You want to think about a buyer’s journey when they visit your LinkedIn profile.

Many of your standard sections (profile picture, work history, education) are likely done, but the three aforementioned sections take time. If you do only three things on your LinkedIn profile, my recommendation is to invest time in your headline, your “About” section, and your recommendations. These are individuals who know you professionally, who have likely learned about your personal side and who can be an advocate for your character and what it’s like to work alongside you. This is an opportunity to invoke testimonials from a wide spectrum of your network – former clients, peers, college and law school professors, internal cross-functional partners, current clients, graduate program research partners, clients who have purchased from you multiple times – you name it. A recommendation has the ability to speak on your behalf and detail what the experience of working with you is like. “Won’t my work simply speak for itself? I feel like I’m on a first date telling someone I’m smart and funny…just wait and I’ll teach you something or make you laugh.” These are attributes that will (hopefully) be visible as a client begins to work with us, but until that engagement begins, we have to find ways to convince our audience that we’re the right person to hire.Įnter the glorious LinkedIn recommendation. But, many of us feel like frauds for doing so. No matter our profession (e.g., sales, attorney, commercial broker) and no matter the situation (e.g., sales pitch, interview, proposal review), we find ourselves in positions that constantly demand us to advocate for ourselves. I’m super responsive, am an expert in my field, I always go above and beyond, and my work ethic is unmatched. “So, tell us Bill, what’s it like to work with you?”

Linkedin recommendation examples