How do IT professionals get strong LinkedIn recommendations?
IT professionals get strong LinkedIn recommendations by asking former managers, colleagues, and clients who have directly observed their technical work, then providing the recommender with specific talking points about the project or skill they want highlighted. The most effective recommendations describe a specific problem the IT professional solved, quantify the outcome, and speak to both technical capability and professional qualities like reliability and communication. Aim for 5-10 recommendations on your profile: at minimum one from a direct manager, one from a peer, and one from a cross-functional colleague. Proactively writing a recommendation for the other person first substantially increases the likelihood of receiving one in return.
LinkedIn recommendations are the closest equivalent to a professional reference directly visible on your profile. Unlike endorsements, which are one-click signals, recommendations are written testimonials that carry significant weight with recruiters and hiring managers who are evaluating candidates.
For IT professionals, recommendations serve a dual purpose: they validate technical competence through the words of someone who observed your work, and they signal professional characteristics such as communication, leadership, and reliability that are harder to demonstrate through certifications and job titles alone.
This guide covers how to build a strong recommendation portfolio, what makes recommendations compelling, and how to approach the process professionally.
Why Recommendations Matter More Than Endorsements
LinkedIn has two social proof mechanisms: endorsements (one-click skills validation) and recommendations (written testimonials). Endorsements have diminished in value because they require no effort and are often traded reciprocally without genuine assessment. Recommendations require actual writing and personal attestation, which makes them significantly more credible to professional reviewers.
Recruiters using LinkedIn Recruiter read recommendations on shortlisted candidates' profiles. Hiring managers researching candidates before interviews often read recommendations to understand what colleagues say about working with the person. Executive-level candidates and senior IT professionals with strong recommendation portfolios have a measurable advantage in competitive hiring situations.
"I review LinkedIn recommendations for every candidate I move to the final round. I am looking for specific, concrete language about what the person did and how they work -- not generic praise. Two strong specific recommendations outweigh ten generic ones every time." -- Senior Technical Recruiter, enterprise technology sector
How Many Recommendations You Need
| Career Stage | Minimum Recommendations | Target Recommendations |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level (0-2 years) | 2-3 | 4-5 |
| Mid-level (3-7 years) | 4-5 | 6-8 |
| Senior (8+ years) | 5-6 | 8-12 |
| Manager or Director | 6-8 | 10-15 |
| Freelancer/Consultant | 5-8 | 10+ (from clients) |
Quality matters more than quantity. Two highly specific, project-focused recommendations from managers outperform ten generic "great to work with" endorsements from peers.
The Recommendation Portfolio Mix
A strong recommendation portfolio for an IT professional should include:
Manager recommendations (highest weight): Former managers who can speak to your technical contributions, project outcomes, and professional conduct. At least one manager recommendation is critical for hiring managers who want to verify that a supervisor would endorse the candidate.
Peer recommendations: Colleagues who worked alongside you on technical projects. These demonstrate teamwork, collaboration, and peer respect. Strong peer recommendations often include specific technical observations ("She identified the root cause of a network issue three senior engineers had missed").
Cross-functional recommendations: Non-IT colleagues who worked with you on projects. A project manager or business analyst who worked on a system implementation can speak to your communication skills and ability to translate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
Client recommendations (for freelancers and consultants): The highest-value recommendation type for independent practitioners. Clients describing specific outcomes from your engagement are more compelling than any internal colleague endorsement.
Direct report recommendations (for managers): Reports who can speak to your leadership, mentorship, and technical guidance validate leadership claims in a way that upward recommendations cannot.
How to Request a Recommendation
The approach to requesting a recommendation directly determines its quality. Generic requests produce generic recommendations. Specific requests produce specific, useful recommendations.
Step 1: Choose the right person. Ask people who directly observed the work you want highlighted. A manager from a major cloud migration project is the right person to speak to your AWS architecture skills. A colleague who worked beside you during an incident response is the right person to speak to your troubleshooting and crisis communication.
Step 2: Make the request personal. Use LinkedIn's recommendation request feature, but accompany it with a private message that contextualizes the request:
"Hi [Name], I hope you are doing well. I am updating my LinkedIn profile and would be grateful if you would be willing to write a recommendation based on our work together on [specific project]. If you are willing, some points that might be helpful to mention: [specific accomplishment 1], [specific accomplishment 2], and [specific skill or quality]. No pressure at all, and happy to write one for you in return if useful."
Step 3: Provide talking points. The talking points message does two things: it reminds the recommender of specific work (they may have worked with dozens of colleagues since then) and it guides them toward the content that is most useful for your profile. Most people appreciate the guidance because it makes the writing task easier.
Step 4: Offer reciprocity. Proactively writing a recommendation for the person before asking for one is the single most effective tactic for generating high-quality recommendations. When you give first, the social norm of reciprocity significantly increases follow-through.
"I always write the recommendation first before asking. Not as manipulation, but because it forces me to think carefully about what I genuinely valued in working with them -- and that specificity models what I hope they will do for me." -- Senior DevOps Engineer
What Makes a Recommendation Compelling
Specific problem + specific outcome. The best recommendations follow this pattern: "[Person] solved [specific problem] by [specific action], resulting in [specific outcome]." Generic recommendations ("Great team player, highly recommend!") are noise. Specific recommendations are signal.
