that person should say.
Key Takeaways
- Ask a first-degree connection who has direct knowledge of your work.
- Choose the correct relationship and your position at the time.
- Personalize the message and explain why their perspective would be valuable.
- Offer a useful memory prompt, not a prewritten testimonial.
- Prioritize relevance and credibility rather than chasing a target number.
What Makes a LinkedIn® Recommendation Useful?
A useful recommendation gives another person’s perspective on work they genuinely observed. It may describe the context, your contribution, how you worked with others, and the result. That is stronger than generic praise because the reader can understand what happened and why it mattered.
Recommendations are not a proven shortcut to greater reach, nor is there a published percentage by which they increase profile authority. Treat them as supporting evidence for human readers: prospective clients, employers, collaborators, and peers who want to understand how you operate.
Choose evidence that supports your current direction
Think about the work you want to be known for now. A recommendation from the right person can substantiate a leadership capability, specialist skill, client outcome, or way of working that is relevant to your next step. Older recommendations can still be valuable when the evidence remains relevant.
How to Request a Recommendation on LinkedIn®
LinkedIn® currently allows you to request a recommendation from the profile of a first-degree connection or from the Recommendations section of your own profile.
From the other person’s profile on desktop
- Open My Network and select Connections.
- Find and open the person’s profile.
- Select More in the introduction section.
- Select Request a recommendation.
- Choose your relationship and your position at the time.
- Write a personalized message and send the request.
From your own profile on desktop
- Select Me, then View Profile.
- Scroll to the Recommendations section and select the plus icon.
- Select Ask for a recommendation.
- Choose the connection, relationship, and your position at the time.
- Personalize and send the message.
LinkedIn® notes that you can request recommendations from first-degree connections you work with or have worked with. You can request only one recommendation per position from the same member, although there is no overall limit on recommendations requested or received. Recommendations can also only be requested in your profile’s primary language.
Interface labels can change, so consult LinkedIn® Help’s current instructions if the options on your screen differ.
Choose the Right Person
Ask someone who can comment from direct experience. Depending on the point you want to support, that might be:
- a client who experienced the outcome of your work;
- a manager who observed your judgment, leadership, or delivery;
- a colleague who worked closely with you on a meaningful project;
- a direct report who can speak credibly about your leadership; or
- a partner or collaborator who saw how you contributed.
Status alone does not make a recommendation persuasive. A detailed account from a close collaborator is often more informative than vague praise from a senior person who barely saw the work.
When to Ask
Ask while the work is still easy to recall: after a successful project, a useful milestone, the end of a working relationship, or a moment when the person has already expressed appreciation. There is no universal “golden window” or required annual quota. Good timing is simply when the recommender has enough evidence and enough distance to describe the contribution properly.
A brief private message before the formal request can be considerate, particularly with a client or senior contact. It lets you check whether they are comfortable and avoids making the platform notification feel abrupt.
How to Write the Request
A good message contains four elements:
- Context: Remind them of the project, role, or period you shared.
- Reason: Explain why you are updating your profile or why their perspective matters.
- Prompt: Mention one or two aspects they directly observed.
- Choice: Make clear that there is no pressure.
A concise request template
Hi [Name], I’m updating my LinkedIn® profile to reflect my work in [area]. Would you feel comfortable writing a brief recommendation based on our work together on [project or responsibility]? Your perspective on [specific contribution or way of working] would be particularly valuable, but please use your own words. No pressure at all if the timing is not right.
A client request template
Hi [Name], I’ve been reviewing how I present my work with [type of client or challenge] on LinkedIn®. Would you be comfortable sharing a short recommendation about our work on [project]? It may help to mention the situation before we started, what it was like working together, and any outcome you feel able to attribute to the work. Please only include details you are happy to make public, and there is no obligation.
A colleague request template
Hi [Name], I’m refreshing my profile and would value your perspective on our work together during [project or period]. If you are comfortable recommending me, you might comment on [collaboration, leadership, specialist contribution, or delivery] because you saw that work firsthand. Please write it in your own way—and no worries if you would rather not.
What Not to Do
- Do not send the default message without context.
- Do not ask someone who cannot genuinely assess your work.
- Do not write the whole recommendation for them and ask them to paste it.
- Do not pressure the person or repeatedly chase a response.
- Do not request confidential figures or client information for public display.
- Do not offer a recommendation in exchange unless you can independently and honestly recommend their work.
Reviewing and Managing Recommendations
When a recommendation arrives, LinkedIn® allows you to accept it, dismiss it, or ask the sender for a revision. You cannot directly edit someone else’s words. A revision request is appropriate for a factual error, confidential detail, incorrect role, or wording that could be misunderstood.
Recommendations appear chronologically and currently cannot be manually reordered. You can hide an accepted recommendation if it no longer supports your profile, without treating every older recommendation as obsolete.
If you want to reuse a recommendation on a website, proposal, or other channel, ask the writer’s permission—especially if the new context is commercial or more public than their original LinkedIn® audience.
Fit Recommendations Into the Whole Profile
Recommendations are supporting material, not the foundation of the profile. Your headline, About section, Experience, Skills, Projects, and Featured content should already make your direction and evidence clear. The recommendations then add independent perspective.
Leaders Social offers LinkedIn® Profile Optimisation for professionals, C-suite leaders, and CEOs. The work reviews the profile as a connected whole rather than treating recommendations as an isolated tactic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I request a recommendation from someone who is not on LinkedIn®?
No. LinkedIn® recommendations are exchanged between members, and requests are made to eligible first-degree connections. You can still ask an external contact for a separate testimonial for another channel.
How many recommendations should I have?
There is no universal ideal number. A smaller set of relevant, specific recommendations is more useful than a large collection of generic praise. Aim for enough independent evidence to support the important parts of your current professional story.
Can I edit a recommendation someone wrote for me?
No. You can ask the writer to revise it, dismiss it, or hide it after acceptance, but you cannot change their wording yourself.
What is the difference between an endorsement and a recommendation?
A skill endorsement is a simple signal attached to a listed skill. A recommendation is a written account from another member. Recommendations can provide much more context, but neither should be presented as proof of a guaranteed ranking or reach advantage.
What if the person does not respond?
Allow reasonable time, then send at most one polite follow-up if the relationship makes that appropriate. If they still do not respond, leave the request alone. A recommendation should be freely given.
Prefer to improve the profile yourself? Work through the free LinkedIn® Profile course for structured guidance across the main profile sections.
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