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LinkedIn lets you stay in touch with professional connections and hunt for jobs. I recently tried out LinkedIn Premium after graduating, which offers extra features to help members during the job search. But I won’t be returning.
What Features Does LinkedIn Premium Offer?
LinkedIn Premium has multiple subscription tiers, ranging from $39.99 to $139.99 per month. The basic membership tier, Career, offers limited messaging with people you are not connected to, AI writing assistance, resume insights, the ability to see who has viewed your profile, as well as access to learning courses and interview prep materials.
Screenshot by Marissa Zupancic — no attribution
The higher tiers of membership focus more on people who are hiring or looking for sales connections, so these tiers do not relate to the vast majority of people using LinkedIn for job hunting and connections.
Reasons I Cancelled My LinkedIn Premium Subscription
I recently graduated from law school, so I’ve been looking for a full-time job. But ultimately, the features just weren’t the price.
Low Response Rates
Part of the graduate job search involves the game of networking. Some job postings on LinkedIn include the name and profile of the person who posted the job. This is a great way to connect with a potential hiring manager to move your resume up in the pile. However, I found that I often did not receive responses from people I messaged.
The Career subscription offers five InMails per month, which means you’re able to message five people you are not connected with. While I got some responses and a job lead, ultimately more than 50 messages went unanswered.
It’s just not worth it to pay for these messaging features after receiving such low response rates. With a free subscription, you’re able to add a note of up to 200 characters when sending an invitation. I’ve had luck using this free method to introduce myself and chat with people who work at companies I’m interested in or have knowledge of a particular field of interest.
Irrelevant Job Recommendations
Another feature LinkedIn Premium offers is a list of top job opportunities that match your profile and skills. More often than not, this feature showed me irrelevant job recommendations.
For example, even though I have a background in law, journalism, and policy, I was recommended jobs from grocery stores, car agencies, and fast food joints. While these jobs are great in a pinch, they do not relate to my prior experience or job goals. I had much better luck setting daily alerts for jobs with specific keywords.
If you’re looking for a new job, here are some tips forusing LinkedIn to research your next job. Additionally, we’ve compiled some ways toimprove your LinkedIn profile using AIto stand out for employers.
Unhelpful Candidate Comparisons
LinkedIn Premium also provides comparisons of your qualifications to other applicants for the job posting. Some breakdowns include the types of degrees applicants have, companies the poster typically hires from, and schools the company has hired from.
I’ve applied to more than 100 jobs over the past two months and received few responses, even from postings where LinkedIn said I was a top applicant.
The High Price
The lowest tier premium plan is a hefty $39.99 per month. For someone who is looking for a job or has been laid off, this cost is high. If people are using LinkedIn to look for a job after being laid off, why would they put precious resources towards a subscription without guaranteed results? Even for people who are employed, this can be too much, as well.
Ultimately, the high cost, unrelated job recommendations, and low response rates I experienced led me to cancel my premium subscription. The free version of LinkedIn works just fine for me.
