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Make the best use of LinkedIn endorsements
Acknowledge those that are appropriate; hide those that are not.
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Just last week I had a friend tell me he received a LinkedIn endorsement for “surgery” from a person with whom he was friends in college but currently has no business connection. It is interesting, because I have received endorsements from “oncology” to “pediatrics,” and all from people with whom I have a social relationship but not a professional one. As perplexed and mystified as many of us are on the endorsement issue, I will try to make sense of the real value of having them as part of your profile.
The bad news is that endorsements will be a permanent part of your profile. LinkedIn started endorsements on Sept. 24, 2012, with the goal of making it easy for people to recognize you for your skills and expertise, sort of a “mini” recommendation.
LinkedIn is designed to be a professional social network, and if you use it as such, ideally you should only connect with people you know well and those with whom you have a business relationship. However, the fact is that most of us have direct connections with some people who really do not know much about our work, experience or expertise. Many of us, including myself, have family, friends, social acquaintances and even former college friends with whom we have had no interaction in our professional life.
Agustin L.
Gonzalez
So, if your endorsements are most likely coming from people with whom you are barely are in touch, it is because you have expanded your profile to include people more socially. No worries, however, because professional LinkedIn users place no value on endorsements. As much as these “badges” can be an ego boost and nice to see in your profile, they carry no substance to recruiters, human resource professionals or consultants.
Having said this, not all is wasted. You can make those pesky endorsements more meaningful in your profile if the endorsements match the skills and expertise you have. When considering your online presence, it is important to manage your reputation and brand. The savvy LinkedIn user will perhaps edit the endorsements that are less valuable and keep those that better represent the skills in your profile. Although less valuable, it then is more representative of the professional.
Endorsements are also useful for maintaining relationships. I recently was endorsed by a colleague whose work I admire; this gesture provided me an opportunity to write a short personal note thanking him and offering an opportunity to do some networking in the next professional meeting. Consider sending a note if you receive an endorsement. Online networking is great and only second best to person-to-person meetings.
There is no question that LinkedIn is the best way to keep your professional networking connections up-to-date. Although it is not possible to delete endorsements, you can hide them. The idea is that no one but you can see it.
This is easy to do. Just go to the menu at the top of the screen and, under “profile,” click “edit profile,” then click on “manage endorsements.” If you have an endorsement from a fraternity buddy who has never worked with you, you can simply hide it. Likewise, if someone has endorsed you for a skill you do not want to share, you can click “add and remove” and delete the skill. Interestingly, I did this for my many endorsements in “oncology.”