3 Things I’ve Learned From the 31 Day LinkedIn Challenge – So Far

I kicked off this month with a challenge: to write 31 LinkedIn recommendations. It’s just about the half-way point, and here is what I’ve learned so far.

1. LinkedIn is Slow

If you’ve ever tried to delete a post from LinkedIn, you know what I’m talking about. For those who don’t know, after I submit a recommendation, it takes anywhere from 2 days to a week for it to show up on a recipient’s page—or even in a recipient’s LinkedIn mail. That seems super slow compared to the instant nature of many other social platforms.

2. Not Everyone Lives on LinkedIn

I’m a LinkedIn lover. It is open almost all day long on my computer. I use it as a resource for industry news and for communicating with prospects and past colleagues, but maybe I’m a rarity in using this social platform this much. Several people I recommended haven’t updated their profiles to reflect their current positions and who knows how long it’s been since they’ve logged in.

3. Don’t Expect Anything In Return

I didn’t start this challenge looking to receive recommendations or thank you’s, but these have both been noticeably lacking from the people I’ve recommended. This was a little surprising. Maybe LinkedIn hasn’t notified them yet (see point 1) or they haven’t logged in (see point 2), or maybe I haven’t been notified by LinkedIn yet (see point 1 again), but I’ve only received acknowledgement from 2 of the 15 people I’ve recommended so far. This may change as the challenge progresses, so I’ll hold out hope.

4. It’s Rewarding Work

It’s hard writing a heartfelt, original recommendation each day, but it feels great to focus on someone else’s talents and to remember how they have impacted my life.

And that’s it for now. I’ll update you on the final results in a later blog post. Until then—connect with me on LinkedIn and let me know how your challenge is coming!