Who should you ask, and when?

Choose someone who can describe your contribution without guessing. My suggested test is simple: could this person name a task, explain your role, and recall how you handled it?

The Muse recommends seeking perspectives from managers, teammates, clients, and leaders familiar with your work. It suggests completed projects and review conversations as useful moments to ask. It also cautions that an unexpected request can look like a signal that you plan to leave, so explain your reason honestly. Advice on timing and choosing people.

A hypothetical choice

Imagine you run a small design business. A well-known founder approved your invoice, but the marketing manager worked through every draft with you. I would approach the marketing manager first and ask about your handling of feedback.

For a former colleague, reopen the conversation with a real shared memory. Avoid pretending you recently saw their work if you did not. For help maintaining those relationships beyond this request, use the guide to building a professional network.

What are the steps to request a recommendation?

Use the person’s profile as your starting point. These desktop instructions follow LinkedIn’s recommendation request guide.

1. Open My Network, then Connections.
2. Search for the person and open their profile.
3. Select More, then Request a recommendation.
4. Complete Relationship and Position at the time.
5. Replace the default message with your own request.
6. Check the details and select Send.

On mobile, use My Network, Manage my network, Connections, then the person’s profile and More. Select Request a recommendation. Alternatively, on desktop, your own Recommendations section offers Plus and Ask for recommendation when that section is present. Mobile and profile routes.

Check the historical details

The relationship cannot be changed after sending. LinkedIn says you must ask the recipient to delete an incorrect request and then submit another. Requests also follow your primary profile language. Relationship and language restrictions.

Pause at the position field. If you worked with this person before a promotion, choose the role you held during that collaboration. Keep the project reminder consistent with that period.

What should your recommendation request say?

Give the person a manageable writing task: one shared experience and one or two relevant qualities. Explain your purpose, offer a factual reminder, and leave room for them to decline.

Message to your current manager

This is an original template for a hypothetical situation. Replace the bracketed details before sending it.

Hi [Name], I’m updating my profile to describe my work on [project] more clearly. Would you feel comfortable writing a short LinkedIn recommendation about how I handled [specific responsibility]?

You saw the planning and handover directly, so your perspective would be useful. I can send a brief reminder of my tasks if that helps. If now is a busy time, please feel free to pass.

Message to a former client

Hi [Name], I’m putting together examples of my work on customer-facing websites. I enjoyed working with you on [project], particularly sorting out [specific part of the brief].

Would you be willing to write a short LinkedIn recommendation about our collaboration? A few words about how I handled your feedback would be helpful. I can resend the project summary, and there is no pressure if you would rather not.

Make the request easier without scripting praise

Offer a short factual note containing the project, your responsibilities, and one moment they might remember. If you suggest a result, include it only when you can verify it. Let the writer decide what they can personally support.

For example, in a hypothetical online shop project, write “I reorganised the product descriptions and handled your review comments.” Do not turn that into “I transformed your sales” without evidence.

If someone agrees but goes quiet, my suggested approach is one gentle reminder after roughly a week. Treat that interval as a courtesy choice, not a platform rule. Then leave the decision with them.

Hi [Name], just checking whether the project reminder would help with my recommendation request. No problem if your schedule has changed. Thank you for considering it.

If a hiring process asks you to nominate a reference, prepare that conversation separately. The guide to asking someone to be a job reference provides a starting point.

How do you write a useful recommendation for a colleague?

Describe the working relationship, one responsibility, and something you observed. Close by explaining the kind of work for which you would recommend the person.

LinkedIn allows recommendations for first-degree connections, meaning people you are directly connected with. From their profile, select More, Recommend, complete the relationship and position fields, select Next, write the text, and send it. LinkedIn’s writing instructions.

An example built around observed behaviour

The following example is hypothetical. It does not describe a real person or claim a measured business result.

I worked with Jordan on the launch materials for a small subscription business. I handled customer emails, while Jordan coordinated the website copy and the review process.

I appreciated how clearly Jordan separated decisions from open questions. When feedback conflicted, they brought the right people together and documented the agreed direction. I would recommend Jordan for content projects that need careful coordination across a small team.

Before sending, replace broad praise with a moment you remember. Instead of “an exceptional communicator,” describe how the person explained a difficult decision or kept a handover clear. Keep the example within the work you witnessed.

• Check that the relationship description is accurate.
• Remove claims about responsibilities you did not observe.
• Use numbers only when you can substantiate them.
• Check whether project details are appropriate to share.
• Read the text aloud and remove phrases you would never normally use.

For a formal document requested outside the platform, consult how to write a letter of recommendation. Start from the recipient’s requirements before deciding how much detail to include.

How is a recommendation different from a skill endorsement?

A skill endorsement is a connection’s validation of a skill listed on your profile. LinkedIn treats endorsements as separate from written recommendations and displays them under the relevant skill in the Skills section. LinkedIn’s skill endorsement explanation.

For your own planning, use a skill name to identify an ability and a recommendation request to invite a concrete account of your work. A hypothetical bookkeeper might list bookkeeping as a skill and ask a client to describe the clarity of their monthly handover.

How many recommendations should you aim for?

I would start with one useful account, then look for a missing perspective. If every recommendation describes the same task, consider whether another colleague could speak about a different responsibility. Avoid collecting nearly identical praise simply to increase the count.

Decide what your profile should support before asking for more. If your next direction is unclear, work through setting practical career goals and choose the work you want people to understand.

Can you decline, hide, or remove a recommendation?

You can decline a request. LinkedIn’s instructions show Ignore in the desktop request window and Delete in the mobile received-requests screen. Request response options.

If you cannot honestly describe the person’s work, I suggest a brief response: “Thank you for asking. We haven’t worked closely enough for me to write a specific recommendation.” You do not need to invent a positive account to avoid an awkward conversation.

You can edit or delete recommendations you have written, and either person can choose to hide a recommendation. A received recommendation’s visibility is therefore a different matter from deleting text you authored. Editing, deletion, and visibility.

Review what arrives

Read the recommendation for accuracy before choosing to display it. If a title, responsibility, or result is wrong, ask the author for a specific correction. Suggest the factual change without rewriting their opinion.

For a new role, keep brief notes about work you actually complete. Use your first 90-day plan as a place to identify responsibilities you may later discuss with a manager.

This week, choose one person, write one project reminder, and send one thoughtful request. When a recommendation arrives, thank the writer. Offer your own recommendation only when you have an honest observation to share.