LinkedIn Endorsements or LinkedIn Recommendations? Why I say Both!

Ever since the LinkedIn endorsements was launched, it has been fraught with controversy. Do people abuse it? Is it just like a “like” on Facebook? When the feature first rolled out, people looked at it with suspicion and wondered if it was a scam from someone other than LinkedIn. I wrote my first post on the endorsement topic here and ended that post with this:

Ask yourself though, would you rather someone without first hand knowledge of your skills endorsed you? Perhaps you would  rather they complained about you? I’ll take a yes any day over a no. There are plenty of negative people who only talk about a business or person negatively. I will take a positive endorsement any day over a whiner who complains about everything everywhere.

Are LinkedIn endorsements worth using?

I still feel that way. Just a short time after that first post on LinkedIn endorsements, I wrote this:

Should you use the LinkedIn endorsement feature? Really, that’s up to you. But I think that overall, your goal should be to develop a reputation for excellence in your work so that anyone asked about your abilities or skill sets can confidently endorse you.

It is a decision you have to make. LinkedIn is old ground for many of us yet it continues to surprise us with new features and announcements that at first we question.

What about LinkedIn recommendations?

Even the LinkedIn recommendations have had their share of doubters. Do people write them just to get one back? It takes longer to write a recommendation than to click an endorsement but I think in some ways they are very similar.

My view is that if you feel strongly enough about a person that you want to leave them some credit, you can do it either way. If you write well, write the recommendation. If you just want to say, I appreciate you, endorse their skills.

What responsibility does this place on the LinkedIn user?

As a LinkedIn user, make sure that the skills and expertise on your resume are the ones you want to have your community find. Carefully select skills and expertise words to give your endorsers a choice and a sense of direction. Just as on your resume, you want the keywords or expertise to market you effectively.

Whenever I endorse someone on LinkedIn, I do it deliberately. Select the profile of people whose skills you feel you can confidently endorse. Would I write that person a recommendation? Maybe. When time is critical, I find just being able to give the LinkedIn pat on the back of an endorsement is one positive thing I can do quickly.

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