Sincere apologies to anyone who has done this for me, and it doesn’t apply to every one – but I have to ask… What is the story with LinkedIn endorsements?
Cos I am actually scarlet when I get one.
Genuinely…
Red face, cringe, stare at feet – moments!
Now I am a girl who is well able to take a compliment.
You shower me with compliments – I’ll dig out the loofah!
But on LinkedIn???? I not sure I get it.
If you’re reading this and you have endorsed me then you might be harrumphing at my lack of gratitude and I can’t blame you for that. But I’d take those compliments more graciously (and willingly) if I really understood what they were about…?
So here’s why I have some scruples…
1. Is it just a case of Quid pro quo?
I read somewhere that recommendations on LinkedIn lose their value if they are reciprocated. Which is a pain cos I have two great recommendations and yes… they are both reciprocated. If endorsements are about mutual back scratching then I don’t see the point.
It’s different from ‘you follow me, I follow you back’ on social media. Twitter and FB are more about fun and social stuff. LI is a professional network!
2. I have been endorsed by people I’ve never met
I’m sounding more and more ungrateful as I go on amn’t I? 
But it feels strange to get the thumbs up for a skill by folk I don’t really know. I know people can read the blogs and say they feel I’m good at writing, but there are cases where it’s not as simple as that.
3. I have at least one endorsement for a skill that I KNOW I am not good at
I won’t say which one, in case I cause the endorser (who is probably quite irked with me already!) any further pains. But a couple of times I’ve seen an endorsement and thought – ‘I’m rubbish at that.’
I think it was Rob Parsons of Care for the Family I heard say, something along the lines of, “Remember you’re not as great as you think you are, but you’re not as awful as you think you are either!” I think that’s a healthy attitude and one that is very much in line with Scripture.
Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
I suppose I’m trying to balance taking a compliment and thinking of myself with ‘sober judgement’. And I can’t tell you why I’m more hung up on LinkedIn endorsements than I am on someone saying of FB or Tw, “Read her stuff, she’s great.”
In fact a few more of those would be nice 🙂
Maybe it’s because it IS a professional network that I’m more iffy about it. I’ve never had a career, just a series of jobs that I’ve loved to a greater or lesser degree. I’m not sure why I even joined LinkedIn to be honest.
Am I alone in this – would love your feedback.
You can be totally honest, say what you like, take me to task, disagree with me, admonish me for being so ungrateful – respond however you’d want; just make sure to click that ‘like’ button below while you’re there… 😀
photo credit: clasesdeperiodismo via photopin cc
Just another Christian woman... 
So far, I’ve received endorsements only from people whom I’ve worked or done business with. It’s in the interest of the people behind LinkedIn to keep their platform from degenerating into another FB.
As you say, LinkedIn is supposed to be for professionals – or, at least that’s how it started out.
Some use it professionally. That’s how it started
There’s a box at the top of your profile that asks you “is good at “. In a lot of cases people will click “endorse” because it’s just as simple to be nice to someone who might be trying to get endorsements as it is to click the x that gets rid of that box. It’s what linked in its all about. It’s a bit like saying “I’m not sure I like your retweet” on Twitter. Also, people can only endorse skills that you claim you have in the first place 🙂
Sorry, wordpress seema to delete stuff put in triangle brackets. That should read “is (insert name) good at (insert skill)?”
I think it thinks it’s bad HTML or something. WP too clever for its own good! 🙂
Thanks Jessica, that it really helpful actually.
But in no universe and on no planet am I a good proofreader! I’m a writer for goodness sake, of COURSE I’m no good at proof reading! lol
thanks again 🙂
Haha well somebody thinks you are! Own it 😀