LinkedIn is a professional social media company. With a LinkedIn account, both job seekers and employers can leverage the platform to find jobs and hire top talent. LinkedIn gives its members a chance to create a professional profile, write and share content, and connect with a network of industry cohorts. With its large reach and extensive access to user data, the platform is well-positioned to be a leading option for hiring managers and job seekers alike.
Overview of LinkedIn
Since its launch in 2003, LinkedIn has focused on online professional networking with several focuses:
Profiles and connections
Like less formal social media sites, LinkedIn users can set up a profile that contains their resume details, including work experience and education. Users can then build their network of “connections,” which curates a newsfeed.
Users can share their own updates and interesting articles and interact with those in their network. This enables many recruiters to search and find potential candidates based on their profile, group membership, and post interactions.
Communication
LinkedIn is also used as a communication tool. The platform offers direct messaging, allowing connections to message each other and connect privately.
Direct messaging can also include several people, which is ideal for small group interaction.
Job board
While job opportunities have always been a possibility on LinkedIn, a later shift moved the company toward a focus on recruitment and hiring. Users looking for a job are able to quickly access a large job board, filtering their search results by a multitude of factors.
A popular option allows you to “Apply with LinkedIn” on some applications to avoid lengthy application forms on outside websites. Many employment marketplaces have a one-click application process. ZipRecruiter, for example, has a 1-Tap Apply.
Users can also save jobs and connect with the associated recruiters.
From the hiring side, posts can be easily managed, and additional services connect you directly to potential candidates. These options are available for free, but LinkedIn Premium can be used by both sides of the equation to promote themselves or network more effectively.
Pros
- With over 830 million registered users worldwide, LinkedIn is by far the largest holder of the market share when it comes to job boards.
- Job postings are plentiful, giving users the chance to see a large number of jobs in one place.
- Search functions allow you to filter by job title, location, company, or whether a new opportunity is full-time or part-time.
- Job descriptions are detailed.
- Users can connect with employees at a company they’re interested in.
- Possibility of finding a job organically through connections or posts listed in the newsfeed.
- LinkedIn shows you how many degrees of separation there are between you and other users so you can leverage a mutual connection.
- You can get notifications about new job openings.
Cons
- LinkedIn’s job postings primarily focus on traditional office jobs in white-collar sectors. Manual jobs, retail jobs, and other similar positions are less likely to be posted there.
- A lot of people use this social network to search for jobs, so your job application may have a lot of competition.
- The “Apply for LinkedIn” functionality makes it easy to apply but limits the customization of your resume to each role. If you make a change to your profile, it changes for everyone.
- You can start with a free account, but certain features are reserved for the paid premium subscription. The cost of a premium account can get pricey for an individual job seeker.
Features
Extensive professional profiles
LinkedIn members are able to set up their own page, similar to a social media website, but they’re packed with relevant work history.
You can do everything from creating a custom URL to uploading a headshot and using a short header to catch people’s eye. The page has room for all the details of your work history, education, recommendations from other users, and a portfolio. Directing someone to this page gives them easy access to all the information they may need to make a decision about your application without duplicating your work.
Messaging
LinkedIn’s messaging system, InMail, serves as the direct messaging function on the platform. Besides some users with extra security settings, you can send a private message to most other users or ask to connect with them and stay in each other’s network. It’s extremely common for recruiters to use the InMail function to reach out to candidates that catch their eye.
Active job board
One of LinkedIn’s main sections is the “Jobs” area of the website or app, which is dedicated to job seekers. The list of postings is sleek and shares any information available, including salary ranges if available and how long a post has been active.
Because many employers can upload jobs in bulk and prefer LinkedIn, the board is being updated constantly. You can choose to receive alerts for jobs that meet your filtering criteria or jobs similar to past ones of interest.
Easy application
LinkedIn is popular enough that many employers have integrated their HR and recruitment systems with the platform. Many applications offer a button to “Apply with LinkedIn” that prompts the user to enter contact information and answer one or two questions before their resume and profile are submitted.
For someone actively hunting for jobs, this means you can apply for a large number of jobs in a short time, and everyone can appreciate not repeating the same information in multiple applications.
