LinkedIn Recommendations: How Important Are They?

LinkedIn is an amazingly valuable resource for anyone’s career, and essentially important for the success of a job search. A great profile that shows you off at your professional best is the first step, but many job seekers want to know just how important it is to have recommendations on your profile. And how many do you need?

Recommendations can be very helpful to have on your LinkedIn profile. Some recruiters won’t even contact you without one. Many will contact you if your experience matches up with what they’re looking for, but they’ll expect to be introduced to a few of your references.

You can see why a recommendation would be reassuring for folks who don’t know you. An “independent” third party who can vouch for your skills, experience, or character makes you more of a known quantity. Don’t you like to have a recommendation, or some kind of input, before you choose a new doctor, or even try a new restaurant? It’s the same for recruiters and hiring managers, and it’s even more important to them because the stakes are higher. Their livelihood depends on their making a good choice.

So how many recommendations do you need? You need at least one or two. You can find people who have a lot more, but there are usually extenuating circumstances. For instance, I have 50, but that’s because I have over 20 years of high-exposure experience in the marketplace as a medical sales professional, medical sales recruiter, and career coach.

One to four recommendations that are strong recommendations that really speak to who you are and why someone should contact you will be plenty.