Memo to LinkedIn: Please Fix Endorsements
The skill-vouching feature is drawing loads of complaints
Have you endorsed me for "koala training" yet? That's right, in the last month I’ve been endorsed on LinkedIn for the following skills: journalism, blogging and, yes, koala training.
I don't know how to train a koala, or any marsupial for that matter. But I added it, and parallel parking, to my LinkedIn profile to see how far I could push the bounds of the professional social network with the help of friends.
Turns out pretty far.
To prospective employers: I’m kidding! (though I am pretty good at parallel parking).
LinkedIn offers two ways to vouch for other members’ abilities.
The first is a recommendation, a custom note on your LinkedIn profile that's written by a colleague or employer extolling your professional virtues. It's a valuable asset in establishing your credentials and work habits.
Schubin was a fan of the site until “I started getting endorsed for things I didn’t do. People started endorsing me for voice-over, and I’ve never done a voice-over in my life.” Fed up, in his LinkedIn group, Schubin tells members: “I hereby reject all of my endorsements. I urge you to do the same. Maybe LinkedIn will take notice.”
According to Braswell, a skill that you do not have may be suggested for an endorsement based on LinkedIn’s algorithm. It adds probable skills based on your LinkedIn profile, your profession and skills of others in your industry, among other things. In Schubin’s case, the voice-over endorsement may have come from his work in television, but who knows.
Schubin has done everything in his power to minimize endorsements on his profile. He’s made them invisible, added the maximum 50 skills so no one can add any more and sent notes to contacts asking them not to endorse him.
The topic of endorsements is also hot in the LinkedIn Help Center, where many members have complained about them..
Frustrated that the service is still soliciting endorsements from his contacts, Schubin figured out how to join the network of LinkedIn’s CEO Jeff Weiner and sent him a direct complaint. He hasn't heard back.
