The first professional social network, and remains one of the finest for job searching.
OUR OPINION
LinkedIn, as the largest professional social network, has a lot to offer, but you’ll need to pay to a premium account to get the most out of its platform when looking for a new job.
FOR
- The most effective professional social network
- Job postings and features abound.
- There are several articles and extras.
AGAINST
- The best features aren’t always free.
- Interface is perplexing.
LinkedIn is one of the most popular employment sites on the internet, and it’s been popular since its inception in 2003. It’s not your typical job board, though; it’s a social network dedicated to the workplace.
LinkedIn’s social foundations dictate that it rely on professional relationships and networking. While job ads play a part in that, it’s not the only thing you’ll discover here.
That’s not necessarily an issue. You can use LinkedIn to browse job listings, make an all-important connection with your new colleagues and research your prospective new place of work, and the site’s social features mean that you can write posts, upload articles and boost your personal profile at the same time – as well as interact with friends and colleagues.
Features
More than three-quarters of a billion individuals use LinkedIn, so there’s no shortage of professional connections on offer here — indeed, the site’s main feed looks like Facebook, with status updates, articles being shared, and tons of likes, comments, and emojis. That’s excellent, because the sheer amount of individuals and companies that use the site means that there are tons of job listings, too.
If you’re searching for employment on LinkedIn then the site offers great functionality. You may set up email notifications and filter job listings by all sorts of variables, from experience level and contract type to location, industry, firm, and income. You may also filter to only view jobs at firms where you’ve previously got contacts. There are more filters offered here than on plenty of other sites.
You may search available openings with drop down choices to sort by job type, distance, pay, experience level and more (Image credit: LinkedIn)
Job postings include all the information you’d expect, but because it’s LinkedIn you can also see if your contacts work there, if you’ve got common connections at the firm and how many people have applied for each position. Plenty of organizations also rely on LinkedIn’s Easy Apply option, which allows you to apply for a job with a couple of clicks.
Because LinkedIn is a social network, it means your profile also works as your CV. That’s an effective way of applying for employment quickly, and it also means that prospective colleagues, connections and employers can see your abilities and expertise.
LinkedIn provides tons of helpful services beyond its job listings. There are organizations, events, skills assessment tests, interview preparation aid and a CV builder. The plethora of functionality means LinkedIn may act as a one-stop-shop for professional reasons, but the outmoded layout is too crowded, so this isn’t the easiest site to use, especially for newbies.
Plans and pricing
LinkedIn is free to use, however a free account does have a restricted range of capabilities. You may expand your network of friends and coworkers, seek and make suggestions, check other people’s profiles and receive messages. You may apply for jobs using LinkedIn’s free tier, too.
For work-based social networking and basic job applications, that’s acceptable. But if you want to get the most out of LinkedIn, you’d be better off subscribing for one of the premium choices.
Although you may locate and apply for jobs for free on LinkedIn, subscribing to a premium account can greatly boost your prospects .
The most inexpensive LinkedIn upgrade is Premium Career, and it costs $29.99. That offers you access to further insights on job ads. They’re superb: you can check pay information, firm recruiting patterns, where other applicants reside and their degrees of education and experience. If you want a leg-up on other applications, that’s essential information. Elsewhere, the Premium Career option offers unrestricted access to LinkedIn Learning, and you can browse anonymously, message other individuals and see who’s visited your profile. You may also become a Featured Applicant, which means recruiters will notice your boosted application.
If you choose to pay for the Premium Business package, you receive those advantages alongside limitless browsing and more insights. There are further tiers for recruiters, sales professionals, and instructors, and they provide tools like advanced searches, candidate monitoring and more.
LinkedIn is not inexpensive, but the premium choices do give tons of added capability. A free trial of Premium Career is also available if you’d like to give it a shot before you commit.
Final verdict
The gap between LinkedIn’s free and premium experiences are huge, and it nearly makes the site feel like two separate products.
LinkedIn’s free offering is a terrific choice for basic professional networking and applying for jobs, but it’s not the greatest way to get the most out of the site. Unfortunately, if you want to make the most out of job-seeking here, you’ll have to pay for LinkedIn Premium Career.
LinkedIn might not be the easiest site to browse and you’ve had to pay to get the most out of it, but its sheer size and variety of features mean that it’s a necessary addition for anyone who’s serious about their job hunt.
