Last year Linkedin added a new feature to profiles referred to as “endorsements”. What are these? Are they valuable? Why endorse instead of recommend?
Your beloved recommendations option still exists and is highly desired as well as appreciated. But, you may have found yourself suddenly getting notifications from Linkedin about an onslaught of endorsements wondering why this is happening and what it means.
- Why is this happening? It’s simple and somewhat ‘in your face’. As soon as you enter Linkedin the first thing you typically see is this large glaring box asking you to endorse the friendly faces looking at you. LinkedIn has made it so easy.
- What is an endorsement? Endorsements, as described by Geraldine Mongold, are simply “recommendations lite”. It’s a much abbreviated version of the real deal, high-quality, in demand recommendation.
- While giving someone an endorsement is a nice “pat on the back” the real way to give praise is through the thoughtful, descriptive recommendation. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the endorsement and is viewed by many as incomplete and lacking. There is still much improvement yet to be made for the endorsement before it … well gets an endorsement from me!
Here are my 5 Rules for Giving and Receiving Endorsements:
- Only endorse those you really know and with whom you have worked.
- Do not list skills on your profile with which you have very little experience in.
- Do not endorse just because they are your friend. There’s no integrity in that. You must actually be a witness to their skills and experience to truly endorse!
- If someone endorses you for a skill you do not possess then, by all means, hide them.
- Take the time and thoughtful energy to just write a recommendation! The endorsement is the lazy way to go! Receiving an endorsement is nice but receiving a recommendation is golden!
Go ahead and take these nuggets of Linkedin ideas along with you as you continue to connect! Don’t shy away from endorsements, just do them correctly and don’t forget about the coveted recommendation!
