Interpret this Endorsement

March 8, 2013 5:33 AM

Does anyone know how the Linked-In "endorsement" process works? (Snowflake details below.)

Several months ago, I applied for a job internally within my company, and although the hiring manager gave me a lot of time and multiple opportunities to pitch my ideas, I did not get the promotion. I handled the rejection professionally and simply took advantage of the chance to spread word among some of the people in that branch of the organization that I was very interested in working there. (Data point - I'm well-respected by my colleagues there, and have a very good rapport with the C-level executive who runs that branch.)

Recently I got a message from LinkedIn saying that said executive had endorsed me for one of my skills. I'm familiar with the endorsement process on LinkedIn - generally it's a simple process that involves clicking a single button, so there's not much active agency needed. What made this endorsement more unusual is that it was for a skill I never listed on my Linked-In profile - it was specifically added to my profile after the executive endorsed it. I definitely possess this skill, but didn't realize it was valuable enough to include on my profile.

So as I see it, there are two ways to interpret this.

1) Linked-In's algorithms have now gotten to the point where they are guessing skills you have and asking other people to endorse them.

2) The person in question specifically added this skill to my profile and then endorsed it.

If it's the former, then this isn't really worth thinking about. If it's the latter, then it's possible that there's a job opening in his division coming down the pipeline which I would be a good candidate for, and he's hinting to me that I need to brush up on that skill so I can maximize my chances of getting the position. I'm trying to figure out which is more likely.

posted by wolfdreams01 to work & money (12 answers total)

I think they're guessing skills. I got an endorsement as a voice actor, which I'm not. And people tend to be positive and think nice thoughts when they're endorsing something.
posted by musofire at 5:40 AM on March 8

When browsing my contacts' profiles, I see suggestions (in that box at the top) to endorse them for skills that are not on their lists. I haven't carefully checked to see whether those key words appear elsewhere in their profiles, but I don't think so: in a few cases they've been for skills the person did not actually have.

So, a kind gesture, but not an effortful one.
posted by ecsh at 5:42 AM on March 8

However, what it does imply is that this person went to look at your profile and/or chose to "recognize" you publicly - since this shows up in the time stream and on your profile. If I was in this position, I'd still certainly see it as a positive action, regardless of whether there might be openings or not.

I do recall however that when something similar happened to me, the first time I was endorsed for this unlisted skill, I was asked to confirm it, unlike the auto endorsements for the listed skills. So its not as automated as we might imagine, although I'd like a LinkedIn person to drop by and help us understand how this new endorsement system works.
posted by infini at 6:34 AM on March 8

It's kind of a random tag folksonomy heuristic. I get suggestions to endorse people I know for skills that I don't know they have. I usually pass.

(Though the humour of endorsing my colleagues for “gas” and them returning the favour to me with “wind” never gets old. Hey, I work in energy ...)
posted by scruss at 6:34 AM on March 8 [9 favorites]

My list of suggested endorsements contains keywords from groups that I've joined, like museum education, that aren't spelled out in my profile. I also get suggestions to endorse people whenever I'm in LinkedIn, and it's a rotating list of the people I'm connected to-- it has nothing to do with who or what I'm actually searching for.

If it's the latter, then it's possible that there's a job opening in his division coming down the pipeline which I would be a good candidate for, and he's hinting to me that I need to brush up on that skill so I can maximize my chances of getting the position.

This seems unlikely if only because it's so inefficient: if he really wanted you to work on a specific skill, it would be much easier and produce results more quickly to drop you an email about it, or let a mutual colleague suggest it. On the plus side, he did publicly endorse you, so I would take that as a good sign!
posted by jetlagaddict at 6:40 AM on March 8 [1 favorite]

The LinkedIn Endorsements are basically meaningless. I've been endorsed by people that can't possibly know because they met me once 5 years ago at a conference. It's a nice gesture that somebody thinks highly enough of you to click their mouse, but I don't think anybody really takes them seriously. Don't over think them.
posted by COD at 6:51 AM on March 8 [1 favorite]

I concur with others that this is most likely due to possibility #1 that you outlined in your question.

One of the sillier things about this new endorsement functionality on LinkedIn is how easy it is for people to randomly endorse you for things - if someone glances at the skills section of your profile and then accidentally clicks on something, they've endorsed you. How do I know this? My godfather, who does not work in my industry and has absolutely no way of knowing whether or not I actually am good at any of the skills I've listed in my profile, has endorsed me for several of my skills. At first I thought he was just being adorable and supportive, but then I later found out that he was looking at my profile with the intention of directing someone to me for a job lead, and because he's not so great with the mouse (he only just got the hang of this computer thing about 5 years ago), kept accidentally clicking on my skills and endorsing me.

So...not to burst your bubble, but it's entirely possible that not only LinkedIn is guessing skills you might have based on keywords in your profile or groups you've joined, but this manager might be a little haphazard with his mousing and accidentally endorsing you for things.

All of this really to say that endorsements on LinkedIn are fundamentally meaningless at the end of the day. So, like COD says, don't overthink.
posted by thereemix at 7:03 AM on March 8

Yeah, I don't have any 'skills' on my LinkedIn profile, but I keep being endorsed for various ones by people.
posted by theRussian at 7:19 AM on March 8

Said executive may simply be looking for a set of endorsements in return, ie. it was a self-serving action in the first place.
posted by Kruger5 at 7:38 AM on March 8 [1 favorite]

I have been endorsed for many things that are not in my profile at all. Some of them are somewhat related (my profile says "social media" and someone endorsed me as knowing Facebook) and some seem to be guesses based on my industry and job titles.
posted by theuninvitedguest at 11:10 AM on March 8

I get endorsed for skills that aren't directly listed in my LinkedIn profile, but also sometimes even for skills that I have but aren't remotely related to anything in my profile at all. The most prominent example is Linux, which I do know well but is listed exactly zero places on my profile (which is all about my experience in health education and customer service). I'm connected to a great deal many people whose profiles are all about Linux, though, so I assume that LinkedIn pulls from a list of keywords associated with my connections as well as my own profile. Either that or they're peeking in my windows at night.
posted by rhiannonstone at 12:42 PM on March 8

I posted a similar question a few months ago. You might find some helpful insights there.
posted by seesom at 3:28 PM on March 8