Skip to main content

LinkedIn makes endorsements smarter to help you get noticed

linkedIn
LinkedIn is getting smarter. Like Facebook, the career-oriented social network is being strengthened using machine-learning, from messaging to your home feed. The latest LinkedIn features to get an overhaul with the help of its data insights are “Skills and Endorsements.”

The two go hand-in-hand: First you add the skills, then you get the endorsements, then you get the power. In the past, not everyone took endorsements seriously, especially in light of the fact that you could endorse users for skills as inane as “chewing gum” and “showers” — what were you thinking, LinkedIn? Nonetheless, the company believes it’s high time its users put a stop to the tomfoolery and started getting the hang of endorsements.

Related Videos

For its part, LinkedIn is revamping the feature by giving it added relevance. What this means is your endorsements will be highlighted based on the person viewing your profile. For example, viewers will see endorsements made by mutual connections, colleagues, and people who actually have some experience with that particular skill (like expert gum chewers, for example). LinkedIn has also improved targeting, allowing it to harness your listed skills to suggest endorsements to the right connections.

“The skills and endorsements on your profile help people viewing your profile understand your strengths and help you get discovered through search,” writes Yolanda Yeh, product manager for LinkedIn. “These changes … [mean] we can better surface the most relevant endorsements that help to validate your skills ”

Since the feature’s introduction in 2012, LinkedIn users have shared more than 10 billion endorsements. The company claims people with at least five skills listed on their LinkedIn profile receive up to 17 times more profile views. The new and improved endorsements are rolling out on the LinkedIn mobile app, and will head to desktop soon.

LinkedIn recently announced a flurry of changes to its platform, including an upcoming site-wide redesign, a feature that lets you search for a new job without alerting your current boss, and a news-oriented update to its mobile app.

Editors' Recommendations

Twitter confirms revamped Blue pricing and features
Twitter symbol photo. Credits: Twitter official.

Twitter has confirmed pricing and features for its revamped Twitter Blue premium tier, with signups relaunching on Monday, December 12.

Twitter suspended Twitter Blue signups a month ago while it worked out a new system for verification badges following problems over impersonation accounts.

Read more
Google is now supporting my awful browser habits, and I love it
Google Chrome opened on a laptop.

Google has just released a new update for Chrome, and it could be a real timesaver if you're anything like me.

I have some pretty bad habits when it comes to how I use my browsers, and instead of forcing me to improve, Google is supporting me. Needless to say, I love it.

Read more
What does the lock mean on Snapchat?
A person using Snapchat on an iPhone.

If you're new to Snapchat (or just a casual Snapchat user), you might not be aware of all of its features, including a certain lock-shaped icon. If you've ever wondered what that little lock icon means on Snapchat, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we'll explain what the lock is for and how it's connected to a Snapchat feature.
What does the lock mean on Snapchat?
In Snapchat, that lock icon indicates that the Snapchat story you're seeing is what's known as a Private Story.
What exactly is a Private Story?

A Private Story is a type of Snapchat story that allows the Snapchatter who posts it to restrict that story's visibility to only a few, select friends. That is to say, if you post a Private Story, you can choose which of your friends can see it. Additionally, the only user who can invite other users to it or add Snaps to a Private Story is the user who created the Private Story in the first place.

Read more