Having a premium LinkedIn account unlocks a wide range of useful features and benefits that can help take your career to the next level. With LinkedIn Premium, you get access to powerful tools for finding jobs, building connections, learning new skills, and gaining visibility as a professional.
Expanded search options
One of the biggest perks of upgrading to a premium LinkedIn account is getting expanded search capabilities. This allows you to find exactly the types of jobs, companies, connections, and groups that align with your professional goals and interests.
Some of the enhanced search features include:
- Filtering and sorting job listings by date posted, salary, location, company size, and more
- Saving customized searches to be notified when new relevant jobs open up
- Unlocking advanced filters to zero in on the perfect connections such as location, industry, job function, skills, employer, and more
- Seeing the full list of people who have viewed your profile
Having more refined search options enables you to quickly find the best opportunities and connections to move your career forward.
InMail messages
Premium users get access to InMail messages which allow you to directly contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. This is great for reaching recruiters, hiring managers, potential collaborators, and other influential professionals.
Here are some ways InMail can benefit your career:
- Directly contact recruiters about open roles and opportunities at their company
- Follow up with hiring managers after applying to a job to express interest
- Reach out to subject matter experts in your industry to build relationships
- Connect with influential professionals who can offer career advice or mentoring
Having InMail allows you to expand your network and open the door to new opportunities that may not have been accessible previously.
Who’s viewed your profile
LinkedIn Premium lets you see the full list of everyone who has viewed your profile recently. This gives valuable insight into who is looking at your profile which can help focus your networking and career search efforts.
Here are some ways the “who’s viewed your profile” feature can help:
- Discover recruiters and hiring managers from companies you want to work for that are looking at your profile
- Identify key decision makers and influencers viewing your profile who you may want to connect with
- See which connections, colleagues, and former coworkers have been checking you out
- Gauge interest from prospective employers and adjust your networking approach accordingly
The profile viewer list provides visibility into who is looking at your professional presence on LinkedIn so you can focus your efforts on the right people and opportunities.
Larger profile photo
With a premium account, you can upload a larger profile photo to make a bold first impression. The expanded photo size helps ensure your profile picture looks crisp and professional.
Displaying a high-quality headshot or professional photo as your profile image can help:
- Showcase your professional brand and personality
- Establish credibility and trustworthiness
- Make your profile stand out more in search results
- Align with the photo dimensions used in modern design
- Look sharp and approachable when connecting with new people
The bigger profile photo that comes with a premium account helps your image make a strong visual impact on your profile.
Profile highlight
Premium members can pin a customizable “profile highlight” section to the top of their LinkedIn profile. This spotlight space allows you to feature your best content, accomplishments, certifications, featured skills, and more in an eye-catching way.
Having a profile highlight section can help you:
- Draw immediate attention to your biggest achievements or career highlights
- Showcase your top skills, credentials, publications, volunteer work, awards, and other points of pride
- Establish credibility by featuring certifications and testimonials
- Further customize the first impression your profile makes on visitors
The profile highlight available with LinkedIn Premium provides valuable real estate to control what visitors see first when viewing your profile.
Learning tools
LinkedIn Learning comes bundled with all premium subscriptions, providing unlimited access to 16,000+ expertly curated online courses. You can use LinkedIn Learning to gain new hard skills, soft skills, and stay on top of the latest trends and software tools related to your field and career interests.
Some examples of how the learning content can benefit your career development:
- Master new technical skills like programming languages, software, tools
- Build soft skills like leadership, communication, team management
- Stay up-to-date on the latest techniques and best practices in your industry
- Prepare for certification exams to earn credentials
- Watch microlearning videos on targeted professional topics
- Absorb career development advice from industry experts
Ongoing learning is critical for professional advancement and earning your next opportunity. LinkedIn Premium supplies endless online courses to support lifelong learning relevant to your career.
Salary insights
The premium version of LinkedIn provides valuable salary data to help you negotiate your earning potential. You can access real salary ranges for specific job titles at individual companies to benchmark pay rates.
Having access to salary insights empowers you to:
- Research and compare compensation for roles you are interested in
- Have informed salary expectations when applying or interviewing
- Negotiate pay that aligns with your skills, experience and market rates
- Decide if the offered salary for a position is competitive
- Understand your earning potential when considering career moves and promotions
Knowing typical salary ranges will enable you to negotiate pay fairly and confidently throughout your career and avoid leaving money on the table.
