LinkedIn endorsements are a great way to showcase your skills and get recognition from your professional connections. When someone endorses you for a skill on LinkedIn, it appears on your profile and helps validate that skill. However, endorsements hold more weight when they come from relevant connections who can credibly vouch for your abilities. Here’s how to politely ask your LinkedIn connections to endorse you.
Why LinkedIn Endorsements Matter
LinkedIn endorsements serve several purposes:
- They validate the skills listed on your profile
- They increase your visibility and credibility in search results
- They can improve your LinkedIn profile rankings and authority
- They demonstrate your professional network’s trust in your abilities
However, endorsements from connections you barely know or have little work experience with don’t carry much significance. The key is getting endorsements from colleagues, managers, or clients who have directly witnessed your skills.
Who to Ask for Endorsements
When deciding who to ask for LinkedIn endorsements, consider:
- Former managers or direct supervisors
- Colleagues and coworkers
- Clients, customers, or vendors
- Project teammates
- Mentors and coaches
Focus on people who have worked with you recently and can vouch for your current skill level. Avoid asking distant connections for endorsements just to boost your numbers.
How to Ask for Endorsements Politely
Here are some tips for politely asking for endorsements:
- Personalize each request by mentioning your specific work relationship or project
- Note one or two relevant skills you hope they will endorse
- Offer to endorse them back for skills applicable to their role
- Follow up an in-person or video conversation with an endorsement request over email
- Time requests to coincide with the completion of a noteworthy project or work anniversary
- Use a humble but confident tone focused on mutual benefit
- Avoid mass endorsement requests or pressure tactics
Here are some template endorsement requests you can customize:
Email Template
Hi [name],
I wanted to reach out to thank you for all your guidance and support on [project name or work relationship]. I learned so much working with you and appreciate everything you taught me.
I’m hoping to continue building my skills in [relevant skill(s)], and I would deeply value your endorsement on LinkedIn. Please let me know if there are any skills I could also endorse you for based on our work together!
Thanks again for everything,
[Your name]
LinkedIn Message Template
Hi [name],
It was great working with you on [project name]. I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to endorse my skills in [relevant skill] on LinkedIn? Your endorsement would help validate the skills I developed collaborating with you. I’d be happy to endorse any of your skills in return!
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I look forward to staying in touch on LinkedIn.
Best,
[Your name]
Following Up After Endorsement Requests
Here are some tips for following up tactfully if you haven’t received a response after requesting LinkedIn endorsements:
- Wait at least 2 weeks before following up to allow sufficient response time
- Send a brief, polite reminder without pressure or expectation
- Offer to connect them with anyone who endorsed your skills if they need confirmation
- Consider if something in your relationship needs mending and address it transparently
- Accept that not everyone will feel comfortable endorsing you and move on gracefully
Here is a template follow-up message for LinkedIn endorsements:
Hi [name],
I hope you’ve been well! I wanted to follow up on my previous message asking if you’d be willing to endorse my skills in [relevant skills] on LinkedIn. Your endorsement would mean a lot, but no pressure if you’re unable to do so right now.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions. Thanks again for considering!
Best,
[Your name]
Thanking Connections for Endorsements
Always send a note of thanks when someone endorses your skills on LinkedIn. This keeps the relationship warm for future interactions. You can thank them by:
- Sending a thank you message through LinkedIn
- Writing a handwritten thank you card
- Endorsing skills relevant to their role as a return favor
- Offering to support their professional goals
- Sharing positive feedback about working together
Here are some LinkedIn thank you template messages:
Message 1
Hi [name],
Thank you so much for endorsing my [skills] on LinkedIn. Having your validation of my abilities means a great deal, and I truly appreciate you taking the time. Please let me know if there are any skills I can endorse for you in return!
I look forward to staying connected,
[Your name]
Message 2
Dear [name],
I greatly appreciate you endorsing my [skills] on LinkedIn. Working with you at [company or project] was such a valuable learning experience, and I’m grateful for your continued support. Let me know if you need any endorsements or recommendations from me in the future!
Best regards,
[Your name]
How Many Endorsements Should You Ask For?
When asking connections for LinkedIn endorsements, consider the following guidelines:
- Focus on your 3-5 core skills or capabilities
- Aim for between 5-15 endorsers per skill
- Prioritize quality over quantity of endorsements
- Match endorsers’ roles and expertise to each skill
- Ask endorsers to review all your key skills before endorsing
Having a few relevant and thoughtful endorsements per skill is much more beneficial than dozens of random endorsements. The key is building up a credible list of endorsers who can speak first-hand about your abilities.
Reciprocating Endorsements on LinkedIn
Here are some tips for reciprocating after someone endorses your skills on LinkedIn:
- Review the endorser’s profile and skills
- Identify skills to endorse based on your shared work experience
- Ideally endorse skills others haven’t yet endorsed for more impact
- Add a customized message thanking them when endorsing
- Match the number of skills they endorsed for you
- Offer to write a recommendation based on mutual work experience
Taking the time to thoughtfully reciprocate endorsements strengthens your relationships and LinkedIn connections. However, resist endorsing skills you can’t authentically validate.
