How to get social proof on your LinkedIn profile

This week I’m sharing 5 essentials to get right on your LinkedIn profile to help you get a new job or attract career opportunities.

Yesterday I talked about your HEADLINE.

Today let’s talk about social proof on LinkedIn.

How to get social proof on your LinkedIn profile

It’s all very well crafting a powerful headline that says who you are and what you do …. and making sure you’ve sprinkled your keywords throughout.

But how can you prove that you’re as good as you say you are?

Through social proof. On LinkedIn, that means getting written recommendations.

Your recommendations on LinkedIn are your social proof.

It’s not just you saying I’m good at this and experienced at that, somebody else is saying it too.

I get that asking for recommendations can seem scary or daunting. But honestly most people are more than happy to recommend you.

How to make asking for social proof easy

So you want to make it as easy as possible for the person you ask.

Only ask people who can testify to your skills or experience. Don’t just ask randoms.

I know, that seems obvious to you and me, but you’d be surprised.

Nobody wants to awkwardly reply “well I don’t really know you and we’ve never worked together“.

Who can you ask for recommendations?

Take 5 minutes now to brainstorm who you can ask for recommendations.

The obvious ones are your co-workers. People who’ve been part of the same team or worked at the same organisation

Also ask your line managers. And people who reported to you.

But you don’t have to limit yourself to people you worked with directly.

What about suppliers? Clients? People you volunteered alongside?

What do you ask to be recommended for?

Most people will be happy to write a recommendation. What makes it hard is knowing what to write.

So make it easy – ask the person to focus on something specific: a particular project you’ve worked on together or a particular skill you want to be known for.

Think about those keywords that we explored two days ago. What keywords do you want in your recommendations?

5 essentials to get right on your LinkedIn profile

Today was the third in a series exploring the 5 essentials you need to get right on your LinkedIn profile to get a new job or attract more of the right career opportunities.

Tomorrow we’ll look at your summary, the second most important piece of real estate on your LinkedIn profile.

For more tips like this, join my Career Conversations group on Facebook.

p.s. if you’re facing redundancy, going back to work after a career break or actively job hunting, you’ll love my FREE 5 Day Sprint to Get Job Search Ready. Find out more here.