How to Ask for LinkedIn Recommendations: Templates and Practical Tips

You have done good work, but your LinkedIn profile mostly contains your own account of it. A recommendation from someone who worked with you can add context that a job title or skills list cannot. The awkward part is asking without sounding pushy or handing someone a writing assignment.

This guide explains how to ask for LinkedIn recommendations, choose the right people and make your request easy to answer. You will find message templates for colleagues, managers and freelance clients, plus a simple follow-up routine. The aim is specific, honest feedback—not a collection of interchangeable compliments.

1. Choose people who can describe your work

A useful recommendation comes from someone who has directly seen how you work. Their seniority matters less than their ability to describe your contribution clearly. A colleague who delivered a project alongside you may have more useful detail than a director you rarely met.

Start with the professional impression you want your profile to support. If you are looking for operations roles, someone who saw you organise a difficult handover is a sensible choice. If you sell design services, a client who can discuss your process and communication may be particularly relevant.

Consider these possible recommenders:

Person	What they might describe
Former manager	Your responsibilities, judgement and development
Project colleague	Collaboration, reliability and problem-solving
Freelance client	How you understood the brief and handled delivery
Cross-team partner	Communication and coordination across departments
Volunteer coordinator	Initiative and practical contributions outside paid employment

Avoid asking someone simply because their title looks impressive. Also avoid sending requests to people who know you socially but cannot honestly discuss your work.

If you are changing direction, choose people who have observed relevant transferable strengths. They do not need to claim you already have experience in your target profession.

2. How to ask for LinkedIn recommendations naturally

Ask when the work is still easy to remember: after a completed project, a positive review or the end of a successful contract. You can also contact former colleagues later, but include a brief reminder of what you worked on together.

A strong LinkedIn recommendation request answers four questions: why this person, what shared work, what useful area of feedback and whether they can comfortably decline. Keep it short enough to read between other tasks.

Use this sequence:

1. Reconnect briefly. Mention your shared project or working relationship.
2. Explain the request. Say that you are updating your profile or clarifying your services.
3. Suggest a focus. Mention one or two areas they personally observed.
4. Remove pressure. Make clear that it is optional and there is no rush.
5. Send the platform request. Use LinkedIn’s recommendation request option and personalise the message.

LinkedIn’s interface can change, so the exact button placement may differ. Look for the recommendation request option on the relevant profile or within your Recommendations section, and check the relationship details before sending.

Should you ask by email first?

For a recent colleague you regularly message, a direct LinkedIn request may feel perfectly natural. For an older contact or busy client, a short email first can provide context before the platform notification arrives.

Do not send the same request through several channels at once. One thoughtful message is easier to respond to than a LinkedIn notification, email and instant message arriving together.

3. LinkedIn recommendation request templates

Treat these templates as starting points rather than scripts. Replace the bracketed details with something recognisable, and remove anything that does not sound like you.

Asking a former manager

Hi [name], I hope you’re well. I’m updating my LinkedIn profile and wondered whether you would feel comfortable writing a short recommendation about our time working together at [organisation]. If useful, you could focus on my work coordinating [project] and keeping the team informed during the handover. Please only include what reflects your experience—no pressure if you don’t have time. Thank you!

This works because it gives the manager a memory prompt without prescribing praise. You are asking for their assessment, not approval of your own description.

Asking a colleague

Hi [name], I really enjoyed working with you on [project]. Would you be happy to write a brief LinkedIn recommendation about how we collaborated? I’m making my project coordination experience clearer on my profile, so your perspective on planning and resolving last-minute issues would be useful. No rush, and completely fine if now isn’t convenient.

A colleague does not need to comment on your overall performance. A focused account of working alongside you can be more credible than broad statements about your abilities.

Asking a freelance client

Hi [name], thank you again for working with me on [deliverable]. Would you feel comfortable sharing a short LinkedIn recommendation about the experience? A few sentences about the briefing process, communication or delivery would be very helpful. Please avoid any confidential project details. I can send the LinkedIn request if that’s easiest, and there’s no obligation.

Ask after the client has had a reasonable opportunity to assess the work. Keep the request separate from unresolved revisions, payment discussions or complaints so it does not feel like a condition of good service.

Following up once

Hi [name], just a gentle follow-up on my recommendation request. I know things get busy, so please don’t worry if you haven’t had time. If you’re still happy to do it, the request should be in LinkedIn. Thanks either way.

Allow roughly a week or two before following up, adjusting for holidays or known deadlines. After one reminder, leave it there unless the person invites another nudge.

4. Make recommendations specific without writing them yourself

“Great person to work with” is kind, but it tells a reader little about what happened. Specific recommendations describe the working relationship, an observed action and why that action mattered.

Imagine a freelance web designer who has just completed a small business website. Instead of asking the client to call them “an exceptional designer”, they could remind the client about the discovery meeting, feedback process and handover notes. The client then decides what deserves mention.

A useful memory prompt might be:

We worked together on your website refresh. I handled the page layouts and handover guide, and we used weekly check-ins to resolve feedback. If those parts of the process were helpful, you could mention them—but please use your own words.

The eventual recommendation might discuss clear explanations or an organised handover. Do not steer the client towards revenue claims they cannot support, or suggest that the website caused business growth without evidence.

Share facts, not a finished endorsement

If someone asks for help remembering the project, send brief factual notes. Include your role, the shared task and any outcome you can substantiate. Our guide to writing achievements without inventing numbers offers a useful approach to describing contributions honestly.

Avoid supplying an AI-written testimonial for someone to rubber-stamp. AI can help shorten your request or organise your memory prompts, but the recommendation should reflect the other person’s judgement.

If a recommendation contains an incorrect title or confidential detail, thank the writer and politely request a correction. Ask permission before reusing their words on your website, proposals or other marketing materials.

5. Where Pitanga Labs fits

Recommendations work best alongside a profile that clearly explains what you do. If a client praises your organised delivery but your headline and experience descriptions are vague, readers still have to work out what they could hire you for.

The Pitanga Labs LinkedIn Profile Rewrite helps with your headline, About section and experience descriptions for 6 credits. It can help you present your own professional story more clearly while recommendations provide a separate perspective from people who know your work.

Update those sections before approaching recommenders so they have current context. Check every rewritten statement for accuracy, and keep client information confidential. The tool supports your profile writing; it does not replace someone else’s endorsement.

If you are self-employed, start by clarifying your offer with these LinkedIn headline examples for freelancers. Then ask people whose experience genuinely relates to that offer.

Conclusion

A good recommendation request is personal, specific and easy to decline. Choose someone who knows your work, remind them of a shared project and leave the wording and judgement to them. One grounded account can tell readers more than a string of general compliments.

Start today by identifying one suitable colleague or client and adapting a template above. Before sending it, check that your headline, About section and experience explain the same professional direction. Clear self-description and honest outside feedback should complement each other.

FAQ

How many LinkedIn recommendations should I have?

There is no universal target. Prioritise relevant, specific recommendations from people who observed your work rather than collecting a large number of generic endorsements.

Can I ask a client for a LinkedIn recommendation?

Yes, if they have directly worked with you and can assess the experience. Ask after delivery, make it optional and remind them not to disclose confidential information.

What if someone does not respond to my request?

Send one polite reminder after allowing reasonable time, then stop. Silence may simply mean they are busy or uncomfortable writing recommendations; do not treat it as a judgement of your work.