Linkedin Etiquette

J,
Congrats on the recommendation. Did your contact specifically ask for one? If so, and since you would do it in any case, go for it.
I have written recommendations without asking for one in return, and got some back and other people did not reciprocate. I have received some unsolicited ones and did not send one back either because I did not feel comfortable or did not know the person long enough.
I even had one person ask me to write one, I declined because we were not close associates, they insisted more, so I did it anyway, though it was quite bland.
Update: Some people send out requests for recommendations from every connection. One person I know has over 100 recommendations. To me that is going a bit far. However, in today's world of tight job searches and self marketing on SMN, maybe it's the next trend.
To date I have not seen any specific rules. Do what you think is best.
JHBChina
 

If someone knows enough about you to write a credible recommendation, you probably know enough about that person to reciprocate. Exception is if you are recommended for a one-to-many relationship (e.g. a classroom training).
I have found it not too difficult to recommend anyone that recommended me.

I guess I'm still struggling with the whole concept of recommendations in LI.  I'm not comfortable doing them at all, and would much prefer to take a phone call and give a recommendation.   Writing a publicly posted recommendation for someone just really makes me very uncomfortable.

FWIW
I have not read many recommendations on LinkedIn that make me think "I must hire that person".
Mostly they leave me with a feeling of mutual back scratching, and of course they are not related to open positions I might have or know of.
 
Derek

Hi
Some LinkedIN job posts require the application to have a certain number of recommendations. So if you want to apply for a job via the site, a few recommends would be a good thing to have.
I have 11 B-)
Cheers
JHBChina

 It depends on the recommendation.  Anything bland (looks like it may have been 'passed by HR' or the writer probably didn't know the person that well, if at all) I'll probably discount and if there are a number of recommendations that look like they were written by the person's friends rather than they managers and co-workers then I might count that against them.  Recommendations with obvious misspellings or grammar errors will probably count against the person unless there is a strong indication that the writer is not a native English speaker and doesn't work much with English speakers.  I also tend to discount recommendations from jobs more than 10 years ago, other than as indications that the person probably did work there.
In a LinkedIn recommendation I'm looking for indications that they actually worked with the person, have hired them or similar, i.e. they didn't just work in the same office/building or just know each other socially.  I also want to see some sign that there's something about this person that excited or inspired the writer (e.g. "The best manager it has ever been my pleasure to work for...firm when needed but compassionate when possible") , that they did something great (e.g. "His encyclopaedic knowledge of [the area] and excellent research skills allowed us to save £10million over 3 years") or some other quality that makes me think "I have to see this person." (e.g. "an excellent communicator, patient and to be able to use his vast experience, laced with gentle humour, to illustrate and explain points. I would be more than happy to work with [Him] in the future should the opportunity arise.")
 Stephen
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