If you’re reading this, you probably understand the value of LinkedIn and are thinking about whether its premium features are worth considering for sales, recruitment, or job searching. The simple answer is YES. LinkedIn Premium offers more than just an extra subscription; it’s a worthwhile investment.
With over 750 million users worldwide, LinkedIn stands out as the top platform for professional networking, job hunting, and career advancement. LinkedIn Premium provides additional features that can significantly enhance your professional journey. This article will discuss the costs and benefits of LinkedIn Premium to help you decide which plan best fits your needs.
What is LinkedIn Premium?
LinkedIn Premium is a paid service that offers extra features not available in the free LinkedIn account. These features are designed to help you connect with others, learn new skills, and advance in your career.
LinkedIn has four types of accounts:
- LinkedIn Free Account: This basic option lets you create a profile and do some basic networking.
- LinkedIn Premium: Ideal for those looking to network or find a job, it provides extra tools like InMails, more profile views, and access to LinkedIn Learning.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Best for sales professionals, this option includes advanced tools for finding leads, better search filters, and integration with CRM systems.
- LinkedIn Recruiter: Designed for recruiters, it offers powerful search features and tools to manage candidates.
You can upgrade to LinkedIn Premium anytime by clicking on your profile picture and selecting ‘Try Premium for $0.’ You’ll get a free month to try out all the Premium features and see which option suits your needs.
LinkedIn Premium Costs
The cost of LinkedIn Premium depends on the plan you select. Here’s a breakdown of the pricing as of 2024:
1. LinkedIn Premium Career: $39.99 per month
2. LinkedIn Premium Business: $59.99 per month
3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Ideal for lead generation and sales, with three tiers:
- Sales Navigator Professional: $99.99 per month
- Sales Navigator Team: $149.99 per month
- Sales Navigator Enterprise: Custom Pricing
4. LinkedIn Recruiter: Designed for finding the perfect candidates, available in two tiers:
- Recruiter Lite: $2,399 per year
- Recruiter: $8,999+ per year
These prices reflect the different features and benefits each plan offers, catering to job seekers, business professionals, salespeople, and recruiters. LinkedIn often provides a free trial period for these Premium plans, so you can try out the features before you decide to subscribe. While the costs can be significant, the tools and resources available with LinkedIn Premium can greatly enhance your professional networking and success.
Benefits of LinkedIn Premium
All LinkedIn Premium subscriptions come with certain features. Knowing what these benefits are and how they can help you is important.
Here are the benefits of LinkedIn Premium available with every premium plan:
1. InMails
InMail messages are a special feature available with LinkedIn Premium subscriptions. They allow you to send messages directly to people who aren’t in your network, something that’s not possible with the free version where you can only message your connections.
Depending on the plan you choose, the number of InMails you can send each month varies:
- 5 InMails with LinkedIn Premium Career
- 15 InMails with LinkedIn Premium Business
- 30 InMails with Recruiter Lite
- 50 InMails with Sales Navigator
- 150 InMails with LinkedIn Recruiter
This feature is especially handy for reaching out to recruiters, potential clients, or business partners. However, keep a few things in mind:
- For Job Seekers: InMails can be helpful, but sometimes it’s better to focus on networking within your existing connections or applying for jobs directly.
- Unlimited InMails: Plans like Sales Navigator and Recruiter offer options to send unlimited InMails with tools that track how recipients interact with your messages and help with follow-ups.
InMail messages are a great way to grow your network and explore new opportunities, particularly if you’re involved in sales or recruitment.
2. Who’s Viewed Your Profile
If you have a LinkedIn Premium subscription, you can use the “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” feature. This tool lets you see everyone who has looked at your profile in the past 90 days. It’s handy for finding out who’s interested in you, whether they’re recruiters, potential clients, or job seekers.
Knowing who’s viewed your profile can help you make more targeted connections. For example, if a recruiter has visited your profile, you might want to reach out to them directly. Similarly, if you’re in sales, you can spot potential leads who have shown interest in your background.
