Chapter 4 of 7 · 4 checks · 2 min
Skills, endorsements and recommendations
How to pick skills people will search for, and how to get recommendations that carry weight.
Add the skills from the job posts you are targetingMust
Why it matters and how to check
LinkedIn lets you add up to 100 skills, but more is not better. Open five job posts you would apply to and note the skills they repeat, then add the ones you can genuinely use. Use the standard names LinkedIn suggests as you type, such as "React.js" or "PostgreSQL", so you match how people search.
Put your strongest, most relevant skills where they are most visible. To check, read your Skills section as a recruiter: do the first few skills match the roles in your headline?
Do
- Mirror the exact skill names used in job posts
- Pick the suggested spelling from the dropdown
Avoid
- Skills you could not discuss in a technical conversation
- Soft skills crowding out technical ones at the top
Hide endorsements for skills you no longer want to be known forNice to have
Why it matters and how to check
First-degree connections can endorse your skills, and LinkedIn says endorsements can make you more likely to be found for related opportunities. You do not need to ask for them, and you can hide an endorsement or opt out of endorsements entirely.
If you moved from, say, PHP to Go, remove or hide the old skills you do not want recruiters to contact you about. Check by looking at which skills have the most endorsements: they should match the work you want next.
Do
- Endorse colleagues for skills you have seen them use
Avoid
- Endorsement swaps with strangers
Ask two or three people you worked with for a written recommendationShould
Why it matters and how to check
A recommendation is a short written reference that shows on your profile. LinkedIn lets you request one only from first-degree connections who work with you or have worked with you, and only one per position per person. You can accept, dismiss or ask the writer to revise it before it appears.
Ask a manager, a senior teammate, a project supervisor or a client. Make it easy: replace the default request text with a personal note that reminds them of a specific project you did together.
Do
- Write a personal request that names the project you shared
- Ask people who saw your work up close
- Thank them and offer to write one back if appropriate
Avoid
- Sending the default request message unchanged
- Asking people who never worked with you
Write specific recommendations for people you have worked withNice to have
Why it matters and how to check
Giving recommendations builds goodwill and shows up on your own profile as well as theirs. A useful recommendation names the project, what the person did and what it was like to work with them, in four or five sentences.
You can revise or delete a recommendation you gave at any time. Check before sending that it says something only you could say about that person, not a template line.
Do
- Name a concrete project and result
Avoid
- Vague praise that could describe anyone