Technical language that is accessible. A recommendation that mentions "reduced our Kubernetes cluster costs by 34% through resource limit optimization and node group rightsizing" is more credible than "helped with our cloud infrastructure." Technical specificity signals that the recommender actually worked with you on real technical work.
Professional qualities alongside technical ones. Hiring managers already expect IT candidates to have technical skills. Recommendations that also speak to communication, reliability, leadership, and client-facing skills address the softer criteria that often differentiate finalists.
A clear relationship context. Recommendations should make clear how the recommender knows you: manager, peer, client, report. Relationship context helps reviewers weight the testimony appropriately.
What to Avoid in Recommendations
| Weak Recommendation Language | Why It Is Ineffective |
|---|---|
| "Highly recommend without hesitation" | Generic, no evidence |
| "Always willing to help the team" | No technical specificity |
| "One of the smartest people I've worked with" | Subjective, unverifiable |
| "Great communication skills" | Claimed, not demonstrated |
| "Hard worker who always delivers" | Generic praise with no specifics |
| "Would make a great addition to any team" | Template language, signals no effort |
The common thread in weak recommendations is the absence of specific evidence. Strong recommendations include a claim and evidence for the claim.
Recommendation Strategy by Career Goal
Job searching actively: Request 1-2 new recommendations from people who can speak to skills required for the roles you are targeting. If you are applying to cloud security roles, ask for recommendations that speak specifically to security architecture work, incident response, or compliance project leadership.
Career changing into IT: Seek recommendations from non-IT supervisors and colleagues that emphasize transferable professional qualities (analytical thinking, project management, client communication) alongside any technical exposure. IT bootcamp instructors or project collaborators can add technical dimension.
Building a freelance practice: Client recommendations are your primary marketing asset. Request recommendations from every satisfied client. A prospective client reading three specific recommendations from previous clients is significantly more likely to engage you than one with no recommendations.
Positioning for promotion: Internal recommendations from respected cross-functional partners or skip-level leaders are particularly powerful for promotion cases. A recommendation from a senior business leader about how your IT work enabled a business outcome speaks directly to leadership impact.
The Reciprocal Recommendation Approach
The most sustainable approach to building a recommendation portfolio is consistent reciprocity: when you observe excellent work from a colleague, write them an unsolicited recommendation. Do not wait to be asked. A thoughtful, specific unsolicited recommendation is a significant professional gift that generates goodwill, strengthens the professional relationship, and typically results in a recommendation in return without any explicit request.
"I write one LinkedIn recommendation per month for someone I have worked with recently. It has been one of the highest-return professional habits I have developed. My recommendation portfolio has grown without me ever directly asking for one, and the relationships I have strengthened through writing them have led to more referrals and consulting inquiries than almost any other activity." -- CISSP-certified security consultant
Keeping Recommendations Current
Recommendations from more than 5-7 years ago lose some impact because they speak to skills and roles that may no longer reflect your current work. Prioritize:
- Requesting recommendations after completing major projects (while the work is fresh for the recommender)
- Seeking recommendations from roles you are currently in before leaving (much easier than requesting from a former employer months later)
- Periodically reviewing your recommendation portfolio to ensure it reflects your current specialization and career stage
Managing Recommendation Requests You Receive
When someone asks you to write a recommendation, respond promptly or decline politely. Ignoring requests damages professional relationships. If you cannot write a positive, specific recommendation, it is appropriate to decline with a message like: "I appreciate you thinking of me -- I do not feel I have enough specific knowledge of your [particular area] to write a recommendation that would really serve you well. I am happy to connect you with [person] who might be better positioned."
Only write recommendations you can write honestly and specifically. A lukewarm or vague recommendation can actually harm the recipient's profile by appearing formulaic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I ask for recommendations before or after leaving a job? Before is substantially better. Colleagues are still engaged with the work, have fresh memory of specific projects, and are more motivated to help someone they still work with. After leaving, the motivation decreases and the specific memory fades. If you are planning to change jobs, request recommendations 2-4 weeks before your last day while relationships and context are fresh.
How do I handle a recommendation request when I cannot write a positive one? Decline politely and privately. Explain that you want to ensure they get a recommendation that truly serves them and that someone else who worked more closely with them on relevant projects would be better positioned to speak to their strengths. Never write a lukewarm recommendation as a favor -- it signals the absence of genuine endorsement to any reader who knows how to interpret recommendation language.
Can I edit a recommendation before it appears on my profile? Yes. LinkedIn's recommendation system allows you to review all incoming recommendations before they appear on your profile. You can accept, decline, or ask the recommender to revise. You cannot edit the text directly -- you can only ask the recommender to make changes. Use this to address factual inaccuracies or to request more specific language if the initial recommendation was vague.
References
- LinkedIn. (2024). How to Request a Recommendation. linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a547682
- LinkedIn Talent Solutions. (2024). What Recruiters Look for in LinkedIn Profiles. linkedin.com/business/talent
- Harvard Business Review. (2024). The Art of the Professional Reference. hbr.org/career-advice
- SHRM. (2024). Reference and Recommendation Best Practices. shrm.org
- Jobscan. (2024). LinkedIn Recommendation Optimization Guide. jobscan.co/linkedin-recommendations
- Forbes. (2024). LinkedIn Profile Tips for Technology Professionals. forbes.com/careers
- Dice. (2024). How IT Recruiters Use LinkedIn Recommendations. dice.com/career-advice