In short, this feature is a useful way to boost your networking and career opportunities.
3. LinkedIn Learning
One of the standout benefits of LinkedIn Premium is access to LinkedIn Learning, a platform offering a wide range of educational courses. These courses include:
- Job Search Strategies: Guidance on finding your ideal job, crafting your resume, and preparing for interviews.
- Sales Enhancement: Methods for improving sales techniques and managing customer relationships.
- Recruitment Process: Tips for making the hiring process more efficient and effective.
- Social Media for Business: Strategies for using social media to market your business and build your brand.
- Marketing: Insights into digital marketing, content creation, and how to analyze marketing efforts.
LinkedIn Learning is well-regarded, with a rating of 4.4 out of 5 on G2. It’s an excellent resource for those looking to advance their careers, whether you’re searching for a new job, looking to boost your sales skills, or refining your recruitment strategies.
4. Unlimited Searches
With a basic LinkedIn account, you’re limited to about 300 searches per month. If you exceed this number, you’ll hit a “commercial use limit,” which temporarily blocks further searches.
By upgrading to a Premium Business, Sales Navigator, or Recruiter license, you can remove this restriction and enjoy unlimited searches. This is especially important for recruiters and sales professionals who need broad access to profiles. However, the LinkedIn Premium Career plan does not provide unlimited searches.
Having unlimited searches allows you to fully explore LinkedIn’s extensive network without interruptions, ensuring you don’t miss any valuable connections or opportunities.
5. Open Profile Option
LinkedIn Premium users can activate the Open Profile option, allowing anyone on LinkedIn to send them free InMails. This feature is particularly beneficial for:
- Freelancers: Potential clients outside your network can contact you directly, increasing project opportunities.
- Consultants: New business prospects can reach out without connection barriers, leading to more consulting gigs.
- Job Seekers: Recruiters and hiring managers can send direct messages, opening doors to new job opportunities.
By turning on Open Profile, you can significantly expand your reach and connect with more prospects, clients, or recruiters effortlessly.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It for Job Seekers?
If you’re looking for a job, LinkedIn Premium Career is often a great option and gives you good value for your money. However, LinkedIn Premium Business might not be as beneficial for job seekers. Here’s why LinkedIn Premium Career could be a good choice for you:
- Stand Out to Recruiters: With LinkedIn Premium, your job applications are placed at the top of recruiters’ lists. This makes it more likely that hiring managers will see your application and invite you for interviews. This feature is especially important for job seekers.
- Compare Your Skills: LinkedIn Premium lets you compare your skills and qualifications with other candidates. This helps you understand where you stand in the job market and find ways to improve your profile to attract employers.
- Salary Information: LinkedIn Premium gives you information on jobs that match your salary expectations. This helps you apply for jobs that fit your financial goals and focus on the best opportunities.
- Boost Your Credibility: Having the LinkedIn Premium badge on your profile shows employers that you’re serious about your job search. This extra credibility can make you appear more dedicated and professional.
- InMails: Premium members can send InMails to recruiters directly on LinkedIn. This can be useful for making connections and reaching out to recruiters. However, you can also find recruiters’ emails and contact them directly, which can sometimes be just as effective, especially if you’re contacting many recruiters.
In summary
LinkedIn Premium Career offers valuable tools for job seekers, making it a worthwhile investment. It can help you increase your visibility to recruiters, improve your profile, and apply for jobs that meet your career and salary expectations.
If you’re reaching out to a large number of recruiters each week, the Premium Business plan might be better because it offers more InMail credits and unlimited search capabilities. For even more advanced networking, Sales Navigator Core might be a better option, providing tools to build extensive lists of recruiters and network more effectively.
Overall, LinkedIn Premium Career provides many essential benefits for job searching, making it a good choice for many people looking for new opportunities.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It for Sales?
LinkedIn Premium can be very helpful for sales professionals, especially if you choose the Sales Navigator plan. This plan is specifically made to improve how you find and connect with potential clients. Here’s why Sales Navigator is a top choice for those in sales.
