Because it helps you get a better job by verifying your skills and achievements. Hiring managers love WorkScore because it gives them information that they cannot get any other way. References love WorkScore because it is very easy to use. Job applicants love WorkScore because...

OK, most of us don't actually love our WorkScores, just like we don't love our credit score or our SAT score. But they help us get a loan or go to college, so we get them.

WorkScores are easy to get. You have a lot of input into the content of your WorkScore and you have complete control over who sees it. Plus, WorkScore is still new. If you offer a hiring manager a WorkScore that they are not expecting, you become a very tough candidate to beat.

You do three things. First, list five references -- more is better. Second, list five achievements that your references know about. Again, the more the better. Third, upload documents or links that illustrate your work or your performance. Ten is the limit.

As your references review your skills and verify your achievements, you will get emails letting you know about their progress and asking you to confirm their ratings. You can see the progress on the My References page.

Before you can share your WorkScore it must be 100% complete. Each skill review earns 10% and each thanks, recommendation, or verified achievement earns 5% to a maximum of 30%, so you need a minimum of seven confirmed skill reviews for a complete WorkScore. Listing at least five references makes this pretty easy, since we encourage your references to add additional references.

Once your WorkScore is complete, just go to Shared WorkScores and enter the email address of any person you wish to give access to your WorkScore. You can also determine the duration of their access.

Before you receive a Skill Profile, at least three people need to describe your skills and you need to confirm them. List at least five references and this usually happens quickly.

It is just weighted averages -- and you assign the weights. We give more weight to reviews from people you tell us know your work better or are more objective.

First, list several references who know your work. We invite your references to describe your skills and contributions. Having more people contribute to your WorkScore improves its accuracy so long as they know your work. Second, personalize your profile with a photo and your title. It humanizes you and seems to prompt people to think broadly about what you've done and what you're good at.

Third, work on making your high scores higher. Nobody earns a high Skill Profiles across the board. If you're a strong communicator but weak analytically, you're more likely to become a brilliant communicator than a good analyst. Invest accordingly.

Finally, use WorkScore with your manager or mentor. Pick one or two specific areas to improve your skills over the next quarter. “I want to deliver crisp presentations using fewer words on each page” is a lot better than “I want to improve my communications skills.” Share your WorkScore with your manager if they will it to plan new opportunities with you. Nothing improves your skills and your WorkScore faster than a manager who is committed to your growth.

You cannot edit recommendations; you can only delete them. If the mistake is material, ask your reference to resubmit the recommendation. Their new recommendation will overwrite their old one.

You have a track record -- it's time to actually record it. Think about the achievements you might list on your resume. These achievements should be specific and the results quantified where possible. Employers value this, so it is worth defining your achievements carefully.

List accomplishments that you personally contributed to. Your references will rate the extent of your personal contribution to each achievement. References can also add achievements on your behalf. If you think any achievement is inaccurate, you can simply delete it.

Writing specific achievements can take practice. For some ideas, see these examples here.

It is up to you. The answer will be different for a research scientist, than for a computer programmer or a sales expert. Use documents to show your work and to share confidential assessments of your work. Professional documents (with confidential information redacted), computer models, videos of presentations, power point documents, links to your blog, articles that mention your work in the trade press, performance reviews, 360 degree feedback -- anything that gives a potential employer a better picture of who you are and what you are good at.

Not unless you want them to. We don’t use any ratings of your skills until you tell us how much emphasis the reviewer should have. You tell us how well a co-worker knows your work and how fair-minded they are and we weight their descriptions accordingly. You can also remove any review or recommendations from them that are inaccurate or simply not helpful.

If we recalculated your Skill Profile every time someone rated your skills, the change in your score would reveal too much about a rating that we promised to keep confidential. For that reason, we update your WorkScore only after you have confirmed at least two new reviewers.