I was recently engaging in a discussion on the LinkedIn group Top Recommended People, where Marcelo Fernandes asked “Does becoming a Top Recommended person help or might it cause problems?”
While acknowledging that some people might aspire to be a Top Recommended person, his argument is that it could cause problems for people if recruiters or hiring managers saw it as a barrier of access to the person. I believe that Marcelo intended to initiate a debate, and indeed he has.
Andrew Baker responded that he looks to the quality of a person’s recommendations as well as the quantity. He draws no conclusions until he has performed his due diligence. Not everyone is as meticulous.
Here are my feelings: As an online reputation expert, having recommendations (or should I say having good and consistent recommendations) is not the problem, but how you present them to the world can be.
A major key to success in social media is consistency. That means consistency in everything you do. Having a series of good recommendations – even going back to your educational experiences – shows that you are consistent in what you do and in the value that you bring.
Marcelo’s discussion is a good post. It got us talking and debating on a subject that can be, but should not be handled lightly. Your online reputation is easy to build, but it’s just as easy, if not more so, to lose. Think about it. Manage it. Protect it.
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Nice summary, Lori
Thanks for the post. I agree that the topic on LinkedIn spurred some debate, and was very useful in generating different perspectives. Maintaining a high-quality online reputation does take some work, and it’s quite worth it.
Thanks again.
-ASB: http://xeesm.com/AndrewBaker
Providing Competitive Advantage through Effective IT Leadership
As a novice in the linkedin world I found this conversation very interesting. I am a retail florist and our shop is about to celebrate its 60th anniversary so my online reputation is very important to us. After reading a few books on social media, just as your post says, I need to be consistant and that is what I’m trying to do. Thanks for all your great input and I look forward to connecting with you on a regular and consistant basis. If I can ever do anything to help you, please, just let me know!!
Thank you, Jimmy
Lori,
I totally support your thought process!! We all need to manage our social media profile.
From a Top Recommended People perspective. You are the best!
Thanks,
Ross
Hello. Great job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. This is a great story. Thanks!
Very nice site!
I strive to get recommendations of good quality and for overal benefit and value to my LinkedIn profile. I get lots of positives, have received good job offers, and met a lot of cool and influential people through this medium. I hope in the past 25 months I’ve built a good online reputation. As always, there is room for improvement…JGH
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