LinkedIn Endorsements can be a huge help when it comes to your job search; here's how to get more.
LinkedIn can be used in many ways. From connecting with colleagues, friends and other industry peers to working with recruiters and submitting job applications, LinkedIn is a hub of activity. This means you should take advantage of all the features LinkedIn has to offer - which includes LinkedIn endorsements.
What are endorsements on LinkedIn?
Endorsements on LinkedIn are a simple way for your colleagues and friends to recognize your expertise in a particular field with a single click. These seemingly simple endorsements can elevate you and your profile above the other thousands of people on LinkedIn vying for the same career path as you.
What is the difference between endorsements on LinkedIn and recommendations?
With LinkedIn endorsements, your contacts can back up the skills you've included in your profile with the click of a button. A LinkedIn recommendation, on the other hand, is a written testimonial added to your profile by someone who has taken the time to write about why you are a professional worth working with.
Recommendations add more value to a profile than one-click confirmations - but both are still essential for a successful profile.
Since the collaboration features became available on LinkedIn, several million people have received recommendations from colleagues they never thought to ask. Here are some steps to optimize your confirmations and reciprocate.
How to get endorsements on LinkedIn?
List your essential skills. Think like a salesman. Determine which of your technical skills and core competencies are most important to your industry and relevant to your current career goals. List these skills first, from most important to least important. This is a roadmap for people who will support the relevant talents.
Support other professionals
Start with your closest colleagues, as these are the people you know best and are most likely to return the favor. In the case of these colleagues, support the skills you've seen them demonstrate in the workplace, and they will surely reciprocate the same.
After endorsing your closest colleagues, endorse the skills of people you've met at important conferences or on the job, such as clients, vendors or freelancers.
Ask for confirmation on LinkedIn
This is the most difficult of all techniques: how to ask for endorsements on your LinkedIn profile. You want people to appreciate your skills and strengths, but you don't want to come off as a person begging for insincere endorsements.
Instead of sending lots of generic "please confirm" messages, personalize your requests by mentioning a specific project you worked on with each person you ask. Gently remind them of your contribution and ask them to offer comments on the project in the form of skill endorsements.
Make updates and post links to your social media profiles
Do you have a blog? It's a great way to showcase your skills and gain validation for contacts you don't know that well. Share your latest blog posts using LinkedIn's update feature, make frequent changes to your profile and engage with other users who connect with you. In other words, don't become a spammer.
There are a lot of people on LinkedIn, but few of them update their status regularly. This means that if you choose to post updates on LinkedIn, you will get on your contacts' radar. If you share insightful quotes and quality content related to the skills listed on LinkedIn, you will also give them a reason to endorse you for those skills.
Remember your manners
Don't forget to say thank you after receiving an endorsement. So many LinkedIn users take endorsements that their friends and colleagues post for granted and never take the time to say thank you. Not only is this rude, but it can also hurt your relationship with the person. A quick but polite thank you for an endorsement on LinkedIn certainly won't hurt the relationship.
