How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn in 2026?
LinkedIn endorsements are one of those features that most people treat as background noise. You get a notification, you click "Endorse," and you move on. But when used intentionally, endorsements are a surprisingly effective tool for warming up cold relationships, staying on someone's radar, and building genuine goodwill.
Here's how they work, how to give them strategically, and why they're worth paying attention to.
What Is Endorsement on LinkedIn?
A LinkedIn endorsement is a one-click validation of a skill listed on someone's profile. When you endorse someone for "B2B Sales" or "Product Management," you're publicly confirming that you've seen them demonstrate that skill.
Endorsements appear on a person's profile under the Skills section, grouped by skill with a count of how many people have endorsed them. Skills with more endorsements appear higher in the list and carry more social proof.
Note: Endorsements are different from LinkedIn Recommendations, which are written testimonials. Endorsements are quick and lightweight. Recommendations take effort and carry more weight. Both matter, but they serve different purposes.
Pro tip: Endorsing someone for a niche skill (like "SaaS Pricing Strategy" instead of just "Sales") signals that you actually looked at their profile and thought about it. Niche endorsements carry more weight than generic ones.
How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn?
On Desktop
- Go to the person's LinkedIn profile
- Scroll down to the Skills section
- Click the + icon next to any skill you want to endorse
- A confirmation will appear showing the endorsement was sent
You can endorse multiple skills in one visit. LinkedIn will sometimes prompt you to endorse skills when you visit a connection's profile, making it even easier.
On Mobile
- Open the LinkedIn app and navigate to the person's profile
- Scroll to the Skills section
- Tap the + icon next to the skill
- Confirm the endorsement
LinkedIn also sends periodic prompts asking "Does [Name] have these skills?" You can endorse directly from these prompts without visiting the profile.
What Happens After You Endorse
The person receives a notification that you endorsed them. This notification lands in their LinkedIn activity feed and often in their email, depending on their notification settings. It's a gentle, low-pressure touchpoint that puts your name in front of them without requiring anything from them.
7 Proven Ways to Get More LinkedIn Endorsements
#1: Keep Your Profile Up-to-Date
Your skills list is what people endorse. If your skills are outdated or don't reflect what you actually do, you'll get endorsements for things that don't matter to you.
Review your skills list every few months. Remove skills that are no longer relevant. Add skills that reflect your current work. LinkedIn lets you add up to 50 skills, but quality matters more than quantity.
Note: LinkedIn lets you reorder your skills and hide endorsements you don't want displayed. Go to your profile, scroll to Skills, and click the pencil icon to edit. Drag skills to reorder them and toggle visibility on individual endorsements.
#2: Connect with the Right People
Endorsements come from your connections. If your network is full of people who don't know your work, you'll get fewer endorsements and they'll carry less weight.
Connect with former colleagues, clients, collaborators, and people who have actually seen you work. These are the people whose endorsements mean something. A former manager endorsing your "Strategic Planning" skill is worth more than 50 strangers endorsing your "Microsoft Office."
#3: Seek Endorsements from Your Connections
The most direct approach is to ask. A short message to a former colleague or client works well:
"Hey [Name], I'm building out my LinkedIn profile for [skill]. Would you be willing to endorse me? Happy to return the favor."
Most people are happy to help if you make it easy. Don't ask for endorsements from people who haven't seen you demonstrate the skill. Hollow endorsements undermine the value of the ones that matter.
#4: Give Endorsements
Reciprocity is one of the most reliable principles in human behavior. When someone does something for you, you feel a natural inclination to return the favor. Endorsing someone's skills often prompts them to visit your profile and endorse yours in return.
This isn't manipulation. It's how relationships work. A small, genuine gesture creates goodwill that makes future interactions warmer.
When you receive an endorsement, visit the person's profile and endorse them back for skills you can genuinely vouch for. This closes the loop and reinforces the relationship.
#5: Share Your Skills on Your Profile
You can't get endorsed for skills that aren't on your profile. Make sure your skills list is comprehensive and visible.
Note: LinkedIn lets you choose which skills are visible on your profile. If you've hidden some skills, they won't appear for endorsement. Go to your Skills section and make sure the skills you want endorsed are set to visible.
#6: Seek Recommendations
Recommendations and endorsements work together. A profile with strong written recommendations signals credibility, which makes people more likely to endorse your skills as well.
Ask for recommendations from people who can speak specifically to your work. A recommendation that says "I worked with [Name] on [specific project] and their [specific skill] was exceptional" is far more valuable than a generic "great person to work with."
#7: Stay Active on LinkedIn
Active LinkedIn users get more endorsements. When you post content, comment on others' posts, and engage with your network, you stay visible. Visibility leads to profile visits. Profile visits lead to endorsements.
Pro tip: When you publish a post that performs well, you'll often see a spike in profile visits and endorsements in the days that follow. Consistent posting keeps this cycle going.
How to Do LinkedIn Endorsements Using Automation?
Endorsing connections at scale is possible with LinkedIn automation tools. Tools like Outly can automate endorsements as part of a broader outreach strategy.
Here's how it works in practice:
- You identify a list of prospects or connections you want to warm up
- The automation tool visits their profiles and endorses selected skills
- Each person receives a notification that you endorsed them
- This creates a touchpoint before you send a connection request or follow-up message
The result is that when your message arrives, they've already seen your name in a positive context. You're not a stranger; you're someone who noticed their work.
Important: Only automate endorsements for skills you can genuinely vouch for, or for skills that are clearly demonstrated on the person's profile. Endorsing someone for a skill they don't have is dishonest and can damage your credibility if they notice.
Automation works best as a warm-up tactic, not a replacement for genuine relationship-building. Use it to create touchpoints, then follow up with real conversations.
Conclusion
LinkedIn endorsements are a small but meaningful part of a broader networking strategy. They're fast, they're free, and they create goodwill without requiring anything from the recipient.
The most effective LinkedIn networkers treat every interaction, including endorsements, as an opportunity to add value before making an ask. Endorsing someone's skills, commenting on their posts, and sharing their content are all ways to build a relationship before you need something from it.
When you eventually reach out with a message or a request, you're not a stranger. You're someone who's been paying attention.
Ready to automate your LinkedIn outreach and warm up your network at scale? Outly handles connection requests, follow-ups, and engagement touchpoints so you can focus on the conversations that matter. Plans start at $39.99/mo.
