Your Job Searching and Linkedin Recommendations
2. Linkedin Recommendations Strategy
Do not take the task of getting Linkedin Recommendations casually! When you started your Linkedin job search, I suggested three major strategies.
- Develop a Job Searching Profile on Linkedin
- Create powerful Recommendations for your Linkedin Profile
- Expanding your Linkedin contacts.
The Recommendation section on Linkedin pages is the second most viewed part on any Linkedin page. You want your Recommendations to fully support your job searching goals. Think of your Recommendations as pillars that support your Linkedin bridge.
In this strategy, we will cover the following five areas:
- Why are Linkedin Recommendations so important
- The structure of a powerful Recommendation
- Types of Linkedin Recommendations you can use
- How to give a Linkedin Recommendation
- How to get powerful Linkedin Recommendations
Why Are Linkedin Recommendations So Important
You may ask the question, “Why do I need Linkedin Recommendations? I completed a Job Search Profile, why do I need Recommendations?”
You have already answered your question. YOU have completed your Profile. People expect you to say good things about yourself. What they also want to hear what other people think about you and the work you have done. Like your job resume, people expect you to high light your skills and experiences. They also want to check out your references.
In a world filled with distrust for political leaders, for major industries, for business leaders, credibility is hard to find. You are a stranger to the reader. They want to know whether you have a track record of success. Whether you can produce the promises you make. They recognize they are taking a risk by potentially hiring you or recommending you for a job in their company. They would like to minimize that risk as much as possible, so they want to hear from others on how you perform. Recommendations give you credibility.
There are two additional reasons why Recommendations are important to your job search.
Social Networking Programs
The Linkedin program is one of the many internet social networking programs. Dave Evans in his wonderful book, Social Media Marketing, One Hour a Day, says the real power of social media programs comes with the consideration phase of the buying process. He says there are three steps in the buying process: awareness, consideration and the purchase. Social media programs allow consumers to share their experiences about products. These experiences carry a larger weight than traditional media when people are considering a particular purchase.
He shares his own experience of trying to decide between a PC and a MAC computer. He went to his social networking program and asked for people’s advice. Many people shared their experiences with both types of computers. Their information helped him decide which computer to purchase.
In a job search, you are selling yourself to a business and others. A company considers you as one of many possible “buying” options. They can use the Linkedin Recommendations as a way of helping them make their “buying” decisions. More and more social networking programs are being used by prospective employers for this very purpose. Recommendations helps you stand out from others.
Linkedin Bonuses
You get additional help for your job search from Linkedin when you use the Recommendation process. Here are three bonuses that come with Linkedin Recommendations.
1. Statistics show that after the Profile, Recommendations are the most read section on a Linkedin page. People want to know what others are saying about you. If your page does not have Recommendations, they wonder, “What’s wrong with this person?”
2. When you give a Recommendation to another person in Linkedin, your Recommendation is automatically noted on the right side of your Linkedin page. It is also found on the page of the person receiving the Recommendation. Both of these items give you more visibility and an additional touch point for search engines. It also shows others that you are a person who knows how to give to others.
3. Each time you receive a Recommendation, an automatic alert is sent to all of your connections. If you have 50 connections on your Linkedin Program and add a new Recommendation, 50 people automatically get notified about it. You get added exposure with your connections with very little direct effort.
Conclusion
Securing powerful Linkedin Recommendations is one of the best things you can to foster your job searching process.
To be continued, your comments are welcomed…
Al Hanzal
