LinkedIn recently launched a new way for you to give your peeps some ‘ups’: Endorsements.
It’s my experience that, like your brain, most of us only use 10% of our LinkedIn potential. We spend five minutes creating a profile, and that’s just not enough. It’s an investment of time, yes, but it’s pretty much a one-time investment, other than updating. In order to create a really robust LinkedIn profile, you’ll need to set aside a couple of hours, but it’s really worth it.
One thing that many people don’t have enough of on their profiles is Recommendations. Recommendations are tough. I always feel weird asking people to recommend me, and it takes a bit of time, etc… I have several outstanding requests, currently (sorry, guys!). One great trick is to write a recommendation for someone. They will usually reciprocate when they see all the nice things you’ve written about them.
LinkedIn recently introduced a new thing: endorsements. Endorsements are like recommendations, but they’re shorter and easier to administer, so there’s a better chance you’ll get more of them. Think of endorsements like giving K+ on Klout. You basically give someone ‘ups’ on a specific topic that you think they are an ‘expert’ on.
How do you collect endorsements? Go to your LinkedIn profile and scroll down. LinkedIn has added a new section called “Skills and Expertise.” You can select which skills you possess, and people will endorse you for the ones they think you are best at.
Give it a go! And remember, karma is the best way to go–endorse someone else and they’ll endorse you.