Don’t quite understand those LinkedIn endorsements?

(Cross-posted from my other blog, Attestation Update.)

They haven’t quite made sense to me. Probably because of a complete lack of previous effort on my part.

Well, David Albrecht has a post that opens the door. Check out LinkedIn Endorsements and Accountants. He gives some background on the endorsement feature at LinkedIn. He thinks it is a good thing in terms of providing a basic level validation of your skill sets.

His comment:

Receiving an endorsement is a good thing, I think. And I appreciate every one. They can only come from people who know you the best. Most LinkedIn users seem to be stingy in issuing endorsements. If the endorsements come from a large enough group, they are reliable measures (in a similar fashion to IMDB film ratings).

He provides a link to a great article by Susan Adams at Forbes, “Everything You Need to Know About LinkedIn Endorsements.

Ms. Adams’ article provide helpful background on the endorsement function. She thinks it is going to be around quite a while. That means we probably ought not ignore it.

She also provides superb tips on how to manage your listed skills and hide endorsements that don’t fit you, including a list of the specific boxes to click to find features.

Her suggestion is that endorsements aren’t a really big deal now to recruiters and potential employers. However, now would be a good time to start building your endorsements before they become a big deal.

I’ve just fine tuned my listed skills. Also added a bunch of endorsements for people whose work I know well.

Might be time to check out your endorsements and listed skills. If you don’t ‘get’ this endorsement thingie, check out the two articles above.

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