Sorry it has been a bit since I've posted. I've been super busy with work, searching for a new job, and interviewing. That has taken up most of my free time over the past few weeks. But all of that hard work finally paid off because I got a job offer! I attribute LinkedIn for at least part of the reason why I was able to find my new job.
LinkedIn is constantly pestering its users to upgrade to LinkedIn Premium. It's $30 per month, so not a cheap service to sign up for. But I think it comes with some really great features, especially if you're job hunting. I'm frequently tagged by friends in that meme that says "Tag someone that looks like they know their way around LinkedIn." I probably know more than the average person, but I'm nowhere near an expert. But I'll share a few of the Premium features that I did find useful. (And sorry in advance for the lack of photos. The only relevant photos I could think of would be me sitting at my desk.)
1. Jobs Where You're a Top Applicant
This was my favorite feature of LinkedIn Premium. One of the most important things you can do before job hunting is making sure your profile is up-to-date. I did a lot of research to find out what makes profiles stand out most to recruiters. Things like adding skills to your profile and profile header, and adding a really strong description in your "About" section. It's also important to upload your resume to your profile under the "Job" settings.
After your profile is updated you can create job alerts based on companies, job titles, locations, pay, etc. LinkedIn then uses all of this information to create tailored job recommendations for you daily. It looks at the skills listed on the job posting and compares them with skills that you have added to your profile.
This is where I found the job that I applied for! It was a job that LinkedIn Premium recommended for me. It then gave additional insights, like how many people had applied, where they were located, and their educational level.
2. Who's Viewed Your Profile
This feature is also joked about frequently on Tik-Tok and Instagram. Without Premium you get very unhelpful notifications from LinkedIn that just say "someone has viewed your profile" or "you're getting noticed." But if you have LinkedIn Premium those notifications become more helpful (sometimes).
With Premium it will actually tell you who has looked at your profile. From there you can click on their profile and learn more about the people and companies that are viewing your profile. However, there are still times when it will not tell you who has looked at your profile. For example, if a recruiter looks at your profile it will just say "A recruiter has viewed your profile."
The other feature I like in this section is that it shows you a graph of how many people are looking at your profile over time. So you can see if your profile is trending in the right or wrong direction. I found that if your profile is trending down in search results and views, simply spending a few more minutes every day viewing and applying to jobs shows LinkedIn that you are actively job searching, and the engagement on your profile starts to go back up. (Maybe that's not true, but it seemed to work for me every time.)
3. InMail Credits
The third Premium feature that I found useful was InMail credits. LinkedIn has a very strange messaging platform. You can only message some people. And if I'm being honest, I don't exactly know the formula for who you can and cannot message with the free LinkedIn profile. But with Premium you get several messaging credits each month which allows you to send messages to other people, even if you are not connected to them.
I used this a few times after applying for a job. Some job descriptions will list out who the hiring manager is. And after applying for a job I would find the hiring manager's profile on LinkedIn and send them a direct message through InMail. The purpose of this message was to try and stand out among other applicants by letting them know I had applied for the job and was looking forward to talking to them. And it worked. With all of the InMail messages I sent, I always got at least a follow-up conversation with those people to learn more about the job and share my qualifications.
Summary
So is LinkedIn Premium worth it? If you're looking for a new job or looking to greatly expand your network, then the answer is definitely 'yes.' But if you are not planning to spend a lot of time on LinkedIn trying to make new connections, LinkedIn Premium is probably not right for you. At $30 a month you could probably find better uses for your money.
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