LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium: Buy Your Way to the Top?

LinkedIn this past week announced its Job Seeker Premium Account. If you want to pay extra money each month, LinkedIn will push your name to the top of the hiring manager’s list as a “Featured Applicant.” It’s clear how this benefits LinkedIn; it brings in more revenue. It’s also clear how it helps the applicants. In addition to the “buy your way to the top” feature, it also provides them with more InMails, a webinar on job seeking, and other benefits. But for hiring managers? I’m wondering. If I’m hiring, I want the best applicant. If someone has paid more money for a more expensive account, it means they really want a job and that they have money. It doesn’t necessarily mean they will be a better employee or better suited for a particular job. I might be better served by a service that provides me with information on applicants ranked solely on their qualifications.

The truth is, I’m not hiring and I have not used LinkedIn to look for job applicants, and it may be that many hiring managers feel they will benefit from knowing who is really hungry to get hired. On the other hand, some may feel a little like applicants are trying to buy their way to the top. I’ll be interested to see how this will play out.

To find out more about LinkedIn’s new service, you can read this announcement from Parker Barrile, LinkedIn’s director of product management.  I asked Barrille whether LinkedIn had any concerns about what hiring managers might think about “featured applicants.” He responded via email that “we spoke with dozens of hiring managers, and they were positive about Featured Applicants. They interpret being featured as a signal that a job seeker is willing to invest extra time and money to stand out. We plan to monitor the impact of this feature on both job seekers and job posters to ensure that both parties are getting value.”

To find out more about the Job Seeker Premium Account, you can watch this video: