[FAQ]

Hello all,

I’ve been reviewing my LinkedIn profile and was looking at the “Skills & Endorsements” section. Given how easy it is for anyone to click and endorse a skill, I find myself questioning their actual value.

Do recruiters or other professionals really pay much attention to them in 2025 when they are evaluating a profile? Or are they now just seen as a bit of clutter? I am curious to hear your thoughts on whether they are still relevant or worth focusing on.

[Jeff Bullas]

The relevance of skill endorsements on a LinkedIn profile is a frequent topic of discussion. While they do not carry the same weight as a detailed, personalised recommendation, they still hold a degree of value in a couple of key areas.

First, endorsements provide a form of at-a-glance social proof. When a visitor, such as a recruiter or potential client, looks at your profile, seeing a skill that has been endorsed by a significant number of people, especially by other respected professionals in your field, can quickly validate your claim to that ability. It visually signals that your network corroborates your listed skills.

Second, skill endorsements are understood to be a signal for LinkedIn’s search algorithm. Having a well-endorsed set of relevant skills helps LinkedIn categorise your profile and better understand your areas of expertise. This can directly influence how you rank and appear in search results when recruiters or other professionals are searching for candidates with specific skills. The more endorsements you have for a critical skill, the more likely you are to surface in those targeted searches.

However, it is important to understand their limitations. The primary weakness of endorsements is that they are a low-effort action. It only takes a single click to endorse someone, so they do not offer any context, detail, or nuance about your level of proficiency in that skill.

Because of this, a well-written, detailed recommendation will always be more impactful and carry more weight than dozens of endorsements. A recommendation requires someone to invest time and thought into describing their experience working with you and vouching for your character and abilities.

You can manage your skills section by reordering them to feature your most important and relevant skills at the top, making them more visible and more likely to be endorsed by visitors. It is also good practice to remove skills that are no longer relevant to your career path.

In summary, while skill endorsements are not the most critical element of your LinkedIn profile, they are not meaningless. They serve as quick social validation and can influence your visibility within LinkedIn’s internal search. They should be viewed as a complementary component of your profile, with your work experience descriptions and personalised recommendations holding greater significance.

Cheers,

Jeff

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