I recently received a linkedIn request from an ex-colleague whom I haven’t worked with in a long while to provide a recommendation for them. Happened to you recently? As more and more people use linkedIn as the foundation of their career development the hunt for written recommendations starts,
Wow, it was about 8 or 9 years since we worked together, well i could write about what they did then, but thats not what they were asking for, and I really don’t know what they are like now. Eight years is a long time and people do change.
I am sure we’ve all had someone you don’t know well, or haven’t worked with in many years or at all ask you for a LinkedIn recommendation? Writing these recommendations have become a challenge for those of us who wish to ensure some objectivity and veracity in our recommendations. For those of you who believe you should guard your reputation, here’s what I suggest you could you do.
If someone you don’t know very well requests a LinkedIn recommendation, you can always respond with something along these lines:
“Dear Joe, I saw that you asked me to recommend you on LinkedIn. However, since we’ve never worked together on a prolonged project ( or ‘ we haven’t worked together in a long time’), I am afraid I wouldn’t be able to adequately describe your strengths, and my recommendation wouldn’t do you justice.”
You would be doing both Joe and yourself a disservice if you provided an online recommendation with no basis in reality. Especially if someone hires Joe on your glowing, fake, recommendation.
Remember its your reputation, and a polite decline is better than your reputation being mud. What are your thoughts on LinkedIn recommendations?