My recent post on MyBizCard.co illustrated the wrong way to ask someone to rate your work on LinkedIn. What are some of the right ways?

Here are three suggestions:

1. Pay it forward before you even ask. One of the best ways to generate good will is to return the favor ahead of time. Rate or recommend the person you’re asking, then send your own request. This should be a sincerely thought-out recommendation, since you value the person enough to ask them in the first place, right?

2. Send the request to one person at a time. Clumping together people by alphabet in a mass email sends the nonverbal message that you favor quantity over quality. Look at it this way: You’re asking someone to take the time to rate your work, which ultimately reflects on you personally. Take the time in turn to give each person the courtesy of a personal message.

3. Feel free to get specific. LinkedIn provides a template for your request. Don’t use it. You don’t have to write a book, just craft a few lines about what and why you’re asking. You can mention a project you both worked on, or how great it is that you got to know the person since you met, and so on. And yes, you can say that you’re job-hunting and would love a recommendation of your work. We’ve all been there and most folks should have no problem with that.

Note: I should add, though I wish I didn’t have to, that you still should have worked with the person in some capacity before you ask to be recommended, or make sure it’s clearly noted that this is a personal character reference (if that’s even suitable for LinkedIn, which is debatable).

What tips do you have for asking for a recommendation?

Pic from here.