Do LinkedIn employees get LinkedIn premium?

LinkedIn is one of the world’s largest professional networking platforms, with over 900 million members globally. Given LinkedIn’s focus on professional networking and career development, many people wonder whether LinkedIn employees themselves get access to LinkedIn Premium, the paid subscription that unlocks additional features.

Background on LinkedIn Premium

LinkedIn Premium is a paid subscription service that provides members with additional features and benefits beyond the free basic LinkedIn membership. LinkedIn Premium costs $29.99 per month for basic access or $59.99 per month for Premium Career access as of October 2023.

Some of the key features unlocked with a LinkedIn Premium subscription include:

• Seeing who viewed your profile and ability to view expanded profiles of others
• Advanced search filters and options like searching by company, title, skills, etc.
• Unlimited InMail messages for directly contacting anyone on LinkedIn
• Premium profile badges to highlight top skills and endorsements
• Guidance on optimizing your profile to improve visibility
• Insights on how you rank for profile searches within LinkedIn
• Access to over 15,000 professional development courses through LinkedIn Learning

In summary, LinkedIn Premium provides greater visibility, access, and insights compared to the free basic account. But do LinkedIn’s own employees get access to these premium features?

Do All LinkedIn Employees Get Free Premium Access?

The short answer is no, not all LinkedIn employees automatically get free access to LinkedIn Premium.

While LinkedIn does not openly publish details on employee benefits, multiple current and former employees have indicated on Quora and Reddit that regular LinkedIn staffers do not get complimentary Premium access.

However, some employees in certain roles or at certain levels reportedly do get Premium access included as part of their benefits package. For example, sales and recruiting staff who need Premium tools to find contacts may receive a complimentary subscription.

But for most employees in roles like engineering, product development, marketing, and other non-sales functions, a free Premium membership is generally not provided by default.

Why LinkedIn Employees Don’t Get Automatic Premium Access

There are a few reasons why free Premium access is not universally offered to all LinkedIn workers:

• Significant cost – With over 15,000 employees globally, providing Premium to every staffer could cost LinkedIn millions per year.
• Wanting employees to use the free experience – To build empathy and familiarity with what most members experience, LinkedIn wants employees using the free version.
• Less need for some roles – Employees in non-customer-facing engineering and back office roles likely have less need for Premium tools.
• Offering Premium as a perk for some roles – Premium access is more valuable for sales, recruiting, and partnership roles who can benefit from the paid tools.

By only offering free Premium selectively and strategically as a perk, LinkedIn can reduce costs while still targeting the benefit at roles that need it most.

How Can Employees Get Premium Access?

If a LinkedIn employee wants to get access to Premium but it’s not included in their benefits package, they have a few options:

• Pay for Premium individually – Employees can subscribe to Premium just like any other user and pay the standard $29.99-$59.99 per month fee.
• Qualify for employee discounts – LinkedIn may offer special discounted Premium rates for employees who want personal subscriptions.
• Negotiate Premium as a job perk – For key roles where Premium would be beneficial, candidates may be able to negotiate Premium as part of their overall compensation when hiring on.

Additionally, some employees have reported getting one month of complimentary Premium access on request to test out the features, but ongoing unlimited access is not universally provided.

Do Ex-LinkedIn Employees Get Free Premium?

Once an employee leaves LinkedIn, any complimentary Premium access they may have received generally gets discontinued.

The exception would be if the former employee signed a separation or retirement agreement with LinkedIn that included ongoing Premium access as part of the deal. But this type of additional benefit would only be negotiated on a case-by-case basis for certain high-level executives or key employees.

For the majority of former LinkedIn staffers, their Premium membership ends along with their employment. Some may be eligible for a period of continuing coverage, similar to health insurance, but long-term free access does not continue.

Of course, former employees can still subscribe to Premium independently at normal price if they personally find value in the paid features. Many former staffers likely have extensive networks maintained on LinkedIn that make the platform worthwhile for them even without employer-provided Premium.

How Many LinkedIn Employees Have Premium Access?

LinkedIn does not share exact data on how many of its 15,000+ employees have free Premium access.

However, we can reasonably estimate that the percentage is likely under 50% of LinkedIn’s total staff. With sales, recruiting, executive, and some engineering roles potentially receiving Premium, under half of the company’s employees may get this perk based on comparable benefits at other large technology firms.

The percentage of LinkedIn staffers with Premium may vary by department, with customer-facing sales and talent acquisition teams likely having the highest concentration of Premium users. Support, marketing, and general corporate functions probably see lower rates of employer-provided Premium access.

