LinkedIn for Job Seekers

The free plan covers the search, and Premium covers cold outreach

Applying, building a profile and messaging your connections are free. Premium adds InMail, which lets you message people you aren't connected to. That is the single job it does for a search, so the question is whether you need it. ^[1]

What Premium costs a job seeker

Premium Career costs $39.99 a month or $239.88 a year, and the annual plan is half price only if you pay for the full year. On monthly billing, 5 InMails cost $8 each. Two months costs $80, a third of the annual price, which matters because most searches are shorter than a year. ^[1]

One 2026 commenter paid for about three months during a redundancy and job search, then went back to free after getting a job. They called it a big help, which is one account with no outcome figures. ^[10]

Your first three months: test the free search first

Spend the first few weeks on the free plan, applying and messaging your connections. Reviewers say the free job search has outdated filters and repeated listings, so check each listing's date before you apply. If your applications go nowhere, that's the moment to test whether InMail would change the result. ^[13]

Only start a Premium trial when you're ready to use it. Trial length isn't stated, reviewers report one week to one month, and about 13 of 100 reviews describe a trial that became an annual charge. ^{[3] [7]}

Growing your search: referrals beat cold outreach

Referrals beat cold applications and recruiter InMail, several commenters say. Many listings are promoted for visibility rather than active hiring, so a listing with no date or recent activity may not be a live role. ^{[11] [12]}

Protecting yourself while you job hunt

Set the trial reminder the day you start, and request any refund within 7 days of the charge if you haven't used Premium. About 7 of 100 reviewers say refunds were refused after cancelling within days, and about 3 of those cite Premium feature use. ^{[3] [4] [8]}

Keep your phone number and email current, and save your key contacts outside LinkedIn. Lockouts and support problems lead the recent Trustpilot reviews. ^{[9] [6]}

Should you pay for Premium during a search?

Yes, for one month, if your search needs InMail, and only on monthly billing. Test the free search for a few weeks first. If you pay, set the cancel date on the day you sign up, and cancel before it arrives. ^{[1] [5]}