Contractors' Questions: Are LinkedIn recommendations worthwhile?

Contractor’s Question: Whether I put them on my company’s new website or my personal LinkedIn page; aren’t ‘recommendations’ or ‘testimonials’ just pointless as won’t people just think that I got my friends to write them?

Expert’s Answer: If a recommendation is written by someone with little credibility with little thought given to the content then yes, I agree, they can be pointless. But LinkedIn tells us that you are three times more likely to be contacted about an opportunity if you include ‘good’ recommendations on your profile.

So if the recommendation is written by someone credible and the content is well thought-out and authentic, then it can be a very powerful tool. In general, I think it’s fair to assume the person with 20 recommendations must be doing something right and would be favoured over the person who has none.

In future, and if you can, try to get a 360-degree portfolio for each contract from a boss / client, a peer, a stakeholder and a subordinate. If people you work with are consistently saying positive things about you, then one would assume you are pretty good at what you do! And regarding all your professional profiles, I would recommend lifting a couple of really stand-out recommendations from LinkedIn or your company website and incorporating them into your CV. But here’s a golden tip -- put them right at the end of your CV and ensure they are no longer than four or five lines.

The expert was Matt Craven, founder of The CV & Interview Advisors.

ContractorUK has partnered with the UK's leading authority on contractor CVs to provide a FREE review of your CV and LinkedIn profile. Contact The CV & Interview Advisors and one of their team will get back to you to discuss if your CV and LinkedIn profile matches up with industry best practice.