Sales Navigator: A Key Tool for Sales Professionals
While LinkedIn Premium has many features, Sales Navigator offers even more benefits at a higher price of $99 per month:
- Unlimited Searches: Unlike a basic LinkedIn account, Sales Navigator lets you search without limits, so you can always find new leads.
- 40+ Advanced Search Filters: You can use over 40 filters to find the most relevant leads, making sure you’re targeting the right people.
- 50 InMail Credits per Month: Sales Navigator provides 50 direct messages each month, letting you contact potential clients directly, bypassing gatekeepers.
- Advanced Boolean Search Queries: You can use complex search terms to get precise results, helping you find exactly the leads you need.
- Saved Searches to Automate Lead Generation: Save your search criteria to automatically generate new leads in the future, saving you time.
- Custom Alerts on Leads and Account Activities: Get notifications about specific actions from leads or accounts, so you can engage at the right time.
- Advanced Insights on Accounts: Access detailed information on user accounts to better tailor your sales approach.
- Export Leads with Verified Emails: Download lists of leads with confirmed email addresses to ensure you’re reaching valid prospects.
- All the Benefits of LinkedIn Premium: Besides the features of Sales Navigator, you also get all the benefits of LinkedIn Premium, like LinkedIn Learning and seeing who’s viewed your profile.
Automate Your Outreach
With Sales Navigator, you can export leads to a spreadsheet with verified work email addresses. This helps you automate your outreach, making sure you connect with all prospects, whether they accepted your connection request or not. Cold emailing remains a highly effective method for increasing revenue, with an impressive average return of $38 for every $1 spent, leading to a remarkable 3,800% return on investment.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It for Recruiters?
If you’re a recruiter, LinkedIn Premium can be very helpful, especially the Recruiter Lite plan. However, you should explore all the options to get the most value for your money. LinkedIn has several premium plans for recruiters, each with its own features. Here’s a look at what each plan offers to help you decide which one suits your needs best.
LinkedIn Recruiter Lite
LinkedIn Recruiter Lite is great for individual recruiters or small teams. It provides:
- 30 InMail Credits: Allows you to send direct messages to potential candidates.
- Advanced Search Filters: Helps you find the right candidates more easily.
- Recruiting CRM: A tool to manage candidate relationships and track activities.
- Candidate Recommendations: Suggests candidates based on job descriptions and search criteria.
- Automated Sourcing: Uses algorithms to find suitable candidates.
- Analytics: Provides insights into your recruitment activities and candidate engagement.
At $119.99 per month, Recruiter Lite offers a solid set of tools for connecting with top talent. If you need more advanced features, you might find Sales Navigator to be a better option.
Sales Navigator
It costs $99 per month and has some features that might be useful for recruiters:
- 50 InMail Credits: More credits than Recruiter Lite for reaching out to candidates.
- More Search Filters: 40 filters for refining searches, compared to 20 in Recruiter Lite.
- Lead Extraction: Ability to extract leads with verified emails and data using tools like Prospeo.
- Affordability: Provides more features at a lower cost compared to Recruiter Lite.
Sales Navigator’s extra features and filters make it a flexible tool for recruiters who also need to find potential customers or business partners.
LinkedIn Recruiter
For larger recruitment firms, LinkedIn Recruiter is a powerful option at $1,080 per month. It offers:
- 150 InMail Credits: Much more than Recruiter Lite, allowing for broader outreach.
- Advanced Search Filters: Includes unique filters like spoken language, recruiting activity, openness to contract work, and skill assessments.
- ATS Integration: Integrates with your existing Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for smoother candidate management.
- Enhanced Analytics: Offers detailed insights into recruitment metrics and candidate engagement.
LinkedIn Recruiter is ideal for large organizations, providing advanced tools to improve the recruitment process. It includes filters like spoken language to find candidates with specific language skills, which is important for roles requiring certain language proficiencies. The recruiting activity filter helps target candidates who are actively engaging with recruitment efforts.
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