As I continue efforts to help the massive number of federal workers that are being forced to consider new careers, I’ve participated in webinars and studied videos on the benefits of LinkedIn for career marketing campaigns.
The numbers are stunning. More than one billion profiles are on LinkedIn, 4.7 million jobs are posted there, and 86% of US companies recruit through LinkedIn and other social media. Some companies even recruit through LinkedIn only without posting jobs! These figures—which I believe to be credible—suggest that LinkedIn will be an essential career marketing tool for those transitioning from government jobs to roles in the broader economy
The reality is that an impactful career marketing campaign may cost money today. A goal of most marketing campaigns, including career marketing, is to earn money, so you will see a greater return on your investment, or ROI, when you invest in the project.
My experience and research indicates that jobseekers who can afford a small investment in their search should consider upgrading to a LinkedIn Career Premium account. With an upgraded LinkedIn account, among other things, jobseekers can:
- Send meaningful messages with connect requests,
- See profiles outside of your network,
- Find out who is viewing your profile,
- Get interview prep help, and
- Use LinkedIn Learning.
Amazingly, these are not all the benefits of investing in a LinkedIn Career Premium account. As an independent blogger and career management coach, I don’t encourage unemployed jobseekers to make investments in their search that they cannot afford. But, you should be aware of the online resources that can help. Here are more details.
Add messages to your connect requests.
Jobseekers, I believe, should use the “add a note” option when they send a connect request to another LinkedIn member. The problem, I’ve learned, is that jobseekers with a free account can only add a 200-word note to five connect requests each month!
It is valuable to let prospective connections know why you are asking them to join your network. For example, did you attend school with them? Did you work with them at a previous job? Or do you want to have a conversation with them because they work in a company or an industry where you want to work, too? So, free account limits could put a crimp in your networking and job search style.
Although there is still a limit on the number of connect requests you can issue each day, you will be able to add notes as long as 300 characters for each request. You will also avoid making meaningless connections when you think about the reason you are connecting, and take the time to write a note.
See profiles outside of your network.
An annoying thing happened when I cancelled my premium subscription—I could no longer view profiles outside of my own network. The message I received said something like “expand your network to see this profile.”
This could be an especially troublesome issue when you are changing industries or relocating. People you want to network with are less likely to be connected with someone in your current network. As a result, the free LinkedIn account may make it more challenging to contact industry insiders and prospective hiring managers you should be speaking with during your search.
A Career Premium Account did not blocked me from seeing any profile I wish to view.
Find out who is viewing your profile.
The Career Premium Account, I have found, allows you to see a year of data analytics related to your LinkedIn profile. This includes information about members that are looking at my profile and the content I post. It also includes members’ names unless their privacy settings prevent their names from being viewed.
It’s great for you to be aware of who is looking at your profile and posts so you know who may reach out. Your free account offers only a few days’ worth of information.
Marketing campaigns typically depend on a great deal of analytical data. A job search is a marketing campaign. So, if you feel empowered by a “heads up” about who may call you tomorrow, or you are accustomed to making decisions based on analytics, you will benefit from investing in a premium account on LinkedIn.
Get help preparing for job interviews.
A powerful premium feature that we tried out recently was interview prep. Interview prep tools are located under the “Jobs” tab. This function allows you to record answers to common questions, including specific questions related to common jobs and job functions. It offers AI-generated feedback on your responses, in addition to allowing you to play back your recordings.
Also, you can share your video responses with others in your network to get their feedback. Some interview coaches will critique responses at a nominal cost.
LinkedIn’s premium interview prep tools, then, offer you an interesting way to practice either on your own or with help.
Use LinkedIn learning.
Another premium benefit I have used is LinkedIn Learning, originally Lynda.com. The LinkedIn Learning platform offers many short business and technical courses that expose you to new skills and help add keywords to your LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn’s education and training resource, known as LinkedIn Learning may still be gaining credibility with employers. Certainly, the LinkedIn Learning class in blog writing that I attended online does not have the same value as a graduate program in digital marketing although it does add keywords that could cause my profile to appear in recruiter searches.
You may get additional interviews, and even land work faster, when you start learning new skills that add keywords to your profile and resume.
Concluding comments
Some downsized federal workers I have spoken with have created LinkedIn accounts although they have never needed LinkedIn before. That’s fantastic. But it is only a starting point because the free account now offers relatively few benefits. You’ll need to reach out into industries and functions where you have no connections, and then explain why you want to connect with people outside your current field. You will have to prepare for job interviews, and take some short courses that will help you add new and relevant keywords onto your profile.
The LinkedIn platform actually adds 21 new features to your account when you upgrade to Premium, so we’ve only discussed the tip of the iceberg. But, if you’ve been downsized unexpectedly with no severance, pension or savings, don’t hesitate to start with a free account.
The most important thing is to build a profile and be active!
Guide to the Post-pandemic Job Market
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