LinkedIn endorsements are a way for your connections to recognize your skills and expertise. When someone endorses you for a skill, it appears on your profile and helps showcase your abilities to your network.
Do endorsements show in your activity feed?
Endorsements do not automatically show up in your LinkedIn activity feed. The activity feed is primarily for sharing articles, updates, and other content. Endorsements are not considered “activity” that appears in the feed.
There are a few ways endorsements may show up indirectly in your feed:
- You can thank someone for an endorsement by posting an update. This thanks will appear in your feed.
- You can share an update when you reach a certain endorsement milestone (e.g. 100 endorsements in a skill).
- Your connections may comment on or like an endorsement appearing on your profile. This engagement will show up in the feed.
So while the endorsements themselves do not show up, related activity may appear indirectly.
Do you get notified when you receive an endorsement?
You do get notified by LinkedIn when someone endorses you for a skill. The notification will appear near the top of your LinkedIn page and in your notifications tab.
To view your latest endorsements:
- Click on “Me” at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
- Select “View profile.”
- Scroll down to the “Skills & Endorsements” section.
- Click on any skill to see your most recent endorsements.
You can also click on the notification itself to see and manage the endorsement right away.
Can you share or re-post an endorsement?
There is no way to directly share or re-post an endorsement on LinkedIn. Endorsements live only on the recipient’s profile.
However, there are a couple indirect ways to get more visibility from your endorsements:
- Thank the endorser by posting an update about the endorsement.
- Manually add an endorsement to your activity feed by posting an update.
- Showcase endorsements on your profile by organizing them into feature modules.
While endorsements themselves cannot be shared, you can reference them or add them to parts of your profile that are shareable.
Do endorsements increase your LinkedIn connections?
Receiving endorsements does not directly add connections. However, endorsements do help you grow your network in a few ways:
- They showcase your skills and abilities to your existing connections.
- They help you come up in searches when people look for professionals with those skills.
- They bring new visitors to your profile who may connect with you.
So while endorsements don’t automatically connect you with people, they do help attract new connections by improving your visibility and demonstrating your expertise.
Should you endorse people back?
Endorsing connections helps nurture your relationships. If someone endorses you for a valid skill, it’s generally a good idea to return the favor and endorse them back.
However, you should still only endorse skills that you can legitimately validate. Endorsing indiscriminately can dilute the value.
When endorsing back:
- Take a look at their skills and experience. Endorse the ones that align with your knowledge of their abilities.
- Add a custom message sometimes explaining why you’re endorsing them.
- Focus on endorsing a few meaningful skills rather than blindly endorsing everything.
Thoughtful, selective endorsements carry more weight and can strengthen mutual connections.
Do number of endorsements matter?
The number of endorsements you have matters to some extent. More endorsements help build credibility and reinforce skills.
However, quality matters more than pure quantity. Here are a few factors to consider:
- Relevance – The endorsements should validate real skills related to your goals.
- Diversity – Endorsements from a broader mix of connections may hold more weight.
- Customization – Personalized messages add depth versus one-click endorsements.
While racking up endorsements has some benefit, focus on getting meaningful endorsements from the right connections.
Conclusion
LinkedIn endorsements can showcase your expertise and strengthen connections. But they do not appear directly in your activity feed and won’t automatically grow your network.
Endorse thoughtfully, display prominently on your profile, and reference in updates to get the most value. Quality endorsements from relevant connections are more powerful than pure quantity.
LinkedIn endorsements are just one piece of building a credible professional brand. Use them to support your skills, not as a primary indicator of your capabilities.
