Is a LinkedIn premium account worth the investment? The answer is that it depends on both your financial resources and the strategies you are using to job search. However, there are some compelling reasons to consider spending the money for a premium account if you're a job seeker searching for a professional position.

LinkedIn Premium Account Benefits

LinkedIn offers many benefits to basic (free) users.

You can aggregate profile information, recommendations, endorsements and skills information all in one place. All this information can attract the many recruiters who scan the system for candidates. You can include links to images and other portfolio materials in your profile. Basic users can add contacts and message freely with these first level contacts.

LinkedIn Premium Features

However, to unlock the full power of LinkedIn it is increasingly necessary to add premium features. School, industry and interest groups on LinkedIn are a great vehicle for getting career information, advice and job referrals. In order to see the full name and profile of group members who are not first or second level contacts and to message them, users need to pay for a premium account.

A premium account enables users to identify everyone who has viewed their profile and to conduct more sophisticated searches. All these features come at a significant cost. However, given the value of networking in the job search mix and the income implications involved with landing a job it may be worth considering upgrading to a premium account.

Since most job seekers don't have premium accounts there is an obvious advantage in gaining access to connections for those who do.

LinkedIn also has a powerful alumni tool which enables users to identify alumni of their college by graduation year, location, employer and career field. However to view full names and profiles of alumni and to message them users need a premium account.

Related Articles:What to Include in Your LinkedIn Profile | How to Use LinkedIn Endorsements

How to Use LinkedIn:

• How to Use LinkedIn
• Tips on Finding Jobs on LinkedIn