Oh, how I wake up each morning praying I’ve received an e-mail from LinkedIn saying, “What’s-her-face has endorsed you for XYZ skill.” I love when I get endorsed for blogging (hey), fundraising (dolla, dolla bills) or simply cold-calling (I do that every day). Not only does it make me feel like I’m improving my skillset and being recognized for what I do, but it also gives me the tinglies! I think, “What’s-her-face really thinks I’m great at Excel and PowerPoint? My third year university presentation on how to pitch to a magazine must have really been impressive! She still remembers!” LinkedIn endorsements are like the Facebook likes of the professional world.
Professional should be in quotations. So many people treat LinkedIn like their Twitter. #Selfie. #Stop.
Sometimes, LinkedIn endorsements get weird and really insincere. I’ve received endorsements for things like Raiser’s Edge, a database used by numerous non-profit organizations, from people I worked with when I was a hostess at a restaurant during my last year of high school. Unless this person was beside me during my first full-time job as I updated all the accounts with action items, how do they know I can actually use Raiser’s Edge and why are they endorsing me for it? They must want something from me.
Ah, they want for me to endorse them. I’ll do that only if one of their skills happens to be, “Desperate.”
I’ve also had someone send me an e-mail with questions or an opportunity that, maybe, I was ignoring or had completely forgotten about. When I didn’t respond for a few days, this person proceeded to endorse me for eight skills on my LinkedIn, two of which they added themselves.
Creepy.
Here are three things to remember when endorsing someone on LinkedIn:
ONE: Do it because you mean it!
Don’t just endorse someone because you have a crush on them or are hoping to get in their pants. If they’re good at researching, endorse them because you’ve read one of their projects.
TWO: Do it selflessly!
Don’t endorse someone just for some love in return. That’s as bad as tagging all your Instagram photos with #followforfollow or #likeforlike.
THREE: Don’t be a creep!
If you endorse someone just to catch their attention, you’re basically pulling the classic unblock-block MSN move to get your crush to message you first from 1999.
While you’re at it, you should also probably read this.
a quarter young 