It is important that your LinkedIn endorsements support your personal brand and overall career goals. The more skills endorsements you have for your core skills, the higher rank you will get when recruiters are looking for talent.
To ensure your profile is not coming off as though you're a candidate with a mishmash of all talents endorsed by everybody in the world (including people who know diddlysquat about you), follow these tips.
You Don't Have To Accept Every Endorsement
As previously stated, make sure your LinkedIn endorsements are aligned with your career goals. Being strategic about your endorsements ensures that your LinkedIn profile tells a clear and compelling story about your expertise. If your "Skills" section is cluttered with unrelated endorsements, it can create confusion for recruiters and hiring managers who are scanning your profile for relevant qualifications.
Instead, prioritize endorsements that reinforce your strengths and align with your professional narrative. If you receive an endorsement that doesn’t fit, consider reaching out to colleagues and connections to endorse you for the skills that truly reflect your expertise. This way, your profile remains polished, focused, and effective in attracting the right opportunities.
For example, if you're focused on writing for the financial services industry, but you get an endorsement for IT troubleshooting because you did a bit of that in your last job, that's not really helping you. While it's nice to know things outside of your field of work, there's little point in including IT troubleshooting when your focus is opportunities in financial writing.
Evaluate whether the endorsement suits the work you want to be involved in rather than simply adding it and diluting the message of what your real talents are. Remember, accepted endorsements cannot be removed. The only option would be to hide them.
Guide People On How You Want To Be Endorsed
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You can offer direction to people who want to endorse you for skills by setting up your "Skills" section. Add skills for yourself, and this will help tell people what you want to be endorsed for.
As you receive endorsements for the skills, the one with the most endorsements will automatically rise to the top of the list, and the next most popular ones with endorsements will follow after it. This is another reason why you need to be selective with what endorsements to accept.
Encourage your colleagues and connections to endorse the skills that matter most to your industry or role. Also, remember to periodically review and update your "Skills" section to reflect your evolving experience and career focus.
Ask For A Recommendation
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LinkedIn endorsements are great, but a recommendation is stronger. LinkedIn recommendations are presented as more credible information to employers reviewing your profile. While endorsements provide a quick validation of your expertise, recommendations offer context, detailing how you’ve applied those skills in real-world situations.
After a credible contact endorses you for an important skill you value in your career, follow up with a thank-you note, and send a reminder of any shared experience you've had that may serve the basis for a recommendation as you politely ask if they have the time and would like to expand on the endorsement with a recommendation.
Your LinkedIn profile is only as strong as the information you choose to showcase. By actively engaging with your network, getting clear on your career goals and personal brand, and reciprocating endorsements and recommendations when appropriate, you can build a more compelling LinkedIn profile that stands out to potential employers and connections.
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