Newsfeed
All LinkedIn users can enjoy a newsfeed, which shows posts from those in your network and companies you follow. They may share interesting news stories and announcements that you can engage with to boost your profile. But keeping an eye on your newsfeed is also useful for job seekers, who may see posts calling for applications within their network. Some people also post that they are open to work, hoping a connection can point them towards an opening.
Pricing
LinkedIn is available for free to all users, including those who want to use it to find a job. The free version of the tool allows for a professional profile, unlimited applications, and connections, which is sufficient for many people.
However, LinkedIn Premium is offered in four tiers: two for job seekers and two for sales and recruiting professionals. Each tier has a monthly billing option as well as slightly discounted annual billing. A free trial is available for job seekers.
Premium Career
Premium Career is for job seekers and costs $39.99 per month. LinkedIn states that candidates with Premium Career are able to get jobs 2X faster than those with a free plan. This version of the tool includes:
- 5 InMails per month to users you have no connection with.
- The ability to see who has viewed your profile in the last 90 days
- A profile that shows as “Open” to recruiters
- Analytics into your job profile and jobs you should apply for based on your profile
- Insights into companies and potential salaries
- Access to LinkedIn Learning and interview preparation tools
Premium Business
Premium Business is the next tier available for job seekers, with an annual cost of $539.88 or a monthly cost of $69.99 per month. LinkedIn states that users with Premium Business get an average of 6 times as many profile views as other users. Included in the subscription are:
- 12 InMails per month to users you have no connection with
- The ability to see who has viewed your profile in the last 90 days
- Unlimited people browsing with profile access
- A profile that shows as “Open” to recruiters
- Analytics into your job profile and jobs you should apply for based on your profile
- Insights into companies and potential salaries
- Access to LinkedIn Learning and interview preparation tools
The other tiers, Sales Navigator and Recruiter are available for those using LinkedIn to achieve professional goals at an organization or their own business.
Customer support
LinkedIn.com offers an extensive Help Center that includes search functionality and hundreds of articles and tutorials designed to help with navigation of the website and troubleshooting. The Help Center also offers access to Professional Community Policies and a Safety Center.
There is currently no phone number available for customer service through LinkedIn. Cases can be submitted to the company when logged in to your page, but it is tiered based on subscription level.
Free users can use a “Contact Us” option within individual articles to submit these. Premium Users, however, can choose a “Live Chat” option to be connected to a representative during set hours. This Live Chat is only available in English.
While companies who use LinkedIn for hiring may be assigned a personal customer success manager to help with their needs, there is no similar service provided to job seekers at any tier.
FAQs
Can my job see if I look for jobs on LinkedIn?
No, nothing will be posted to your LinkedIn profile or newsfeed to show you have looked at or applied for jobs. You can choose to set your profile to “Open to Work,” but this will generally not appear to anyone in your current organization or co-workers.
Will LinkedIn apply to jobs automatically for me?
No, you will have to actively apply to jobs. However, LinkedIn has an easy apply option that can make many applications as simple as two clicks. You can also sign up for job alerts based on your own criteria.
How do you network on LinkedIn?
Even if you’re not actively looking to get a job, the platform is ideal for business networking. To network, you can comment on posts, share interesting content, and start conversations with like-minded professionals or small business managers.
Is LinkedIn free to use for job searches?
LinkedIn can be used for job searches at no cost to you. There are Premium subscription options that offer more perks, but they are not necessary in order to be hired through a LinkedIn application. These perks do not put you at the top of the list in any way.
What kind of jobs are on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has millions of job postings in nearly every industry or location. However, it does skew toward office jobs and more professional settings rather than things like manual labor or retail services. These jobs may appear sometimes, but not as often.
Who will see my LinkedIn profile?
Anyone in your network on LinkedIn will be able to see your full profile. You can control your settings as to who can see it when they are not connected to you. Setting your profile to “Open to Work” means more recruiters will see it and be able to easily reach out to you.
Does LinkedIn show salary ranges?
If a job posting has salary information, it will always be included. LinkedIn also has an algorithm to occasionally guess the average salary range for a posting. With a Premium subscription, users also have access to Salary Insights, which aggregates data on common salaries in similar roles and locations. Other sites like ZipRecruiter off a salary search for free.