LinkedIn loves its Skills & Endorsements, yet few members share their passion. Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn’s CEO, wants to build a global economic graph that shows where skills cluster globally.

Meanwhile, Google is building an AI system, Google Jobs, to help job seekers find demand (i.e., job postings) for their skills.

Why Your Skills Matter

Given that both LinkedIn/Microsoft and Google, two of the world’s five most valuable companies, care about our skills, it’s time that we do too. Not convinced? Look at the work described here that LinkedIn is doing with the World Economic Forum.

You know how when you want to change careers you have to identify your transferable skills? And it’s a bit of an uphill climb?

Google and LinkedIn plan to make that easier for all of us. They’re in the process of building a global, skills-driven job market — and, in the process, diffusing a huge amount of friction.

Skills REALLY Matter

Most important, listing skills impact your profile’s SEO. When a recruiter searches for a particular skill, LinkedIn is more likely to display your profile if you list that skill and have an above-average number of endorsements for it.

Now Do You Care About Your Skills & Endorsements?

I hope so, because those who claim skills and provide third-party validation for them (aka endorsements) will have a competitive advantage in a skills-driven job market.

Grouse all you want about the inaccuracy and manipulation of skills endorsements on LinkedIn. Some information is better than no information.

How to Get Going on Endorsements

Go to Your LinkedIn profile. Go to Featured Skills & Endorsements. Click the edit pencil. Go to the lower-left corner and click “Adjust endorsement settings.” Click “I want to be endorsed,” “Include me in endorsement suggestions to my connections,” and “Show me suggestions to endorse my connections.” Then, when people endorse you, thank them. They’re building your future career. One last thing, if you don’t want to get pop-ups that ask you to endorse people, then unclick the third box below.

Steps 5 looks like this:

Video

You can also watch a quick “how to” video here:

View all my “how to” videos on my Donna Svei YouTube Channel.

Let’s Connect on LinkedIn

Please don’t hesitate to invite me to connect on LinkedIn here: Donna Svei, Executive Resume Writer. The more I know about my readers, the better I can make my blog.

Original Post Featured by Lifehacker

Image: Robert Kneschke

Radically revised June 2017 & updated July 2020

© 2014 – 2020, Donna Svei. All rights reserved.