LinkedIn has become effectively useless as an actual talent/hiring tool, at least in my area, though it remains a pretty decent contacts tool.
The recommendation system is just as fictitious as the endoresements: it has been my experience that many recommendations are quid pro quo and have no legitimacy. Many come in a circular fashion so when assessing talent you need to walk through each of the players trying to figure out what their real motivation was.
I've watched the sausage being made. I remember once when we had to choose a team member to punt at one shop I worked, and there was universal agreement on the target, the team long having grievances about their productivity, poor quality product, etc. The deed gets done, and over the next week I see a several of my peers, including his highly critical direct manager (who hands out absurd recommendations like candy), author lengthy, lauding recommendations for this person. They were trying to trade in a recommendation to assuage their guilt, or for future considerations in return. This seemed incredible to me because it should be professionally damaging to do something like that, but in the real world it simply isn't: There are no consequences or downsides to handing out ridiculous endorsements and fictional recommendations.
The recommendation system is just as fictitious as the endoresements: it has been my experience that many recommendations are quid pro quo and have no legitimacy. Many come in a circular fashion so when assessing talent you need to walk through each of the players trying to figure out what their real motivation was.
I've watched the sausage being made. I remember once when we had to choose a team member to punt at one shop I worked, and there was universal agreement on the target, the team long having grievances about their productivity, poor quality product, etc. The deed gets done, and over the next week I see a several of my peers, including his highly critical direct manager (who hands out absurd recommendations like candy), author lengthy, lauding recommendations for this person. They were trying to trade in a recommendation to assuage their guilt, or for future considerations in return. This seemed incredible to me because it should be professionally damaging to do something like that, but in the real world it simply isn't: There are no consequences or downsides to handing out ridiculous endorsements and fictional recommendations.