How to get 3 months free LinkedIn Premium?

LinkedIn Premium is LinkedIn’s paid subscription service that unlocks additional features beyond the free version, such as seeing who has viewed your profile, messaging recruiters directly, taking unlimited online courses, and more. Getting Premium for free can save you money while allowing you to better leverage LinkedIn for your career. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore multiple methods for getting 3 months of LinkedIn Premium at no cost.

Benefits of LinkedIn Premium

Before diving into how to get Premium for free, let’s first overview the key benefits of upgrading to LinkedIn Premium:

• See who’s viewed your profile – One of the most popular Premium features, this allows you to see names of members who have recently looked at your profile.
• InMail messages – Send direct messages to any LinkedIn member, even if you’re not connected. Great for reaching out to recruiters and potential contacts.
• Candidate insights – View detailed analytics on who’s looking at your profile and how you compare with other applicants.
• Unlimited article reads – Read unlimited articles published on LinkedIn without restriction.
• Online courses – Take LinkedIn Learning courses for free on topics like software, creative skills, business strategy, and more.
• Premium badge – Display a PremiumSubscriber badge on your profile to showcase your membership status.
• Expanded search filters – Unlock additional filters for searching profiles, such as years of experience, company size, and more.

These features can be extremely valuable for improving your LinkedIn presence and opportunities. Getting Premium for free unlocks all of these benefits without the monthly or yearly costs.

Method 1: Microsoft and LinkedIn Employee Perks

One of the best ways to get free LinkedIn Premium is through work benefits if your company provides it. Many leading employers offer Premium subscriptions to employees, including:

• Microsoft – All Microsoft employees worldwide automatically get Premium as a work perk.
• LinkedIn – LinkedIn employees also get free Premium access.
• IBM, SAP, Adobe, Dell, HP – These technology companies provide Premium to employees as an added benefit.
• Aon, Nokia, Quicken Loans – Examples outside of tech of major brands offering Premium.
• Consult your company’s HR department to see if they offer Premium. If so, activate it through their provided link or code.

So if you or a family member works for one of these companies, take advantage of this benefit to enjoy Premium’s features at no cost for the duration of your employment.

Method 2: LinkedIn Recruiter Trial Account

LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn’s enhanced recruitment platform for businesses hiring teams and staff. Part of the Recruiter package includes a 30 day free trial version.

When signing up for a Recruiter free trial, you get access to a special Recruiter account on LinkedIn.com that includes all the benefits of Premium for the 30 day period.

Here’s how to get a free Premium trial through LinkedIn Recruiter:

1. Go to the LinkedIn Talent Solutions page and click Start Free Trial.
2. Select the Recruiter package and fill out your information to setup an account.
3. Confirm your email and login to LinkedIn through the Recruiter portal while on the trial.
4. You will now have Premium features during the 30 day trial period.

The Recruiter trial gives you a full month to experience Premium at no cost. Take advantage of it to boost your profile and network!

Method 3: LinkedIn Premium Trial Through App Store Downloads

Another little known tactic for sampling Premium is through downloading LinkedIn’s mobile apps from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

Occasionally, LinkedIn will offer 1 month free trials of Premium when you install and sign into their iOS or Android apps for the first time.

Here are the steps to possibly unlock a free Premium trial this way:

1. Open the Apple App Store (for iPhones/iPads) or Google Play Store (for Android).
2. Search for “LinkedIn” and download the official LinkedIn app.
3. Login to the LinkedIn app with your account credentials.
4. If eligible, you will see a prompt offering 1 month of free Premium. Click to activate the trial.

This approach isn’t guaranteed to work every time, but is worth trying particularly if you’re installing LinkedIn’s mobile app for the first time. With some luck, you can score a free month of Premium via this mobile app strategy.

Method 4: Referral Links and Premium Trials

Current LinkedIn Premium subscribers can generate referral links that give 1 month free trials to new users who sign up.

If you know someone who has Premium, ask them to send you their subscriber referral link. When you join Premium through their link, you get your first month free while also giving them a month for free. It’s a mutual benefit!

Here’s how to get a subscriber referral link:

1. The Premium member clicks the “Me” icon at the top of LinkedIn and goes to Settings & Privacy.
2. On the Account tab, click Getting Started with Premium.
3. Scroll down and click Refer Premium. They can then share the referral link.

When you sign up through a member’s referral link, you should immediately get 1 month of Premium for free. Repeat with multiple member referrals to keep extending your free access!

