Recently, I have received a lot of questions from our Love Your Career Formula members about whether or not paying for LinkedIn premium is worth it. LinkedIn says that with a premium account, you are more likely to get noticed by potential employers, get connected with hiring managers and get ahead with premium insights including an inside scoop on how you compare with other candidates. Currently, it looks like you can get a free trial to test it out, and then after your first month free, it is $29.99/month.

Anna’s Take:

I have always said premium is not worth it. In my experience, you can do a lot of networking without premium. Since I am not a huge fan, I wanted to reach out to a recruiting expert to see if there was something I am missing.

Becky Carlson is The Job Search Success Coach who gives her clients the tools they need to get hired. She has 15 years of being a Corporate Recruiter and has interviewed thousands of candidates and really knows what it takes to get hired and negotiate the best salary.

Question: Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It and Will It Help Me Find a Job?

“The 2 main differences between a Free Account and a Premium Account, is that the Premium allows you to send LinkedIn InMails to people outside your network and you can see who has viewed your profile.

If you are trying to reach a Recruiter or a Hiring Manager within a company, the InMail feature is nice. However, you are not guaranteed that the person will accept the InMail. With a little research within LinkedIn you can usually figure out their email address, so you can email them directly or send a LinkedIn invitation. If you have someone in your network that is linked to a contact you want to reach, you can ask them to do an introduction through LinkedIn. I personally prioritize the introduction invites over the InMails.

The Premium account will also show you who has viewed your profile. However, there is a privacy setting that allows people to show up as an Anonymous LinkedIn Member when they view your profile. I have this feature set on my LinkedIn profile because I don’t want people to know that I have viewed their profile. Even if someone has a Premium account, they will not know if I have viewed their profile.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool to use in your job search. As a Recruiter, I am in it all day long looking for great candidates. Personally, I would save your money and spend time creating a great LinkedIn profile instead.”

What do you think? Have you tried LinkedIn premium? Did you think it was worth it?