LinkedIn Recommendation Policy

If it hasn't happened to you yet, it will soon. Someone asks you to recommend them on LinkedIn. If you don't know them well, or if the work relationship was not substantial, then it is an easy decision to make. You just ignore the request. You and I aren't being paid to write recommendations, and if you offer hundreds of recommendations it dilutes the value of your real recommendations. Also, giving too many recommendations become contagious in the negative way. Others will see that you are willing to give recommendations, and they will ask you for recommendations too, continuing the cycle of recommendation inflation (lowering the value of recommendations).

We decided after being inundated with many LinkedIn recommendation requests, that we would come up with our LinkedIn Recommendation Policy.

1. If you are one of my former college students, you must have been an A student in my class, and you have to email me your official or unofficial transcript. You must have an overall grade point average of A- or higher.
2. If we have worked together in business or a non-profit organization, we must have worked for a long enough period of time that a working relationship could reasonably be evaluated by both parties.
3. Most importantly - if you value my recommendation, then a good first step is to give me a recommendation first. If you are a former college student, what did I contribute to your learning and how? Here are some testimonials from former students. If you are a colleague from business or a non-profit organization, what did I contribute to the project or enterprise? Here are some testimonials that web development customers have given us: Baywalk Web Development testimonials (launches new tab/window).

This last policy item lets me know that you are serous about receiving a recommendation, and aren't just emailing people in your LinkedIn address book asking for recommendations and seeing who replies back.

Thanks for understanding. A good, honest recommendation takes time and effort to write. If you are willing to write one for me, I will respond with a recommendation as well. In the rare case where I do not feel comfortable writing a recommendation, I will explain to you why.

Now thank you for YOUR recommendation of me.

Suggestions to give good recommendations based on Harvard Business Review's article The Art of Giving Praise.

1. Be truly specific. General compliments like "Great job!" or "Excellent presentation!" aren't as effective as precise feedback such as "Joe's project work saved 2 months from the estimated completion date and came in within budget." or "Jane's hard work and client follow-up expanded sales by 25% over a three year period."
2. Don't add constructive criticism with the recommendation. This isn't a job review, so focus only on what was positive and can honestly be praised as good work.
3. Don't force a recommendation length. It may be two (2) sentences or two (2) paragraphs, but don't look for a certain word count in recommendations.

I hope this helps create a better LinkedIn experience for both of us.