Is it worth paying for LinkedIn Premium?

Wondering whether it’s worth investing in LinkedIn Premium? Find out exactly what you get – and whether or not you should pay for it.

One question we’re asked in every LinkedIn workshop or webinar is “Is it worth paying for LinkedIn Premium?” And the answer, not very helpfully, is “Maybe!”

The following information should clarify this answer a little for you, and help you decide if it’s right for you right now.

What is LinkedIn Premium?

LinkedIn Premium is a tiered selection of services that start at US$30 a month and go up to US$120 a month. The membership option most appropriate to you would probably be a Premium job seeker account.

What do you get?

Before we look at what you get for Premium, this is what you can do with a free LinkedIn account:

  • Build your professional identity on the web.
  • Build and maintain a large trusted professional network
  • Find and reconnect with colleagues
  • Request and provide recommendations
  • Request up to five introductions at a time
  • Search for and view profiles of other LinkedIn members
  • Receive unlimited InMail messages
  • View 100 results per search
  • Save up to three searches and get weekly alerts on those searches

To compare, this is what you get with a Premium job seeker account:

  • A full 90-day list of viewers and insights like the keywords that led them to your profile
  • A How You Rank “Professionals Like You” tool to see how you compare with industry peers
  • Insights on how you compare to other job applicants with Applicant Insights
  • A standard listing in results when someone searches for you
  • Your job applications will appear above those of non-premium members
  • Keyword suggestions for the summary section of your profile
  • Eight extra filters to fine-tune and speed up your searches
  • Contact anyone via InMail (handy for interesting people who view your profile)

Is it right for you?

A better question than “Is it worth paying for LinkedIn Premium?” would be “Is LinkedIn Premium useful for ME?”

If you are an active user of LinkedIn and are proactively job hunting using all the tools available on a free account, and want to do more, then you may get value from LinkedIn Premium.

But if you are barely skimming the surface of the benefits of your free account, and are not actively using LinkedIn as a job search tool now, it’s probably not worth paying US$30 a month for more tools you won’t use!

Love to start using LinkedIn as a job search tool properly? We’ll show you how for just £49