Submitted by Fitch on
in
Forums
Hi guys,
A question. If someone sends you an invite on LinkedIn and you have worked with them and consider that they were just plain 'bad' at their job and if you added them and they endorsed you, you would think that others who knew them would see this as a 'bad' thing (as they know how they did at their jobs), should you add them?
I would find it difficult endorsing skills for them as I found them ineffective (I'm trying to be nice here - what I really mean to say is, they were inept and acting in a manner completely unsuitable for the industry I'm in).
Fitch.
Generally I would accept the invite.
It depends on the situation, but I would generally accept the invite. The person may change over time and in 5 or 10 years you might find them again. They may also have a connection you don't that would benefit you or that third party greatly at some point down the road. You can always just remove them from your network later if it looks like it's an issue. I also wouldn't worry about endorsements or any negative reflection on you for being associated with that person, as most people aren't going to notice that or place too much stock in it.
I certainly wouldn't write a recommendation or endorse them for any skills (I generally find the skills endorsement thing to be a bit useless anyway).
-
Jib
seconded
I would second Jib's advice.
John
thought on endorsements
I agree with Jib's advice, but one additional thing on endorsements. It is a stretch to think that an endorsement from this person would be a bad thing - after all, just because they are not good at their job does not mean they do not recognize when people are good. I'm a pretty horrible golfer, yet I can tell you that Phil Mickelson is a pretty good golfer by seeing his results and also in watching him do something that I attempt.
I would accept the
I would accept the connection as it may lead to other favorable connections down the road. As far as the endorsements, I'll accept an endorsement from this person even though I would not endorse them. Either way, you can always review the endorsement prior to it being posted to your profile, so you can always reject it if you find that it will negatively affect you.
Regarding the skills endorsements, I think they do add certain value, however I'm not sure how many people just arbitrarily click on those when they come up on the top of the page. I certainly do make sure I validate my endorsements prior to clicking on any skills. Not certain everybody does the same.