LinkedIn’s plan offerings have grown in the past few years. Today users can choose between the free version as well as several paid versions.
Which makes the most sense will depend on individual needs, goals and career aspirations.
Below is an overview of the LinkedIn Basic (free), LinkedIn Premium (fee) and the Job Seeker Premium (fee) – review and decide which one works best!
BASIC or FREE ACCOUNT:
A Basic account is for anyone who wants to create and maintain a professional profile online.
With this account, you can create a complete profile, build and reconnect with a professional network, search and view profiles and give and get online recommendations.
The free account limits the details you can see about second-degree connections as well as who has reviewed your profile.
Without paying a fee, you are also restricted to just five introductions you may request at one time, and with regards to the use of InMail, LinkedIn’s messaging function.
Today, the free version allows for only receiving, and not sending, InMail messages.
The free version generously allows up to 100 profile reviews during a search and allots three saved search alerts where you receive notification when new profiles fit pre-determined criteria.
Lastly, the free account does not allow the option of having an “Open Profile” where anyone can view your full profile and message you free of charge.
The Bottom Line: A free account is great if you don’t anticipate conducting virtual “cold calls” using InMail, if you are satisfied with the size of your network, don’t require many introductions and are not interested in drilling down to get details of who is viewing your profile.
PREMIUM ACCOUNTS:
LinkedIn offers three types of Premium accounts, Business, Business Plus and Executive. Paid accounts can be tested on a trial basis.
The monthly fee for premium accounts varies, and is more cost-effective if you commit to an annual versus a monthly plan. As of November 2015, the Executive Premium account is the most costly at $74.99 when billed annually.
Note that you’ll have to provide a credit card number to take advantage of the free trial, and you have seven days before the auto-renewal period to cancel.
In a nutshell, the three accounts vary with regards to how much Visibility, Reach and Search functionality offered.
Visibility: Only the Executive Premium Account allows you to view full name of third-degree and group connections. The others offer only full views (versus the Free version’s limited views) of second-degree connections.
Reach: The number of InMails you can send ranges from five to 25 and number of Introductions you can request rises exponentially from 15 to 35 depending on the level of your Premium account.
All three Premium versions allow for the “Open Profile” selection, which as stated above, allows anyone to view your entire profile.
Search:
The Search scope increases dramatically when you commit to the paid accounts – with the Executive Premium account offering the max number of 10 searches, the ability to review up to 700 profiles per search, and up to 10 search alerts daily.
Bottom Line: Some level of Premium is worthwhile if you need to conduct multiple searches, reach out to multiple people, and have a vested interested in knowing who has reviewed your profile.
The level of the Premium account will depend on the size of the career search net you wish to cast.
JOB SEEKER PREMIUM:
Job Seeker Premium costs the same as the LinkedIn Premium Business Plus account at $54.99/monthly when billed annually.
This plan offers five Inmails, the same as the LinkedIn Premium Business plan.
When you apply for roles on LinkedIn, this plan allows you to see how you stack against other candidates and provides job salary details.
Additionally, when you pay for the Job Seeker account your profile gets denoted with an icon badge and your resume appears above non-Job Seeker Premium applicants.
Bottom Line: A viable option if your job search strategy includes frequent applications to roles listed on LinkedIn.