Did you know you can display up to 100 skills on your LinkedIn profile and feature 2 top skills?

LinkedIn categorises them under:

• Industry Knowledge

• Tools & Technologies

• Interpersonal

• Other

But here’s what most people miss:  Your skills are your keywords.

They tell LinkedIn (and the new 360° BREW system) what you want to be known for.

So ask yourself:

Have you optimised this section with the 100 skills you currently want to be known for — or is it a leftover list from five years ago?

Why the Skills & Endorsement Section Matters

Having your featured skills and endorsements populated serves two important purposes:

1. Your skills should reflect the topics and expertise potential clients are searching for.

2. When aligned properly, they reaffirm what you’re saying in your headline and About section.

Remember under the 360° system, LinkedIn reads your profile and content together.

• Your headline.
• Your About section.
• Your recent activity.
• Your skills.

They must tell the same story.

The Truth About Endorsements

There are generally two types of people who endorse you:

1. People who know you professionally
They’ve worked with you and have first-hand experience.

2. Connections who haven’t worked directly with you
These people often endorse you for your 2–3 featured skills when they clearly align with your headline and positioning.

This is why your top featured skills should always correlate with your headline.

If your headline says “LinkedIn Strategist for Midlife Business Women” but your top skills are “Event Planning” and “Public Speaking” from a previous career, that’s mixed messaging.

And under 360° BREW, mixed messaging weakens visibility.

A Strategic Approach to Endorsements

Good practice includes:

• Reviewing endorsements regularly

• Deleting skills you no longer use

• Ensuring your top skills reflect your current positioning

• Making it easy for people to endorse the right things

Which Is More Powerful: Endorsements or Recommendations?

Recommendations. Every time.

Endorsements are useful.

Recommendations build trust.  And we are operating in a trust economy.

Recommendations are independent reviews of your work.  They are social proof and shorten sales cycles.

Ask yourself:

Would you hire someone without checking a recommendation first?

How to Ask for a Powerful Recommendation

When reaching out to a former client, partner or collaborator, make it personal and specific.

The perfect recommendation request:

• Explains why you’re asking
  (“I’m updating my LinkedIn profile and would value a short testimonial about your experience of working with me.”)

• Mentions how you worked together
  (job, project, event, consultancy, volunteering etc.)

• References relevant dates if appropriate

• Acknowledges that you appreciated working together

• Mentions specific results achieved

• Thanks them for their time

Make it easy.  If they’ve already written a testimonial for your website or via email, ask if they’re happy to copy and paste it onto LinkedIn.

You can also:

• Send bullet points you’d like included

• Draft a version they can edit

• Give them a heads up before sending the request

The easier you make it, the more likely (and quicker) it gets done.

Why Recommendations Matter More Under 360° BREW

The new system evaluates:

• Clarity

• Consistency

• Meaning

• Trust signals

Recommendations reinforce your positioning, validate your expertise and give prospects reassurance before booking a call with you.

How Many Recommendations Do You Have?

Your top two recommendations are spotlighted on both desktop and mobile.

• Are they current?
• Do they reflect your current niche?
• Do they highlight results?

If you’ve pivoted your business and your recommendations still talk about a role you had 10 years ago, that’s a credibility gap.

The Bottom Line

Endorsements are helpful.

Recommendations are powerful.

Optimise your 100 skills and align your top 2 featured skills with your headline.

But prioritise collecting strong, results-driven recommendations.

Because under the new LinkedIn landscape:

Your brand is not measured by likes or by follower count.

It’s measured by trust.  And ultimately — sales calls.

If your profile positions you clearly, your content supports that positioning, and your recommendations validate it…

You create a simple, repeatable system that attracts qualified leads.

And that’s what LinkedIn should be doing for you.

Bio:

Hi, I’m Jen — The LinkedIn Lead Jen 😉

I’m an award-winning LinkedIn strategist, mentor and Super Connector, helping experienced experts become known for what they know.

Since 2017, I’ve supported 700+ women to make their expertise more visible on LinkedIn.

I help you make what you know easier to find, understand and remember, build relationships with the right people, and create more opportunities.

No awkward outreach. No performative marketing. No becoming a LinkedIn content creator.

Because you’ve already done the hard bit – you’ve spent years becoming brilliant at what you do.

Now it’s time for the right people to know it.

Jen x

👉 Ready to make your expertise more visible?   See how I can help