LinkedIn is one of the most powerful online networking tools, but many people do not make full use of this important social network. You want to use LinkedIn both to make connections and to show off your skills and your abilities. This means you should ensure your LinkedIn profile and professional information is as comprehensive as possible, so you show off all you can do.
One of the things you should strongly consider including on your LinkedIn profile is impactful recommendations. Recommendations allow you to provide testimonials about your skills and abilities that will impress others and let you demonstrate just how great you are in your industry. To make sure your recommendations boost your professional brand on your LinkedIn page, here are three tips to follow.
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Get recommendations from people who matter.
You should ask for recommendations from your boss or managers, your co-workers, and from any companies that you did contract work for. If you have people working under you, you also want to include recommendations from employees who you managed or led. Your subordinates have a different perspective on your leadership skills and can provide valuable insight into what kind of manager you are. Don’t forget about team members from a long-term project who can speak about the impact you made on the project. A full 360 review of your work provides an IT recruiter a great viewpoint, and some perspective about what you can bring to the company.
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Make sure the recommendations aren't just fluff.
You don't want to include dull platitudes that won't make an impact. The point of these impactful recommendations is to help you stand out from the crowd. This means they should be personalized and provide concrete details about your abilities. A sentence such as “Was a pleasure to work with, and I really enjoyed it” doesn’t bring a lot to the table that differentiates your abilities. Encourage your colleagues to leave real recommendations with actual details. “Was a great asset to the SQL development team.” The next point will show how that sentence can be taken even further.
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Include testimonials and actual data.
You need to make sure that the testimonials appear real and genuine, and that they aren't boring. Including actual data and engaging testimonials can make a big difference. That sentence in the previous point about being a great asset to the SQL development team would be even more impactful if it included the time your new database saved in search times, or how your database saved the company other resources.
LinkedIn is just one of many networking tools you can use. Another great networking tool comes when you reach out to a leader in IT recruitment. The staffing professionals at Technology Partners have strong connections with key employers in your field, and we can help you make the connections that matter in finding great jobs. Contact us today to get started!
