Many of you have grown tired of being prompted to endorse your connections. Many of you have also grown tired of getting LinkedIn endorsements from people you have never worked with or getting LinkedIn endorsements for skills that you do not have like underwater basket weaving. (I do know of someone who received this endorsement). That is changing!
LinkedIn Endorsements Changes
If you edit your profile and scroll down to the “Skills & Endorsements” section and select edit, you will be given four options.
For most of us we want to be endorsed. Hey why wouldn’t I want to be endorsed?
If you are a financial adviser or any other position that is heavily regulated, they cannot be endorsed. This has been a real problem for financial advisers. Do not endorse your stock broker, insurance agent, fee based financial adviser… you create problems for them!
Do you want your connections to be prompted to endorse you? WOW that is a tough one. I have so many endorsements that the answer is probably no but… I am not sure on this one. I will leave the box checked for the time being.
This is one box that I will uncheck. I no longer want to be harassed to endorse my connections.
If I want to endorse someone I will explicitly go into their profile and endorse them. I have to do the same to make a recommendation.
If someone endorses me I still want to know. Specifically, if they endorse me for a skill I do not possess I really want to know about it.
Reorder Your Skills
It is a subtle change but you can now re-order your skills. Bring the skills that you want to LinkedIn endorsements to the top. This has two effects:
- Your connections will be prompted for the skills at the top of your list
- You will come up higher in search rankings for the skills that you want to be found
Other LinkedIn Changes
There are a lot of other changes other than LinkedIn Endorsements that are coming.
New LinkedIn Inbox
The inbox has been enhanced to be easier to use. For more information check out LinkedInExpert’s post.
New LinkedIn Groups Page
If you used the LinkedIn groups page in the past it has been fairly clumsy going in between groups. Now it has been greatly streamlined.
New LinkedIn Group Digest E-Mail Formats
If you belong to LinkedIn groups you may have noticed the changes to the digest e-mail formats. LinkedIn is currently beta-testing several formats and we will see which one wins.
LinkedIn Publisher
LinkedIn is opening up their publishing platform to everyone. Today, it is only for key influencers. They are slowly opening this up to everyone. Currently, you have to apply for early access. I applied several weeks ago and am still waiting for access.
LinkedInChat Tweetchat
If you want to stay up to date on changes to LinkedIn, participate in the weekly Tweetchat called LinkedInChat. This tweetchat is run by my friend Viveka von Rosen, aka @LinkedInExpert. Her trusty sidekick, Steve Cassady, @SteveCassady is always there to assist.
I know the changes are happening fast and furious on LinkedIn right now. Hopefully, this update helps you keep up with how to create, manage and promote your personal brand.
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