To get LinkedIn endorsements, list accurate, role-relevant skills, make them easy to verify, and ask first-degree connections who have seen you use those skills. Send a short, personal message that names the skill and shared work; don’t mass-message people or treat endorsements as an exchange. LinkedIn says endorsements may help you be discovered for opportunities related to a skill, but they do not guarantee a search position, interview, or job.
What LinkedIn endorsements are—and what they prove
An endorsement is a first-degree connection’s validation of a skill already listed on your profile. It is a brief signal of recognition, not a detailed account of your work. LinkedIn distinguishes endorsements from written recommendations, and says endorsements may reinforce skills on a profile and increase the likelihood of discovery for related opportunities. It does not promise a particular ranking or hiring outcome. LinkedIn’s explanation of skills and endorsements describes the feature.
Endorsements are supporting social proof. A specific recommendation, relevant credential, portfolio sample, or accomplishment with a measurable result gives a reader more context about what you can do. No universal endorsement count guarantees credibility or recruiter attention.
Add skills that support the work you want
LinkedIn allows up to 100 skills in the Skills section. That is a limit, not a target: a focused list makes your profile’s direction clearer than a long collection of unrelated or outdated terms. Prioritize skills that fit your target roles and that you can substantiate with work, projects, or credentials. Put the most important skills first; LinkedIn lets you reorder them. LinkedIn’s skills guidance covers the limit and profile display.
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- Prefer specific, demonstrable skills: for example, SQL, Google Analytics 4, React, financial modeling, or B2B SaaS marketing.
- Be cautious with broad traits: claims such as “hard worker” or “team player” are difficult to validate as skills without concrete context.
- For a job search: review 10–20 relevant postings, note recurring technical and functional skills, then include only the ones you can support with evidence.
- For a career change: use transferable skills, but connect each one to a project or result that shows how it applies to the new field.
Add skills on desktop
- Click Me at the top of the LinkedIn homepage, then select View Profile.
- In the introduction section, select Add profile section, then choose Core and Add skills.
- Type a skill, select the matching suggestion, choose where you used it if prompted, and select Save.
Add skills on mobile
- Tap your profile picture, then tap View profile.
- Tap Add section in the introduction area, choose Core, then select Add skills.
- Choose the relevant skill and tap Save.
LinkedIn’s current documented steps are in its guide to adding and removing profile skills; labels can change as the interface is updated.
Make each skill easy to verify
A person is more likely to endorse a skill when your profile and shared work make it clear where they saw you use it. Associate skills with relevant Experience entries, and connect them to projects, Featured work, certifications, or concrete outcomes where appropriate. LinkedIn says different skills can be associated with each experience and that the Featured section can showcase work samples. Its profile guidance covers Experience and Featured sections.
- For “stakeholder management,” identify the cross-functional project or decision you coordinated.
- For “data analysis,” point to a report, analysis, or decision your work supported.
- For a freelance service, show a relevant sample or case study and, where available, a client recommendation.
These details help a connection decide whether they have actually observed the skill; an endorsement itself is not proof of a specific result.
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Ask people who have seen your work
The best person to ask is a first-degree connection who directly observed the skill: a manager, teammate, client, project collaborator, internship colleague, mentor, or classmate from substantial shared work. LinkedIn says connections can endorse only skills already listed on your profile. It frames endorsements as recognition of abilities the endorser knows or has seen demonstrated. See LinkedIn’s guide to endorsing someone’s skills.
LinkedIn’s current help materials explain adding skills and endorsing connections, but do not establish a prominent dedicated workflow for requesting skill endorsements. A direct LinkedIn message is a practical way to ask. This differs from written recommendations, for which LinkedIn documents a formal request and acceptance process. You do not have to request endorsements to receive them; connections may endorse listed skills on their own. LinkedIn’s recommendation guidance describes that separate feature.
Message examples
After a project: “Hi [Name] — I enjoyed working with you on [project]. I’m updating my profile and highlighting [skill], which you saw me use when I [brief example]. If you feel comfortable endorsing that skill, I’d appreciate it. No pressure.”
