LinkedIn endorsements

[lilfox]

Kind of a spin-off of reciprocal Facebook "liking", now there's a feature on LinkedIn where people can endorse you for various skills that you list on your profile.

I have not done a single endorsement.  I generally don't use the features of the site, just like I don't use FB features very often either - I'm maintaining a presence without active participation.  But I've received a number of endorsements.  I don't have a sense of whether anyone puts value on these endorsements, if they don't then it's no big deal.  But if they do...

I know I'm not obligated to endorse anyone if I don't feel they merit it, but what about cases where I know the people have these skills:  Is it rude not to reciprocate?  Or is it fine to continue to not participate?

(Someone I asked at work likened it to posting "Happy birthday" on someone's wall - it's nice to do, but if you start, you can't stop, and then you have to be really vigilant or someone may get left out and hurt feelings might follow).

[Octavia]

I'm an active LinkedIn user and don't think it is rude to not reciprocate. Lots of people are very busy and don't like to spend time playing with all of the features on LinkedIn. However, if one of your connections sends you a message requesting an endorsement and you ignore it, then that would be rude.

[WillyNilly]

There's no obligation to reciprocate even if you know a person has that particular skill. LinkedIn is a tool. You can useIuse it your way, and others use it their way. So long as you aren't actively harming a person's profile, you are fine.

[Ceallach]

I don't use that feature, but I've noticed a recent trend of people endorsing me who I barely know eg not those I have worked with, more peripheral business contacts.  That tells me everything I need to know about how meaningless that feature is!   I will not reciprocate and don't feel any obligation to do so, as essentially I would be lying - I have no idea of their strengths or quality of their work.

Even if I did know they had the skill? Well, so what really - its not my responsibility to be their CV or referee or sell their skillset.  Yes it might be nice (and if a friend asked me I'd consider doing it) but no way obligatory.

[MrTango]

If you Endorse someone, you're putting your own reputation on the line regarding that person and the skill for which you endorsed them.

If I were to hire Jill based on Mike's endorsement of Skill X and it turns out that Jill is really not very good at Skill X, I wouldn't be as trusting of Mike's judgement in the future.

I don't use this feature at all.

[Tea Drinker]

I've been getting a bunch of endorsements that have me thinking "I'm glad you trust me" because they're from people I haven't actually worked for or with professionally. Yes, I am a good copy editor. I seem to be getting endorsements from people whose reasoning is "Tea Drinker's posts and comments are generally clear and grammatical, and I know she has made a living doing this, so she must be good at it" rather than "Tea Drinker proofread my book, so I can vouch for her on that."

[WillyNilly]

Since everyone on LinkedIn can see how endorsements on LinkedIn work and has similar experiences with them (signing on and being prompted to endorse, receiving random endorsements, etc), I think some of your are taking the word "endorse" too seriously.  I think in the context of a 1 second click LinkedIn "endorsement" more means "I endorse this person has the reputation as being good at" and/or "I trust this person's overall abilities enough that I believe they would be good at" as much as "I know this person to be good at". A written recommendation on someone's profile is certainly a much stronger indication of a person's actual strengths and abilities.

[TootsNYC]

I don't use that feature, but I've noticed a recent trend of people endorsing me who I barely know eg not those I have worked with, more peripheral business contacts.  That tells me everything I need to know about how meaningless that feature is! 

Yeah, that really annoys me, actually--to be "endorsed" for "copyediting" by a high school classmates who has never seen me doing that job in real life (all she knows is, it has been my title at several different publications) and wouldn't know how to judge a good job in that arena anyway. (I read her emails, remember, and I know she wouldn't really be a good judge.)


I have written *recommendations,* and I will continue to do so when the mood strikes me. Those, I might feel some obligation to reciprocate, if I got one from someone else.

[katycoo]

You have no obilgation to endorse anyone on LinkedIn, either at your own initiation, or in a reciprocal manner.  But I'll do it if I actually would verbally endorse someone in that skill.  Why not?

[Hmmmmm]

I've also noticed a recent trend of increased endorsements from people who barely know me.  I was beginning to wonder if there was some type of programming error with the site. They are all people I have worked with at some time but not people I would say have enough knowledge about me to comment on my ability, let alone recommend me.  And honestly, some of them I really would rather they not show up as endorsements.  I wish there was a way to remove an endorsement.

I never reciprocate. I have also just ignored requests to endorse because I figured it was a mass email from a contact. Guess I'll have to verify that assumption.