Maintaining Endorsements on LinkedIn
Once you’ve built up endorsements for your key LinkedIn skills, you can maintain your momentum by:
- Checking profile views and thanking frequent viewers
- Reconnecting with past endorsers who you want to re-endorse skills
- Endorsing new connections strategically to build engagement
- Recommending contacts for roles suited to their skills
- Congratulating endorsers on work anniversaries and new roles
- Resharing useful content posted by endorsers
Staying engaged with your network makes it easier to obtain ongoing endorsements and recommendations over the course of your career.
Should You Endorse Skills for Everyone Who Endorses You?
Be selective when deciding who to reciprocate endorsements for on LinkedIn. Here are some criteria to consider:
- Do you have first-hand experience with this person’s skills?
- Have they endorsed skills directly related to working with you?
- Are you comfortable publicly validating their capabilities?
- Do they seem active and engaged on LinkedIn?
- Is there room in the relationship for deeper mutual benefit?
View endorsements as an investment in key relationships, not just a numbers game. Thoughtfully match endorsers to skills so your public validation carries more weight.
Handling Endorsement Spam on LinkedIn
To deal with low-value LinkedIn endorsement spam:
- Politely message the endorser asking to remove endorsements from irrelevant skills
- Hide unwanted skills so endorsements don’t show up
- Publicly thank endorsers and note you’re focusing on your top skills
- Turn off skill endorsements in your account settings if needed
While you can’t control people randomly endorsing you, you can guide them to focus on your most relevant skills.
Should You Endorse Competition or Colleagues at Other Companies?
Be cautious when considering whether to endorse skills for LinkedIn connections working at competing companies. Some risks include:
- Sharing insider knowledge accidentally
- Enabling poaching of your best talent
- Empowering competitors
- Potential conflicts of interest
- Diluting the value of your brand
However, endorsements can be acceptable in these scenarios:
- Former colleagues now at other companies
- Independent contractors or vendors you trust
- Members of industry associations or non-profits
- Contacts at partner vs direct competitor companies
Focus endorsements on strengthening internal relationships unless there is clear strategic value in endorsing external parties.
Using Endorsements to Find a Job
Endorsements allow you to showcase relevant skills when using LinkedIn to search for jobs. Tactics include:
- Optimizing your profile headline with key capabilities
- Getting endorsed for skills listed in job postings
- Leveraging endorser’s profiles to identify hiring managers
- Reaching out to contacts at target companies for endorsements
- Joining niche LinkedIn groups to meet potential endorsers
- Proactively endorsing skills for connections at desired employers
Remember that quality endorsements will get you much further than vanity metrics when trying to stand out to recruiters.
Should You List Skills You’re Not Endorsed For?
When adding skills to your LinkedIn profile that lack endorsements:
- Ensure you can fully validate the skills another way
- Prioritize showcasing endorsed skills at the top of your profile
- Proactively request endorsements from connections for key skills
- Mention skills supported by certifications and credentials
- Supplement with recommendations, publications, or projects demonstrating skills
It’s fine to include relevant skills you’re capable in even if they’re not yet endorsed. But focus on backing them up through other means.
Should You Endorse Connections You Don’t Know Well?
Only endorse people you feel comfortable publicly validating. Risks of endorsing connections you don’t know well include:
- Endorsing skills they may not actually possess
- Enabling exaggeration or dishonesty on their profile
- Misrepresenting your professional relationship
- Looking insincere by endorsing everyone in mass
- Diluting your other in-depth endorsements
Rather than endorsing weak ties superficially, seek quality endorsements from those who know your work best.
Do Endorsements Increase LinkedIn Profile Views?
Yes, accumulating endorsements can boost profile views in several ways:
- Endorsed skills appear in Google search results, driving traffic
- Relevant endorsements make your profile stand out
- Endorsers may view your profile more frequently
- People want to view profiles of influential individuals
- Endorsements increase your perceived authority and expertise
But focus on organic endorsements from established connections versus vanity metrics to maximize impact.
How to Politely Decline Endorsement Requests
To gracefully decline LinkedIn endorsement requests:
- Thank them for thinking of you and wanting to connect
- Emphasize you only feel comfortable endorsing skills you’ve directly seen
- Suggest connecting for a quick chat to learn more about their work
- Offer to endorse them once you’ve collaborated on a project together
- Avoid over-explaining reasons for not endorsing
Declining endorsements tactfully preserves positive relationships while still protecting your brand and integrity.
Conclusion
LinkedIn endorsements are most credible when reserved for validating skills of respected connections earned through direct experience. Take a strategic approach by endorsing thoughtfully, asking politely, reciprocating genuinley, and maintaining relationships with regular engagement. This ensures your endorsements reflect the trust and capabilities you’ve built within your network.