Profile demographics
Premium members gain access to expanded profile demographics and analytics. This gives you insight into who is engaging with your profile the most such as their industry, location, job function, company size, and more.
Having access to profile demographics can support your career by:
- Seeing what types of professionals and organizations are most interested in you
- Focusing your networking outreach and job applications accordingly
- Tailoring your profile details and messaging for your target audience
- Identifying gaps or weak points in your profile’s appeal
- Gauging the level of interest from your dream companies
The demographics information provides actionable data to optimize your LinkedIn presence and connect with the right people and opportunities.
Unlimited profile recommendations
Standard LinkedIn accounts can only display 3 recommendations. With premium, you can unlock unlimited recommendations on your profile from colleagues, managers, and clients.
Displaying an extensive list of recommendations can offer tremendous value such as:
- Building social proof of your skills, work ethic, and professionalism
- Showcasing your value through personalized stories and anecdotes
- Strengthening credibility through respected connections vouching for you
- Getting fresh recommendations each time you change jobs or complete major projects
- Exhibiting a well-rounded professional reputation
An expansive set of recommendations enabled by the premium account provides influential social validation that can set your profile apart.
Premium branding and recognition
Opting for a premium LinkedIn account marks your profile with a premium badge and “open profile” callout. This signals that you have an upgraded account which demonstrates commitment to networking and career advancement.
The premium branding and badges can offer advantages such as:
- Signifying that you are a serious professional invested inLinkedIn
- Distinguishing your profile and openness to opportunities
- Inspiring confidence in your professional status
- Aligning yourself more closely with recruiters and hiring managers
- Increasing discoverability in features like recruiter searches
The premium badges and callouts provide professional credibility that can get your profile noticed faster by key decision makers.
Expanded LinkedIn network
By investing in a premium account, you expand your LinkedIn network potential. This provides access to more profiles, search filters, and the ability to contact people outside of your connections.
Ways this larger accessible network can support your goals include:
- More profiles and people that become visible to you
- Searching across both your 1st and 2nd degree networks
- Contacting professionals through InMail messages
- Exposure to 3x more relevant profiles and opportunities
- Viewing the full list of who has looked at your profile
The expanded network unlocked by premium allows you to find and connect with the right people to progress your career or business.
Discount on LinkedIn ads
As a Premium subscriber, you get ad credits and discounts towards sponsored content campaigns. This makes it more affordable to amplify your profile, showcase thought leadership content, and get your brand seen by the right people.
Here are some of the ways discounted LinkedIn ads can benefit you:
- Grow your network and followers through targeted outreach
- Promote content to demonstrate your expertise
- Increase profile views and engagement
- Boost job applications by getting your profile viewed by recruiters
- Run customized campaigns aligned with your career or business goals
The advertising perks make LinkedIn’s powerful marketing solutions more accessible to boost your professional impact and visibility.
Premium customer support
Paying LinkedIn members get access to premier customer support through live chat, email ticketing, and phone. This gives you direct assistance from LinkedIn’s support team when you need account help.
Some examples where customer support comes in handy include:
- Troubleshooting login, payment or technical issues
- Answering questions on how to use advanced features
- Fixing problems editing your profile or settings
- Recovering an account that’s been suspended or restricted
- Providing guidance on optimizing your profile and activity
The dedicated customer support channel gives piece of mind knowing LinkedIn’s team has your back as a premium member.
Job Seeker resources
LinkedIn Premium includes an array of resources specifically designed for job seekers. This gives you information, tips, and tools tailored to help you land your next role.
Some of the job seeker assets that come with premium include:
- Premium job postings and ability to apply with 1-click
- Curated daily job recommendations in your feed
- Salary comparison tool for job offers
- Interview prep videos and coaching
- Resume review and feedback suggestions
- Personality and competency assessments
- Career guidance from LinkedIn’s coaches
The dedicated job seeker resources maximize your chances of getting noticed, landing interviews, negotiating offers, and launching your next opportunity.
Conclusion
A LinkedIn Premium account unlocks an expansive set of features and benefits tailored to accelerate your career potential. The enhanced tools for networking, discovery, skills building, and visibility give you an edge over the standard experience.
While not free, the access LinkedIn Premium provides to people, insights, resources, and opportunities can provide tremendous long-term ROI if leveraged strategically. Investing in premium sends a signal that you are serious about your professional advancement and gives you the tools to back it up.