I’m SO NOT asking for recommendations. That’s just not me!
Many people have great difficulty dealing with recommendations on their LinkedIn profile. If they get a recommendation, that’s very nice for sure, but to ask … No, that’s not done. Is just doesn’t feel right. Besides, it looks like bragging on your profile. Something like: “Look how good / great / important I am”.
So what is your purpose on LinkedIn?
What do YOU want to achieve with your presence on LinkedIn? A new job? More leads? Sales? A network for sharing/finding knowledge? Whatever your goal on LinkedIn, don’t forget that it is a NETWORK. Your profile is not a resume. It is a first impression | billboard | marketing spiel | window display | brochure | CV… in short: an instrument you USE when networking.
The advantage/ importance of LinkedIn recommendations.
Whatever your goal on LinkedIn, people do business with people. People they trust. And before someone can trust you, they must be aware you even exist. It’s all about the famous trinity: Know – Like – Trust. A recommendation on LinkedIn helps you in various ways to improve your know you – like – trust factor.
TRUST – You can write a great story about yourself (that’s what your LinkedIn profile is: a self-written story). Once others confirm your story people will start to really value it. A recommendation from a satisfied customer, manager or business partner is a wonderful confirmation of your expertise.
KNOW – How can a LinkedIn recommendation build your reputation? That’s easier than you think! The moment you receive a recommendation (say it comes from me) all your connections will see a status update like this: “Petra Fisher recommends So-and-so …” followed by approximately the first 100 characters of the recommendation. But there’s more… MY 500+ connections get to see this update as well! If I write a strong enough opening (which is partly visible in the status update) then some people’s curiosity might trigger them to check out YOUR profile!
What goes around, comes around…
As you may have concluded from the previous paragraph … it certainly pays to spontaneously recommend other people (me for example, because of my great blog posts ;-)). For starters it is a really nice thing to do and the recipient will at some stage reciprocate one way or another. More so, you bring yourself to the attention of the network of those you recommend. So some strategic recommending is not misplaced! 
A Word of Warning! If you receive a recommendation, LinkedIn asks you immediately to return the favour. DON’T. Look at the status updates that I saw come along … if you sincerely want to recommend someone back, wait a week or two.