So far, we’ve talked a bit about how effectively LinkedIn works for networking and job hunting. Each section of your Linked In profile plays a significant role in using this online tool wisely. Now, we’ll cover what you need to think about in terms of listing your skills and getting endorsements and recommendations from others. Here are a few tips for using these sections to your advantage when looking for a job or networking with others.
Skills.
Because you can list the talents you want to portray to others on your profile, the skills section is one of the best ways to tell viewers what you’re about. There are a few categories of skills to consider listing: persuasive, analytical, business-related, and communication. Possible specific talents you can think about listing are time management, negotiation, editing, and critical thinking. To list your skills, click the Add button in the profile section of your introduction, then click Core and add skills from the drop-down menu. From there, you will see a pop-up window where you can add individual skills.
Endorsements.
Endorsements are used to allow people who have worked for you to vouch for your skill sets. This helps out interviewers to know that everything on your submitted information (like your application and resume) are truthful and not embellished. In the past, this would have required a lot of checking and research on the part of the interviewing company (something that is hard to do with thousands of candidates). Now, they can simply go on your LinkedIn profile and see what kind of endorsements you have received from people who can vouch for you. You can get these thumbs-ups by simply asking past or present colleagues for them by scrolling down to your skills on your profile and clicking the Add icon next to the skill they would like to endorse.
Recommendations.
According to CareerHigher, “Just like endorsements, LinkedIn recommendations are added for validation.” Recommendations go a step further in that they allow co-workers and managers to elaborate on what it was like to work with you. Fortunately, when someone writes a recommendation in your honor, you are allowed to review and accept the compliment—that way nothing ends up on your profile that doesn’t represent your brand. To add a recommendation, users would simply click on the More link in the introduction section of your profile and then select Recommend to fill out the form.
As you can see, listing your skills and obtaining endorsements and recommendations are excellent ways to promote yourself on LinkedIn. If you’re looking for something easy to ask from past or present colleagues, perhaps just suggest they quickly endorse some of your skills. If you’re closer to someone you’ve worked with, you might take the extra step to ask them about writing a recommendation. Bottom line, LinkedIn has many helpful tools to use to present yourself in a positive light to potential employees.
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