Did you know you can use LinkedIn Premium to find a job faster? Job seekers who use LinkedIn Premium get hired on average 2X faster than those who do not. Coming up I'm going to unpack and explain how to use the top 5 LinkedIn Premium tools to speed up your job search. Disclosure: We are affiliates for some of these products and services. Learn more.

What is LinkedIn Premium?

LinkedIn Premium is a paid version of LinkedIn. Members who subscribe to a Premium package get access to some very powerful tools. If you know how to use these tools, you can speed up your job search quite a bit.

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How to get a free trial of LinkedIn Premium

LinkedIn users can access a 30 day free trial of LinkedIn Premium every 12 months. This is a great offer that I recommend all job seekers take advantage of.

Learn how to access your LinkedIn Premium free trial here

Which LinkedIn Premium will help you land a job faster?

There is more than one LinkedIn Premium package available and they are not all equal. Whilst LinkedIn recommends the Premium Career package, I recommend opting for LinkedIn Business.

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Why LinkedIn Premium Business?

LinkedIn Premium Career and Business are almost identical, except for two key differences. LinkedIn Business gives you unlimited profile views plus 15 InMail credits. That's 10 more InMail credits than LinkedIn Career!

As you'll see below, InMails and searches are two of the most important LinkedIn Premium tools. Because they are critical to your job search, LinkedIn Business is the best option.

Optimise your LinkedIn profile

Before we jump in to the 5 top premium tools, a quick word on LinkedIn optimisation. To get the best results from your efforts on LinkedIn you should optimise your profile. The goal of using LinkedIn Premium is being found by recruiters and hiring managers.

But don't forget your profile needs to look great when they find it. It also needs to tell the right story.

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How to use the top 5 LinkedIn Premium tools to land a job faster

There are 5 LinkedIn Premium tools that you should pay particular attention to. Consistent use of these tools for 30 days can increase your chances of getting hired faster.

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1. Open Profile

As a LinkedIn Premium member you can turn on Open Profile. Open Profile allows recruiters and hiring managers to contact you. This is a feature that you should be utilise for the entire duration of your free trial.

When your LinkedIn profile is set to 'open', people can message you even if you're not connected. Recruitment is a fast-paced business and the more obstacles you remove the better. A recruiter can't afford to wait for you to accept their connection request. They need to be able to message you right away when an opportunity becomes available.

How do you enable open profile on LinkedIn?

• Click on the ‘me’ icon in the top right
• Select 'access my premium'
• Choose 'premium profile settings' on the right
• Turn on and off the open profile feature

When you activate LinkedIn Premium you'll have the option to turn on open profile. You should do it immediately so that recruiters and hiring managers can begin to reach out to you.

2. Who's viewed your profile?

The who's viewed your profile feature is one of the most powerful tools available to job seekers. As a LinkedIn Premium subscriber you'll see exactly who's viewed your profile in the past 90 days.

Why do you need to know who’s viewed your LinkedIn profile?
There are two reasons why you need to know who's found you on LinkedIn.

1. To inform your optimisation efforts
2. So that you can reach out and connect

So that you can optimize your LinkedIn profile

When someone finds your LinkedIn profile for the first time it's because one of two reasons.

1. LinkedIn has recommended your page because of similar interests or backgrounds.

2. Your profile has come up in a search that they have performed on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn recommends your profile based on certain keywords that it contains. Optimising your profile gives you more control over who finds it.

If you’re looking for a job as a Sales Manager, you want to appear in searches for “Sales Manager”.  You're also going to want sales recruiters to discover you.

If there right people are not finding you, you have some optimisation work to do. But you’ll only understand what changes to make once you know exactly who’s finding your profile right now.

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So that you can reach out and connect

This is a job search hack that most job seekers overlook. If someone visits your profile it's often because something has caught their eye. These are the people that you should be reaching out to! These are pretty warm leads, not completely cold contacts. It’s a lot easier to start a conversation with someone who has already visited your page.

Learn how to get the most out of Who's Viewed My Profile

3. LinkedIn InMail messages

LinkedIn InMails are a job seekers secret weapon. InMails open up the vast LinkedIn network to you. Using an InMail credit you can message someone even if you're not connected.

With an InMail you can send an engaging message to key decision makers in your target companies. Many of the best career opportunities come as a result of networking. With 15 InMail credits you can do some serious networking!

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Here are three great use cases for InMails:

1. Message the people who have already viewed your LinkedIn profile. Target those who are decision makers, senior professionals or recruiters in your industry.

2. When you apply for a job on LinkedIn, send an InMail to the person who posted it. Make them aware of your application and why you're a good fit for the role.

You can learn more about this here

3. Use your InMails to reach out to senior decision makers in your target organisations. To do this you will first need to create a shortlist of the companies you wish to target. This is a great way to access the hidden job market.

To learn how to use your InMail credits to their full potential click here

4. Unlimited Profile Views

A basic LinkedIn account, and even LinkedIn Career, limits your search activity. But, with LinkedIn Premium Business, you can visit as many profiles as you like!

Growing your LinkedIn network will help you in your job search. You should search for people within your industry. Take time to find people in your target companies. Find recruiters who recruit your target roles. Take time each day to use LinkedIn's search engine to find and connect with the people who can help you.

Learn more about LinkedIn searches here

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5. Interview Preparation

The day will come when you get invited to an interview! But don't wait until that day to begin honing your interview skills. LinkedIn Premium has some great interview preparation tools.

Three ways that LinkedIn Premium can help your interview preparation

• LinkedIn Learning has lots of amazing interview skills courses. Interview coaches and job search experts create and host most of these courses. They are a great place to begin preparing for interviews. Here's one recommendation
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• LinkedIn has a powerful Ai interview practice tool that allows you to learn from example interview answers. You can then record your own answers and get feedback.

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• Use your unlimited profile views to research your interviews as well as company CEOs etc.

Learn more about using LinkedIn to prepare for your interviews here

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Conclusion

This is not an exhaustive list of the features that LinkedIn Premium offers job seekers. As a former recruiter, it's hard to imagine a world without LinkedIn. LinkedIn has become the tool of choice for recruitment agents and HR teams the world over. Enjoy using LinkedIn Premium to land a job faster!