Introduction: LinkedIn Endorsements
LinkedIn is a platform for professionals to network, share information, and build credibility. Part of a professional’s LinkedIn page includes skill endorsements. Though sometimes cringeworthy to ask for, there are easy ways to request skill endorsements without feeling awkward.
How to ask for LinkedIn endorsements without feeling awkward focuses on asking the right people at the right time with good etiquette.
How to Ask for LinkedIn Endorsements Without Feeling Awkward?
1. Understand What LinkedIn Endorsements Are
Endorsements are a way for a professional’s LinkedIn connections to acknowledge skills the professional has. A person with a skill endorsement has worked with another person or has seen another person demonstrate a skill.
Endorsements are different from recommendations, which are written testimonials about a professional’s skills. Endorsements are a simple checkmark next to a skill. LinkedIn endorsements are a great way to highlight skills, but should not be the sole focus of a LinkedIn page.
2. Choose the Right People
The first step to asking for LinkedIn endorsements without feeling awkward is choosing who to ask. A professional does not need to ask everyone on their LinkedIn connections list.
Instead, a professional should ask the people who have seen them demonstrate skills. This might include a past manager, a colleague, a client, a teacher, an internship supervisor, or a professional connection. A professional should avoid asking random people on LinkedIn to endorse skills they do not know.
For instance, if a professional has worked on a content project with someone, asking them to endorse for content writing makes sense. Asking someone who has never seen a professional’s content to endorse for content writing does not make as much sense.
3. Ask at the Right Time
Another important tip for asking for LinkedIn endorsements without feeling awkward is to ask at the right time. A professional should avoid asking someone randomly who they have not talked to in years.
Instead, a professional should ask for an endorsement after a successful project, after hearing positive feedback, after completing an internship, or after a helpful conversation.
For example, if a manager recently complimented a professional’s presentation skills, a professional can ask if they would be okay with endorsing them for communication or presentation skills on LinkedIn. Asking for an endorsement right after a positive conversation feels less cringeworthy.
4. Keep Your Message Short
A professional asking for a LinkedIn endorsement does not need to write a long message. A short, polite message should suffice.
A professional could write something like, “Hi [Name], I really enjoyed working with you on [project]. I am currently updating my LinkedIn and want to highlight some of the skills I have been using. If you feel comfortable, would you mind endorsing me for [skill]? I would really appreciate it.”
This message works well because it is polite and explains why the professional is asking.
5. Offer an Endorsement in Return
If a professional has worked with someone and knows that person’s skills, the professional could offer an endorsement.
However, a professional should avoid doing this in a transactional way. Avoid messages like, “I will endorse you if you endorse me.”
Instead, a professional could say something like, “I would be happy to endorse some of the skills I have seen you demonstrate as well.”
6. Personalize Every Request
One of the easiest ways to make a LinkedIn endorsement request feel awkward is to send the same generic message to dozens of people.
A professional should spend a moment personalizing each LinkedIn endorsement request. A professional should mention a specific project, specific job, or specific experience they have had with the person they are asking.
For example, a professional might write, “Hi Priya, I enjoyed working with you on the website content project last year. I am updating my LinkedIn and would appreciate an endorsement for content writing if you feel my work demonstrated that skill.”
This message is much less cringeworthy than a generic message because it reminds the person being asked of their professional relationship.
Conclusion: LinkedIn Endorsements
Asking for LinkedIn endorsements does not need to feel awkward. The main way to avoid awkwardness is to ask for endorsements from people who have seen skills demonstrated, ask at a good time, personalize endorsement requests, and be polite. Remember, a LinkedIn endorsement request is not a demand. A LinkedIn endorsement request gives a person an opportunity to acknowledge a skill they have seen demonstrated.
When a professional asks for an endorsement request politely, it becomes a natural part of the professional networking process. A professional asking for endorsements will also build stronger long-term professional relationships with managers, colleagues, clients, and other professionals.
Leave a Reply