Recently, I spoke to my wife’s cousin. She’s a java developer.
I knew this field was intensely in-demand in Canada right now, and she had several years of experience working with prestigious organizations.
I knew she wouldn’t have a problem finding a job.
When I heard her story, I wasn’t expecting this – she said that demand was so high, recruiters and managers were harassing her for interviews.
The one thing she said made a big difference was LinkedIn premium.
While you may be hesitant to spend the $29.99 per month, you may reconsider after reading this post.
Here are the three biggest benefits you’ll get from a premium account:
#1 Featured Application Status
This is why my wife’s cousin got a big boost in calls when she upgraded to premium.
Her profile started to rank higher in searches.
So when recruiters were entering “Java” in their keyword searches, her profile consistently showed up.
She actually needed to organize her schedule just to manage the interviews that came flocking into her inbox.
#2 Direct messaging to anyone (InMail)
You don’t need to be a 1st connection to send someone a message. You can message them directly even if they are not on your connection list.
But take caution – you only get 5 InMail credits a month.
However, if the receiver of your message responds, you get that credit back. This means you have to craft a message that is extremely personal, filled with value, and shows the reader that you’ve done your homework about them or their organization.
This will not only impress them and encourage them to respond, but you get your precious InMail credit back to use on another connection.
InMail has a higher response rate and you’re able to contact those hard-to-reach executive influencers that protect their privacy from basic users.
#3 Profile Views
Not only do you get higher profile views, you get to see who has viewed your profile as well.
With the benefits of featured application status to increase your profile views, and knowledge of the viewers, and InMail that let you message them, you get the perfect opportunity to initiate conversations with a steadily growing network.
They checked you out – that’s a good start.
With the right kind of messaging, you can take the initiative of making the first move and starting a conversation that will hopefully lead to a job interview.