To a former colleague: “Hi [Name] — I’m refining my profile for [type of role]. Since we worked together on [context], would you be comfortable endorsing me for [specific skill]? I’m focusing on skills people have actually seen me use.”
For a student or recent graduate: “Hi [Name] — I’m building my profile around [skill] after our work on [class, project, internship, or organization]. If you feel you saw enough of that work to endorse me for it, I’d really appreciate it.”
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Name one or two skills, give the recipient a reason to recognize them, and make the request optional. Avoid asking for every skill, repeatedly chasing someone who does not respond, or implying that an endorsement is owed.
Should you endorse someone first?
Yes, if you can genuinely vouch for a skill you have seen them use. On desktop, visit a first-degree connection’s profile, find Skills & endorsements, and select the add icon beside the relevant skill. LinkedIn’s endorsement instructions describe this process.
You can add a brief note about why you endorsed them, but do not present your endorsement as payment for one in return. Reciprocal trading can create signals without meaningful validation, and endorsing someone does not guarantee they will endorse you. Give recognition where it is warranted; ask separately only when the person has direct knowledge of your work.
Why endorsements may not arrive
- The recipient does not know your work well enough: choose someone who directly observed the skill and shared a meaningful project or role with you.
- The request is too vague: identify one skill and the context in which the person saw you use it.
- The skill is not listed: add it first; connections can endorse only listed skills.
- Your profile gives little evidence: connect the skill to an Experience entry, project, work sample, or result.
- The person rarely uses LinkedIn or is uncomfortable endorsing: response is voluntary. Do not pressure them; continue building relationships and showing your work.
There is no need to turn a lack of endorsements into a numerical target. LinkedIn says they may support discovery around relevant skills, but does not publish a formula or guarantee a result.
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First check the Skills section itself: LinkedIn says endorsements appear under the associated skill, while only the top three endorsed skills appear in the profile’s visible summary area. A missing summary display does not necessarily mean the endorsement is gone. Other causes and recovery options include:
- The skill was deleted or renamed: LinkedIn says re-adding the skill exactly as it appeared before may restore associated endorsements. A different wording or language may not. Check its troubleshooting guidance for missing endorsements.
- The connection was broken: LinkedIn says endorsements between members are automatically removed when their connection is broken and are not reinstated if they reconnect.
- The endorser withdrew it: the other person can remove an endorsement they gave.
- You hid it or opted out: review endorsement visibility and receiving settings before assuming the endorsement was deleted.
Skills cannot be changed to a different language. LinkedIn says changing a skill’s language requires removing and adding it again, which permanently deletes the attached endorsements. Check the skills and endorsements guidance before making that edit.
Manage endorsements you receive or give
Hide an endorsement or stop receiving them
You can choose which individual endorsements to show or hide in the Skills section, or opt out of receiving endorsements and hide endorsements already received through endorsement settings. Use LinkedIn’s instructions for hiding or unhiding an individual endorsement and managing received endorsements. Hiding is worth considering before deleting a skill, because deleting the skill can remove its attached endorsements.
Remove an endorsement you gave
Visit the connection’s profile, locate the endorsed skill, and click or tap its checkmark; it changes back to the add icon. LinkedIn says the connection is not notified when you remove an endorsement. See LinkedIn’s removal instructions.
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Understand notifications and feed visibility
LinkedIn says endorsement activity does not appear in a connection’s feed or in the profile’s Activity section. Whether you receive an endorsement notification depends on your notification settings. Its endorsement notification guidance explains visibility and controls.
Put endorsements in perspective
Endorsements are quick validation of listed skills; recommendations are written testimonials that can explain the relationship, work, and results behind an endorsement. Neither replaces evidence such as accomplishments, credentials, or work samples, but recommendations generally provide more room for specific context. If you are seeking a role, client, or promotion, use endorsements as one supporting signal and give more attention to evidence-rich profile content. LinkedIn treats the features separately in its skills and endorsements guidance and recommendation guidance.
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