Do LinkedIn Endorsements Really Matter to Hiring Managers?
Check out the LinkedIn profile of Jeff Ogden here, as his profile was featured in the book, Get Back to Work Faster. Take a look at this image. You can see Jeff Ogden has been endorsed 79 times for Lead Generation (updated) and 25 times for Demand Generation - that's over 100 endorsements in this single topic.
At face value, I'm one of the top lead/demand generation experts in the USA (confirmed by all the marketing awards I have won, too), according to Linkedin Endorsements. So you would think that companies would fall all over themselves to hire me to run their B2B sales lead generation programs. But they don't.
(Update: A West Coast software firm is extremely interested in me for a very important demand generation leadership role. Has my luck just changed?)
Is it because they don't trust LinkedIn endorsements? Is it because they see some other flaw in my background?
My personal theory is that recruiters are bombarded with applicants. So they're looking for any reason to eliminate candidates. So the default is to look for "flaws" either real or imagined, which would enable them to eliminate some candidates. For instance, if I lack experience in a particular software vertical, I am eliminated. If I live on the East Coast and the job is on the West Coast, I am eliminated.
Ironically, if I have a quality conversation with a hiring manager first, I'm almost never eliminated. The moral for me is this: Don't talk to recruiters - talk to hiring managers! I'm not certain this is the case, but it is my theory. And it was confirmed by Dan Green of VPofMarketing.com who said to me "Not only are you on the wrong coast, Jeff, but these companies want to hire people directly from their competitors." What Dan says is sad, but true. By the way, a rookie with zero major accounts experience grew GE by 224% in just 12 months. So does background really matter more than passion, drive and teamwork? In fact, I hired a man with the perfect experience, and he was a total bust. I've learned from hard experience that soft skills rule.
What do you think? Do Endorsements really matter to hiring managers, or are they looking for excuses to eliminate candidates? We love comments and those who share on social media.