How to Get LinkedIn Endorsements to Boost Your Credibility

If you have a LinkedIn profile, you’ve probably been prompted to add endorsements to your page. But what are they?

LinkedIn endorsements can be a powerful way to boost your profile’s visibility and make an impact on recruiters and potential employers. 

So, let’s take a closer look at LinkedIn endorsements and how you can use them to highlight and validate your skill set.

What is an endorsement on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn endorsements provide social proof and serve as a sort of skills assessment, showing that you really do have all the skills you claim to, making you more appealing to employers searching for potential candidates.

Whether you have exceptional leadership skills, excellent communication skills, spearheaded your company's project management process, or your excellent interpersonal skills serve as the foundation for your positive attitude—LinkedIn endorsements offer a glimpse into these characteristics in one central, easy-to-view location.

Why LinkedIn endorsements are important

LinkedIn endorsements let your connections support the specific skills that you list in your LinkedIn profile's skills section.

Having skill endorsements also makes your profile more likely to be found by the LinkedIn algorithm, helping you show up in more LinkedIn searches.

The difference between a LinkedIn endorsement and a recommendation

LinkedIn endorsements are a quick way for other LinkedIn users to endorse your skills with just a single click. On the other hand, a well-written LinkedIn recommendation are more personalized and comprehensive.

For example, a LinkedIn recommendation could look something like this:

Tama is a self-motivated freelance content marketer with innovative ideas, positive energy, and excellent time management skills that drive him to meet and exceed not only expectations but deadlines, too. During our time working together on a SaaS content marketing project, Tama displayed incredible skills as a dedicated professional who goes above and beyond. He possesses a unique blend of creativity and analytical thinking, which he leveraged to optimize our content strategy, leading to a 3x boost in organic traffic on our platform. On a more personal note, Tama is wonderfully warm and kind, making him an absolute joy to work with.

A LinkedIn recommendation is a written testimonial outlining your accomplishments, strengths, and qualities. They can be even more valuable than endorsements when it comes to improving your profile’s credibility since they tend to be both more personalized and more in-depth. However, LinkedIn endorsements are also harder to get since they require a lot more effort to give.

LinkedIn endorsements and LinkedIn recommendations both play important roles when it comes to optimizing your LinkedIn profile, and both are well worth trying to get.

How to get endorsements on LinkedIn

The single most effective thing you can do to get more LinkedIn endorsements is to actively grow and engage with your LinkedIn network. The second most effective thing you can do is to build and maintain genuine relationships with those in your professional circle.

When you have a lot of connections on LinkedIn and solid relationships, endorsements are much easier to come by. This is especially true if you take the time to engage with your connections and publish content on LinkedIn that they find interesting.

Here are a few other tips for getting endorsements on LinkedIn:

• Give endorsements to your LinkedIn connections.
• Send a personalized thank-you message when someone endorses you.
• Request endorsements from colleagues, supervisors, or clients who can vouch for your skills.
• Keep your LinkedIn profile up-to-date.
• Showcase projects and achievements to provide tangible evidence of your skills.

Optimize your LinkedIn profile with Teal

Employers frequently use LinkedIn to find job seekers and learn more about potential job candidates. This means that a little optimization on your LinkedIn profile can be a big boost for your personal brand.
Before you get started requesting endorsements, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date.

The free Teal LinkedIn Profile Reviewer tells you just how well your current page is optimized and what needs work. All you need to do is sign up for a free Teal account and download the Chrome extension.

How to endorse a skill on LinkedIn

Often, giving is just as good as receiving.

Offering LinkedIn endorsements creates goodwill with your LinkedIn connections and makes it more likely that they’ll endorse you back.

Here are the steps for how to endorse someone on LinkedIn:

Step 1: Log in to your LinkedIn account and navigate to the profile page of the person you want to endorse.

Step 2: Scroll down to the “Skills” section of their profile (below the LinkedIn "Summary” section, "Education," and "Certifications") and click on the skill you would like to endorse them for.

Step 3: Once you click on a specific skill, you should see an “Endorse” button appear next to it. Click this button to give the person an endorsement for this skill.

Step 4: You can repeat the previous two steps to give endorsements for other skills on their profile. You also have the option to leave a note with each endorsement that you provide, which is a great way to add a personal touch.

LinkedIn endorsement examples

If you're wondering what kind of skills your connections can endorse you for, these LinkedIn endorsement examples can help give you an idea of what to consider adding to your profile.

Categorized into groups, LinkedIn endorsements are organized into "Industry Knowledge," "Tools and Technologies," "Interpersonal Skills," "Languages," and more.

Now, let's take a look at some LinkedIn endorsement examples:

Tips for getting endorsed on LinkedIn

A high number of endorsements on your LinkedIn profile can help make your LinkedIn stand out and increase the chances you can be found by potential employers.

Here are a few best practices you can follow to gain more endorsements and boost your exposure as a valuable asset on LinkedIn.

1. Match relevant skills

Some LinkedIn users may endorse you simply out of kindness, especially if you ask them to. But in most cases, you’ll need to actually demonstrate the skill you claim to have before someone will endorse you for it.

So it’s important that your list of skills is relevant to your professional background—and accurately represents your abilities. This will encourage connections to endorse you for the skills they’ve seen in action.

2. Consider credibility

Not all endorsements are created equal. If you have an endorsement from someone with extensive credibility in your field, it’ll carry more weight than an endorsement from a friend in a completely unrelated field.

So, as you try to get endorsements on LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to prioritize endorsements from individuals with relevant professional experience themselves. This will ultimately increase the value of the endorsements you receive.

3. Ask connections to endorse you

If you want to get more endorsements on LinkedIn, simply being straightforward and asking for endorsements from the LinkedIn members you’re already connected with can be an effective approach.

Remember that the fellow professionals you’ve connected with on LinkedIn accepted your connection for a reason. Maybe they know you personally, or maybe they just admire your work or your content. Either way, your LinkedIn connections will be more likely than anyone else to say “yes” when you ask for an endorsement.

4. Reciprocate endorsements

If you want to make your connections more open to supporting you, giving them endorsements is a great place to start!

That doesn’t mean you should endorse your connections at random. However, if you have a legitimate reason to endorse someone for a specific skill, then take the time to do so.

5. Write and publish valuable content

Actively engaging with your LinkedIn network is an effective way to grow your endorsements, and one of the best ways to do this is to publish interesting and insightful content.

Sharing insightful articles, thought leadership pieces, and industry-relevant content on your LinkedIn feed can significantly boost your visibility and credibility. 

When your connections see you actively contributing to meaningful discussions, they are more likely to endorse your LinkedIn skills. Putting a call to action (CTA) to endorse you in some of your posts can make this strategy even more effective.

Enhance your LinkedIn profile with Teal

An optimized LinkedIn profile can be a powerful tool for finding new career opportunities.

Working to increase endorsements on your profile is a great way to increase your profile’s visibility and credibility. 

To really streamline your profile optimization, give Teal’s free LinkedIn Profile Review tool a try! Teal analyzes your LinkedIn profile, highlights areas that could improve, and gives you personalized recommendations to perfect every section.  

Ready to build your best LinkedIn profile yet? Get started with Teal for free today.