Reasons to be careful when making LinkedIn recommendations
LinkedIn is a popular social network that is geared towards the career-oriented and/or for those seeking to expand their professional network connections. Some users turn to the network to as a job search tool.
LinkedIn's numbers in 2013include238 million members in over 200 countries and territories, according to the company's website. Since its 2003 launch, in the last decade the network has grown in many ways, adding different features along the way. The network's members engage with one another in several different ways.
Making recommendations
One way the network's members engage includes makingrecommendationsfor other people they are linked with as a connection. These can perhaps be likened to a blanket reference letter, digital style.
While this is often perceived as a nice gesture to help someone you know out, before making the recommendation, it is important to consider everything you know about the person, it could come back to put a blight on your own reputation.
For instance, if a person makes crass comments online or has engaged in illegal behavior, if it happens to splash across headlines or becomes known in industry circles, your glowing endorsement shown on the individual's profile could potentially end up reflecting badly on you.
How giving a recommendation can backfire
As an example, Pax Dickinson, the former chief technology officer of online publicationBusiness Insider, recently drew very public controversy after itcame to lighthe had been making scathing comments on Twitter and other social networks. His posts reportedly included rape jokes and comments about gender inequality, specifically women in the tech industry.
However, his LinkedIn page was reportedly stellar in comparison with the persona he presented on other networks. These included glowing recommendations from other professionals. After Dickinson's comments on social networks came to light, those who recommended him on a professional level on LinkedIn were caught in the limelight themselves with negative attention.
One of the recommenders stood by the endorsement, saying from a professional perspective, Dickinson was good at his job. However, others say it is not that simple, it's about aligning your own personal brand to the other person's reputation.
"Everything is intertwined," Bob Pearson, a professional consultant, said, reportedCNN. "Whatever you say publicly builds a cumulative set of behaviors that leads to your reputation. You can't say one channel is separate."
Careful consideration when recommending
While many people happily will add a recommendation for a friend or colleague, it is important to consider who you recommend and what you say. You never know if or when it will come back to haunt you.
Besides, some say that recommendations may not be heavily weighed into decision making anyway. While employers or job recruiters will consider accolades presented on LinkedIn, it is not the only or primary consideration.
"We look at the profiles on LinkedIn as a puzzle," says Neil E. Peek, senior recruiter at Brocade, a network equipment company in San Jose, Calif, reportsForbes. "The recommendations are a piece of the puzzle that helps us get a better picture of the person."
As a general rule of thumb, it is probably a good idea to really know the person you endorse, both professionally and personally. Bottom line is if there are segments of the puzzle that are less than desirable to employers, you could end up linking yourself to them.
