Helping Clients With How to Write LinkedIn Recommendations

LinkedIn is increasingly important in our clients' job searches -- and the role of Recommendations is growing too. September's Pass-Along Materials content on BeAResumeWriter.com focuses on how to give -- and get -- LinkedIn Recommendations.

You must either be connected to the individual you wish to Recommend or know his or her email address. Also, the individual must have a valid LinkedIn account. You may find it easiest to use the "select from your connections list" in the "Make a Recommendation" section.

You can also make a Recommendation from the individual's profile page directly:

(Note: In the Pass-Along Materials, the screen shots are of a fictionalized profile. You can also replace the screen shots with your own profile, like I did above with my own LinkedIn profile)

Some things to consider before writing a Recommendation are:

• What are they good at?
• What did they do better than anyone else?
• What impact did they have on me? (How did they make my life better/easier?)
• What surprised you about the individual?

Within the Recommendation, you want to include four things (this is an excerpt of the full "Formula for a LinkedIn Profile"):

• How you know the person
• Why you recommend them
• A story that backs up your Recommendation (providing "social proof")
• A call to action

Your finished Recommendation might look like this (this is an example of the type of notification email you'll receive when someone Recommends you):

Resume writers -- learn more about the "How to Give -- and Get -- LinkedIn Recommendations" Pass-Along Materials package. It's brandable content you can use in your own resume writing business.

Here's what you can do with this content (you can edit the report or use it "as is"):

• Use it as a free giveaway to build your prospect mailing list or sell it.
• Tweet excerpts or post updates to Facebook and/or LinkedIn using the tips in the content.
• Break it into sections and use it as a series of blog posts or articles on your website. 
• Turn it into a video and use it to drive traffic to your website.
• Use it as a a script or an outline for a webinar.
• Make it a handout for a LinkedIn training class.
• Add it as a bonus for a LinkedIn membership program or training.

Because it's provided in Microsoft Word format, you can change out the screen shots to feature your own profile, and you can add to -- or edit -- any of the content.

If you are a Bronze member of BeAResumeWriter.com (just $10/month), you can access this content in the Paid Member Resources section from now until Oct. 9, 2012. Or, you can purchase the package at this link: How to Give -- and Get -- LinkedIn Recommendations.

What's New, What's Next

For the past two months, I've been working on a new project for Resume Writers' Digest -- a membership site. Because Resume Writers' Digest has been around for more than 10 years now (I started it in 1999), I have a lot of content (in various formats) that I think can be useful for my fellow career industry professionals.

I've got more than 40 back issues of the Resume Writers' Digest newsletter. I've got recordings of teleseminars I've done. I've got about a dozen special reports -- some that I sell and some that I give away. I've got articles, blog posts, and pages and pages of handwritten notes and ideas. All looking for readers/listeners/viewers. But I didn't have a good way to package the information ... until now. (Some of these are incorporated into the site; others will be added over time.)

I'm not starting an "association" -- there are already plenty of those in the industry! This is a portal to help you gain access to information that will make you a more effective resume writer and better businessperson. It ties in with the mission that I've had for Resume Writers' Digest since the beginning -- when I identify something I'd like to know more about as a resume writer, I seek out the information and share it with you.

There are currently two levels of membership:

• Free. Get access to the current issue of Resume Writers' Digest, selected free special reports, the general discussion forum, and a free listing in the public directory of resume writers. (Register for a free membership; applications are manually approved to keep out spammers.)

• Bronze. For $10/month, you also get access to the entire archive of Resume Writers' Digest issues, additional member-only discussion forums, access to an enhanced Membership Directory (for networking!), several special reports (currently: Write Great Resumes Faster -- which normally sells for $14; Best of the Conferences -- which normally sells for $8; and Getting Started on Google+), business templates and forms (currently: Resume Critique Form, Company Profile Sheet, My Websites, and Backup Resources) and the first of the Pass-Along Materials (PAMs) content packs.*

* What are PAMs? Pass-Along Materials are content packs that you can re-brand, re-write, and/or re-package for use with your clients. The first PAM package is a guide that your client can use to ask questions in an interview. One new PAM content pack will be released each month for Bronze members. The previous month's content pack will be removed from the site when the new one is added.

The more members we get, the more resources that will be made available!

The membership site will be launched on Sept. 30 -- but I'm doing pre-launch testing this week (and a special Charter member offer next week). If you are interested in being a beta tester, email me at editor(at)rwdigest.com.