Getting recommendations

Summary

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  Recruiters look for recent recommendations, old ones from years ago carry less weight.

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  If you’re actively (or urgently) job hunting, refresh recommendations now.

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  How to ask so people actually deliver:

  1. Ask via text first
  2. Offer to draft the recommendation to make it easy
  3. Send the LinkedIn request with that draft for them to edit
  4. Follow up, people say yes easily and forget
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  Aim for about 5 to 10 recommendations from a mix of teammates and managers, including some from your current role, not only ancient jobs.

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  Examples of strong, authentic recommendations (specific, human, not generic praise):

  • •From a manager: “I managed Aisha for two years on our design team. What stood out was how she handled ambiguous briefs: she asked sharp questions early, tested with real users, and brought back options instead of waiting for perfect direction. When we redesigned our signup flow, she led the research and prototype work that cut drop off and made the handoff to engineering unusually clean. I’d staff her on any high stakes product problem.”
  • •From a teammate: “I worked with Jordan in FP&A for about a year during a messy budgeting cycle. He’s the person you want when the spreadsheet story isn’t adding up: he traces the drivers, explains the risk in plain language, and keeps the conversation calm when leaders disagree. He also documents assumptions so the next close isn’t a scavenger hunt. If you need someone who makes finance decisions clearer, he’s that person.”