LinkedIn skill endorsements
Firstly, let’s begin with defining what a skill endorsement is –
LinkedIn defines a skill endorsement as being an awesome way to identify your 1st-degree connections’ skills and expertise with just one click. The endorsements can also be reciprocal in that they let your connections authenticate the strengths found on your own profile. The platform claims that skill endorsements are a humble and effective way of building your professional brand and engaging your network.
Take a look at the skills & expertise section on your LinkedIn page. The site may have come up with your skills by pulling keywords to your profile, if not you can add skills to your profile voluntarily. At any rate, the more people endorse you for a skill, the more of an expert you are perceived by others. It is a quick shorthand for seeing what other people consider to be valuable in a LinkedIn connection.
This is our Group’s Managing Directors’ skills that are endorsed
I, for example, have been writing blogs for years now so the top-ranked skill I have on my profile is blogging. Other skills that I have been endorsed for include WordPress, SEO and one or two more orders.
Why should I endorse others’ skills?
You cannot ask for others to endorse your skills and expertise, but if you endorse others’ skills, they will see that you did via an email from LinkedIn and via their photo appearing on your profile. It is also the right thing to do, if you believe that the person has good skills in a particular field.
Another way you might have the opportunity to endorse other people’s skills and expertise, aside from visiting that person’s profile, is when you log into LinkedIn. You may be asked a question as to whether a connection has skills at a specific thing, like writing, editing, project management, or some other skill. If you agree and click the item, you are endorsing that person’s skill, and they will receive a note telling them so.
It is vital for you to not endorse a skill that you do not believe the person has, or that they are not very good at. On the other hand, if you feel that somebody has additional skills that are not on the profile, you can suggest some skills for their profile. They can add the skills to their LinkedIn profile if they agree with your suggestions.
If you are not sure what your skills are, you can ask friends or co-workers, or talk to a career coach about your skills. To learn more about what a career coach does, click here. Another option is to look at a LinkedIn profile of somebody in a similar career to you, and see what skills they have listed.
If you do not want the endorsed skills on your profile, you can hide individual ones or people who gave them to you, from your profile. However, at this time, you cannot completely opt-out of skill endorsements, spend some time on them and see where it takes you! J
