When I originally saw how LinkedIn created their own version of the Facebook “Like” button, I thought that they did some worthwhile. However, over time I started to notice a trend: the endorsements I received from colleagues actually are irrelevant.
I don’t mean that my skill that they are endorsing are irrelevant. However, quite often people aren’t endorsing me with the skills that I might have used while working with them. As much as I appreciate these “endorsements”, I feel that over time they are meaningless because most people probably have no clue where my best skills are and that the people who do understand my best skills are not endorsing them properly.
But this issue of endorsements is an issue that LinkedIn must tackle over time. Recruiters and potential employers may grow cynical over time if they end up using a system that isn’t easily verifiable. Worse yet, I think LinkedIn has created a syndrome for themselves in attempting to make their website more interactive. The problem is that this aspect might be more detrimental than anything.
A real endorsement that people should utilize are long comments. At the end of the day though, I think what will happen is that recruiting agencies will end up using endorsed skills of candidates as opposed to reading the comments. Over time, that will simply clutter up good candidates with poor candidates as anyone can easily click and forget their action out of boredom or kindness.