Method 5: Premium Trials With New LinkedIn Accounts

An additional tactic you can try is signing up for a fresh LinkedIn account and attempting to activate a Premium trial through the registration flow.

Sometimes LinkedIn will offer 1 month free trials to new members who are going through the signup process.

Here are the steps to try this approach:

1. Create a new LinkedIn account with a separate email address than your current profile.
2. Go through the signup flow for the new account.
3. Near the end, LinkedIn may present an option for starting a 1 month free Premium trial. If so, agree to activate it.

This method isn’t foolproof, but on occasion may work for unlocking a quick free Premium trial. Since you can have multiple LinkedIn accounts, it’s worth testing out.

Method 6: Student Discounts and Free Trials

College students and recent grads can unlock free months of Premium through LinkedIn’s student offers.

If you’re currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a university or college, you may be eligible for special student deals like:

• 1 year free – Some students can get 12 months of Premium for free.
• Half off – 50% discount on Premium monthly/annual plans.
• 1 month free trial – Test Premium for a month at no cost.

To see if you qualify, head to the LinkedIn Premium student offers page. You’ll need to verify your student status through SheerID. If eligible, you can activate the student-exclusive Premium trial or discount.

Getting Premium for your entire first year out of college is an amazing deal for boosting your early career networking and opportunities.

Method 7: Scholarships and Nonprofit Discounts

If you’re associated with certain nonprofits or enrolled in an eligible scholarship program, you may qualify for free or discounted Premium access through LinkedIn.

For example, LinkedIn partners with:

• Year Up – Offers 1 year Premium for $29 to Year Up members pursuing careers.
• NPower – Discounted Premium for NPower nonprofit technology trainees.
• Scholly – 1 year of Premium for winners of the Scholly scholarship app.

Explore LinkedIn’s scholarship and nonprofit Premium offers to see if any are available to you or an organization you’re part of. Taking advantage of these deals can provide huge savings on Premium’s business development benefits.

Method 8: Group Admin Free Trials

As an admin of a LinkedIn group with at least 100 members, you can request a free month of Premium to try out its features.

Here are the steps:

1. Become an admin of a LinkedIn group and build its membership to 100+ participants.
2. Visit the LinkedIn Premium Group Admin page and click the Get Free Trial button.
3. Enter your group details to request 1 month of free Premium.

Managing a large LinkedIn group enables you to unlock this special Premium trial. Make the most of the month to evaluate Premium’s benefits for networking and recruiting group members.

Method 9: Premium Giveaways and Contests

LinkedIn occasionally offers free Premium as prizes for social media giveaways and contests.

For a chance to win, look out for Premium offers on:

• LinkedIn’s Facebook page – Likes contests that give Premium to winners.
• LinkedIn’s Twitter feed – Retweet contests for chances at Premium.
• LinkedIn Live videos – Prizes of Premium trials to live viewers.
• Marketing email lists – Opt-in for LinkedIn emails which sometimes contain Premium offers.

Entering these contests frequently can give you recurring chances at scoring months of free Premium. Turn on notifications from LinkedIn’s social accounts so you never miss a giveaway opportunity!

Method 10: Premium Events and Conference Offers

Attending relevant conferences, trade shows, or networking events may come with Premium trials as part of your registration.

Many professional conferences now partner with LinkedIn to offer event attendees access to Premium. For example:

• SHRM – The major HR conference gave months of Premium to all attendees.
• Adobe Summits – Digital marketing events where Premium is included.
• Salesforce Events – Such as Dreamforce, which have Premium prove-in perks.

Before your next industry conference, check the registration site or event app to see if they’ve partnered with LinkedIn for Premium offers. These events regularly hand out free monthlong trials to all guests.

Conclusion

In summary, here are 10 effective methods for getting 3 months free of LinkedIn Premium access:

1. Employee perks at companies like Microsoft, LinkedIn, etc.
2. LinkedIn Recruiter free trials.
3. App download offers.
4. Premium member referral links.
5. New account trials.
6. Student discounts and deals.
7. Nonprofit and scholarship offers.
8. LinkedIn group admin trials.
9. Social media giveaways and contests.
10. Premium conference, event, and trade show perks.

Leveraging one or a combination of these approaches can help you unlock months of Premium for free. This allows you to maximize LinkedIn for networking, recruiting, learning new skills, and advancing your career, without spending a dime!

Which approach works best depends on your specific situation. Try the options that align with your status as a student, nonprofit member, company employee, or LinkedIn power user. With persistence across the various methods, you can unlock 3 months of free access to take advantage of everything Premium has to offer.