LinkedIn review: the network where your profile applies

By its own account, LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world, and it has a job market in it. You search for jobs with the same account that carries your profile, and employers and recruiters see that profile when you apply or when they search for candidates.

Who LinkedIn is for

LinkedIn suits professionals in international companies, in technology, consulting and management, and everyone who would rather be found than search. It only works with a profile that is complete and up to date.

What LinkedIn offers

• A profile that works as your CV and that recruiters can find.
• Job search and job alerts.
• A network: you see who works at a company and can write to people.
• Paid Premium membership: messages to people outside your network, figures on the other applicants, online courses.

Who pays for what

Job seekers

Nothing for profile, search, alerts and applying. Premium costs a monthly fee

Employers

One listing at a time is free. For more reach they set a budget and pay

How to apply

Always with an account. Some listings let you apply on LinkedIn with your profile in a few clicks. Others take you on to the employer's own application form. The second way to a job needs no application at all. A recruiter writes to you because your profile fits.

Where the listings come from

Employers post jobs on LinkedIn themselves. A company can keep a free listing open. For more reach it pays, with a budget that decides how widely the listing is shown. So the listings are originals, and many are also on the employer's career page. The other half of LinkedIn is not listings at all. Recruiters write to members whose profile fits.