The first time I asked an advisor of mine to write me a letter of recommendation back in college, he said, “sure, fill out what you want me to say, and I’ll adjust as needed and sign.” At the time I thought that was cheating, but once I realized that he also got asked from 30 other student leaders, I thought it was pretty smart. Now that I’m on the other side, I often find myself saying, “sure, fill out what you want me to say, and I’ll adjust as needed and sign.”
The other day, however, I had a student leader ask me for a letter of recommendation via LinkedIn. This was a first for me. I’d filled out LinkedIn recommendations for work colleagues and consultants, but never for a student leader’s work. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of a LinkedIn recommendation over a paper recommendation.
The advantages included…
- Longer Lasting
Unlike a paper recommendation that is often used once or twice and then tossed. A LinkedIn recommendation is posted online for as long as that person feels that it is relevant.
- More Viewers
A paper recommendation tends to be distributed only to a select group of people who are asking for it (e.g. job applications), which limits the potential impact of the recommendation. On LinkedIn, people are constantly coming and going from profiles, so now your letter of recommendation can be seen by hundreds of people who might also be interested in your skills.
- Digital Identity Enhancement
While the numbers keep shifting, the data generally shows that 50-70% of HR people scan an individual’s digital identity during the hiring process. Of that group, 86% say that if they see positive information, they will use that to the advantage of the applicant. The more LinkedIn recommendations you have, the more positive your digital identity will look, and that can only help you in the hiring process.
Is LinkedIn recommendations becoming the new thing? It’s only happened to me once from a student leader, but I suspect it won’t be the last time. I wonder if students will start asking teachers to write a letter of recommendation on LinkedIn for them about their in-classroom abilities. What do you think?
