A few years ago, I had a LinkedIn premium business account for Resumes that Shine. Then, I decided it would be more helpful if I saw what jobseekers were seeing on LinkedIn, so I downgraded to a basic free LinkedIn account. It did not work for me. As a result, I wondered whether the free account did enough for jobseekers.
My experience and research suggests that jobseekers who can afford a small investment in their search should consider upgrading. With an upgraded account, among other things, you can:
- Send 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. So, here are more details.
Add messages to your connect requests.
Routinely, I recommend that jobseekers 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 want to connect with them. 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, this limitation 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.
My current Career Premium Account has 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 me to see a year of data analytics related to my 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 will give you only a few days’ worth of information.
Marketing campaigns typically depend on a great deal of analytical data, and today’s job search is essentially 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 probably benefit from investing in a premium account on LinkedIn.
Get help preparing for job interviews.
A powerful premium feature that we learned about last year 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 some AI-generated feedback on your responses, in addition to allowing you to play back your recordings.
Additionally, you can share your video responses with others in your network to get their feedback. Some interview coaches will even critique a certain number of 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.
An expert told me last week that LinkedIn Learning is still “gaining credibility.” 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 certain 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
A LinkedIn premium account is worth considering, even on a limited job search budget. Lynne Williams, Executive Director at Great Careers Groups told me “If you have savings and can comfortably pay your bills and $29.99 per month for the basic job seekers premium package, you might want to try it for a couple of months to test the waters. You don’t know what you don’t know if you don’t try it.” As you use LinkedIn to advance your career marketing campaign, you will find that it grows and changes like a living thing. Look through the menus periodically to see what has changed. And, let your network know when you see something has changed. This will help demonstrate that you care about helping others become successful—an important leadership skill!
Guide to the Post-pandemic Job Market
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.