How to Write a LinkedIn Recommendation (That Doesn't Sound Generic)
Most LinkedIn recommendations read like the same paragraph rewritten. Here's how to write one that's actually useful to someone reading it.
Someone asked for a LinkedIn recommendation. You sit down to write one and produce three sentences that sound exactly like every other LinkedIn recommendation you've ever read: hardworking, dedicated, a true team player, would highly recommend. You read it back and feel a small ick. The recommendations that get attention on LinkedIn are short, specific, and read like a real person wrote them about a real other person — not like an HR-approved template.
The format constraints (short, public, professional) make originality tricky. But the recipe is achievable in three to five sentences if you avoid the most common traps. Below are five moves that turn a generic LinkedIn rec into one that actually helps.
Open with the specific relationship, not generic praise
First sentence: how you worked together, in concrete terms. "I worked with Marcus when we were both leads on the [project] at [company]." Skip "I had the pleasure of working with..." and "It is my honor to recommend..." These openers add zero information and signal you didn't think about how to start. Specificity in the first line tells the reader the rest is going to be specific too.
Pick one quality and demonstrate it, don't list five
Most LinkedIn recommendations try to cover the full spectrum: smart, hardworking, kind, creative, reliable. The result is a fog of adjectives nobody remembers. Pick ONE thing they're best at — the one most relevant to their next role — and write about that. "What stood out about Marcus was how fast he could turn a vague brief into a specific plan." One quality, illustrated, is more memorable than five abstract endorsements.
Include a tiny scene, not a summary
Two or three sentences of a specific moment. "When the [client/project/situation] went sideways, he was the one who [specific thing]. The whole team was running on his work for a week." Scenes are what make recommendations sticky. The reader can picture the person doing the thing. They can't picture an adjective. Even a small concrete detail does more for the recommendation than an entire paragraph of qualities.
Avoid LinkedIn-language
Phrases like "true team player," "goes above and beyond," "would highly recommend," "asset to any organization," "unparalleled work ethic" are LinkedIn-language — they don't read as your voice, they read as everyone's voice, which means they read as no voice. If a phrase could appear in any LinkedIn recommendation, it's probably one to cut. Replace it with how you'd actually describe the person to a friend.
Close with what role they'd be perfect for
Final sentence: a specific endorsement. Not "I recommend Marcus for any role" — that's again the generic version. "He'd be exceptional at [specific kind of role] — anyplace that needs someone who can [the quality you demonstrated above]." The narrow endorsement reads as a real opinion. The broad one reads as a stamp. Hiring managers find the narrow ones much more useful, because they tell them whether this person fits the role they're hiring for.
A LinkedIn rec that sounds like you wrote it
Ghost Writer takes your relationship, one specific moment, and the kind of role they're moving toward — and writes a four-sentence rec that reads like a real person wrote it.