LinkedIn recommendation examples

Real-shaped examples for every direction — colleague, manager, direct report, client — plus a generator that assembles one from five fields, and the message template for asking for yours. The same structures work as testimonials anywhere. Nothing leaves your browser.

Write one: the generator

Their name Their role You were their…Their standout strength One specific project or result (the line that makes it credible)

Your recommendation

LinkedIn recommendation examples by relationship

1. For a colleague

I worked alongside Ana for two years on the housing team, and she's
the person I'd want in every difficult meeting. When the Valencia
project lost its structural engineer mid-phase, Ana quietly rebuilt
the schedule and kept three consultants aligned without a single
escalation. Calm, precise, and generous with credit — any team would
be lucky to have her.

2. For your manager

Ana managed me for three years, and I grew more under her than in
any other role. She gave me the museum competition when I wasn't
sure I was ready, then backed me through every review until we won
it. She sets a high bar, tells you the truth kindly, and defends
her team's time like it's her own. I'd work for her again tomorrow.

3. For a direct report

Ana joined my team as a junior and left it two years later running
her own workstream. The shift happened because she does the thing
juniors rarely do: she closed loops. Every task came back finished,
flagged or renegotiated — never silently dropped. Her BIM handover
templates are still in use after her departure. Hire her while you
can.

4. From a client (works as a website testimonial too)

We hired Ana's team for a full rebrand with an immovable deadline.
What stood out wasn't just the work — it was never having to chase.
Weekly updates arrived before we asked, bad news came early with
options attached, and the final delivery landed a week ahead of
schedule. We've since brought her back for two more projects, which
says it better than this paragraph can.

How to ask for a recommendation (the template)

Hi Jorge — I'm updating my LinkedIn profile as part of a job search
and a recommendation from you would carry real weight, since we
worked together on [the project]. If you're up for it, a few lines
on [the one thing: e.g. how I handled the client side] would be
perfect. Happy to send you two or three bullet points to make it a
five-minute job — and if you're too busy right now, absolutely no
problem.

The rules the examples follow

3–6 sentences. Longer reads like an obligation being discharged.
One specific story beats five adjectives. "Rebuilt the schedule when we lost the engineer" outworks "proactive team player" every time.
Say the relationship and the timeframe in the first line — it's what makes the rest credible.
End with a verdict: "I'd work for her again tomorrow" / "hire her while you can". The last line is the one people remember.
Recommendations decorate a profile that already works. The CV does the heavy lifting: our CV template, the CV match against live openings, and the jobs themselves are one tab away.

Common questions

What is the difference between a recommendation, an endorsement and a testimonial?

On LinkedIn, an endorsement is one click on a skill (near-zero weight), while a recommendation is a written text on your profile — that is the one recruiters actually read. "Testimonial" is the same written format used outside LinkedIn: on a portfolio, a freelancer profile or a website. The examples on this page work for both — a good testimonial and a good recommendation follow the same rules.

How many recommendations should I have?

Two or three strong, specific ones beat ten generic ones. Aim for variety of angle — a manager on your reliability, a peer on collaboration, a client or report on what it is like to work with you. One per recent role is a reasonable ceiling.

How do I ask someone for a recommendation?

Ask a specific person for a specific thing — the template above does it in four sentences: remind them of the shared context, name the one thing you would like them to speak to, offer to draft bullet points to save them time, and give them an easy out. The easy out is what makes busy people say yes.

Should recommendations be reciprocal?

Writing one back is a kind gesture, not an obligation — and instantly-swapped pairs written the same day look transactional to anyone who checks the dates. If you both genuinely worked together, a return recommendation a few weeks later reads naturally.

Can I use AI to write a recommendation?

The generic ones all sound identical — "X is a hardworking team player" convinces nobody. This page assembles a clean structure in your browser from what YOU remember about the person; the one specific project or result you name is the entire value of the text, and no AI knows it.