Some of you may have already received emails telling you one of your LinkedIn connections has “endorsed” you or you may have also noticed that when you visit a connection’s page on LinkedIn, you are given the option of endorsing them for either their chosen skills or for another skill you think they have. 

People are still learning about this type of endorsement (it was just announced Monday, September 24) so, if you haven’t seen anything yet, you will probably see activity picking up over time – let’s get ahead of the curve.

The Skills and Expertise portion of a LinkedIn profile has been around a while and I, like many, have  wondered when something would be done with them — they seemed to be superfluous before this.  This new endorsement system has the potential to help you judge true expertise.  Look at that big long list of skills on someone’s profile — which skill has dozens of endorsements and which ones have none?  What is someone truly known for?  This could be a true test.

The Skills and Expertise section is at the bottom of the profile page.  The layout has changed to a list format (it did look more like a tag cloud before) and if you have been endorsed there will be tiny thumbnail photos on the line next to the endorsed skill.  Mousing over the photos will pop up the person’s profile.  (The most recent endorsements show up closest to the skill.)

Takeaway:

• Now you can endorse your LinkedIn connections without writing a specific reference.  As a bonus, your picture will appear on their page next to the skill you endorsed.  Nice visibility on the right person’s page.  But please be selective.  You are judged by the company you keep.
• Looking for endorsements?  Make sure your skills list is ready to go – see more about  “Skills” under the “More” tab and pick out the skills you want to be known for.  You can change or add to them right on your profile page.
• And, yes, you can hide someone’s endorsement of you if you don’t want to have them on your page.