Without official data from LinkedIn, it’s impossible to know exactly what percentage of the company’s workforce takes advantage of complimentary Premium. But for most employees outside of certain roles, LinkedIn Premium remains a paid benefit.

Does Microsoft Provide Free LinkedIn Premium?

Since Microsoft acquired LinkedIn for $26 billion in 2016, many people wonder if Microsoft employees also get complimentary access to LinkedIn Premium.

The answer appears to be no – Microsoft employees do not automatically get free LinkedIn Premium, though some may negotiate it as an individual perk. Microsoft does offer a wide range of employee benefits, but company-wide Premium access does not seem to be one of them.

Of course, Microsoft staffers can still purchase personal or family LinkedIn Premium plans at regular price if desired, taking advantage of consumer subscriptions. And executives likely have more ability to negotiate Premium as a benefit compared to entry-level hires.

But unlike full-time LinkedIn employees in customer-facing roles, most Microsoft staffers are likely not covered by a blanket policy of employer-provided Premium access. The two companies retain separate compensation structures and benefits packages.

Do Contractors Get LinkedIn Premium?

LinkedIn relies heavily on contractors and vendors for areas like sales, content development, and customer support. But these contract workers generally do not receive the same benefits as direct LinkedIn employees.

Multiple sources indicate that standard contractor agreements with LinkedIn do not include granting complimentary Premium access. Contractors essentially work as customers of LinkedIn rather than true employees.

That said, for certain high-dollar vendor contracts, Premium could potentially be negotiated as part of the deal, especially if the contracted work relies heavily on LinkedIn tools. But most run-of-the-mill contractors, freelancers, and temporary staffers are not eligible for Premium without purchasing it.

Access to Premium – as well as corporate email, health insurance, and other core benefits – remains reserved primarily for actual W-2 employees of LinkedIn rather than third-party contractors. Vendors may get some partial benefits like free Basic access but typically pay for Premium themselves.

Does LinkedIn Provide Premium to Influencers and Thought Leaders?

To encourage influential thought leaders, industry experts, and content creators to engage actively on the platform, LinkedIn does provide some complimentary Premium access.

For example, LinkedIn’s over 60 Influencers – prominent executives and thought leaders who publish regular content – typically receive Premium access based on their status. Well-known luminaries like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Arianna Huffington likely leverage Premium tools.

Beyond designated Influencers, LinkedIn may also grant free Premium subscriptions to high-profile professionals who can provide value to the community. Key speakers, best-selling authors, academics, and policy experts may be eligible for premium in exchange for engagement.

But for most everyday experts and professionals, Premium access is not offered for free simply for creating helpful posts or content. More significant thought leadership, executive experience, or media presence is generally required for LinkedIn to grant complimentary access.

Does LinkedIn Premium Actually Help Employees?

For LinkedIn workers in customer-facing, sales, and recruiting roles, access to Premium delivers clear benefits that can aid in their job performance:

• Finding new contacts and leads – Premium tools like advanced search, profile visibility, and InMail make connecting with prospects easier.
• Building relationships – Features like seeing profile viewers help Sales and Recruiting strengthen relationships.
• Conveying credibility – Premium badges help establish credibility with clients and candidates.
• Developing expertise – Premium Learning content enables employees to stay sharp.

For non-sales staffers, however, the benefits are less direct. While Premium provides helpful networking and profile-building features, more technical roles likely only see marginal improvements in day-to-day work.

So while Premium delivers clear ROI for Sales, HR, and Business Development employees, other functions derive less tangible upside. Free access privileges roles where Premium tangibly enables enhanced professional success.

LinkedIn Alternatives with Free Premium Features

For those unwilling to pay for a Premium subscription, some LinkedIn alternatives offer similar functionality 100% free:

While these sites have smaller membership bases, their free features mirror some core Premium capabilities on LinkedIn.

For casual users focused on networking and keeping up a professional profile, the free tiers of these alternatives may provide sufficient utility without any paid subscription. Of course, they lack the scale of LinkedIn’s nearly one billion members.

Conclusion

In summary, all LinkedIn employees do not automatically receive free Premium access. Complimentary Premium subscriptions are typically only offered as a work perk to staff in sales, recruiting, executive, or similar roles where the upgraded tools directly enable enhanced performance.

Most non-sales staffers at LinkedIn and parent company Microsoft pay for Premium individually if they see value in the advanced networking capabilities. While Premium delivers benefits for some functions, it does not provide universal across-the-board utility for all employees.

Ultimately, LinkedIn strategically deploys free Premium as a targeted incentive reserved for key hires and high-impact roles, rather than granting open access to all staff by default. This approach maximizes the value of Premium as an exclusive corporate perk.