Can you recommend me?

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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