When LinkedIn created a new way to endorse others a few years ago, many people formed many different opinions regarding the value of these endorsements.
LinkedIn Endorsements
This is what I'm referring to when I talk about LinkedIn Endorsements:
These endorsements came from my own LinkedIn profile.
Check Box Endorsements
Prior to what I call the “Check box Endorsement System”, we were encouraged to write written recommendations. Written recommendations are seldom written any longer. If you want to capture someone’s attention and you want to make someone’s day, consider writing written recommendations for a couple of your LinkedIn connections every week.
Don't Endorse Me!
One of the first people I endorsed through the new check box endorsement feature got a bit upset with me. He made a quick decision to dislike the new endorsement system and he didn’t like it when I endorsed him for many skills which I knew he had.
This reaction to being endorsed was surprising to me. Surprised or not, it was this LinkedIn member’s choice to like or to not like the endorsement system.
Don't Miss This Opportunity
Whether you like or dislike the endorsement system and whether or not you think the system has any value, if you’re not leveraging the opportunity to endorse your peers and/or colleagues from the present or the past, you’re missing a golden opportunity.
There will be a person here and there who doesn’t like to be recognized. You’ll have to be prepared for that. For the most part, there aren’t going to be many of your LinkedIn connections who don’t appreciate being appreciated and recognized.
20 Seconds to ROI I Can't Even Measure
I just endorsed one of my connections and I can tell you that it took 20 seconds for me to exert this effort.
A 20 second investment in order to make someone else’s day is a minuscule investment of time and energy. The ROI from this 20 second investment could be priceless.
