Should Pastors Pay for LinkedIn Premium When Changing Careers? A Smart Guide to Your Ministry To Marketplace Job Search

Read Time: 3.5 minutes

LAUNCH YOUR JOB SEARCH

Overview

Welcome to the Ministry To Marketplace Minute! Today, I’m going to introduce you to a concept that I have seen unlock the job searches of hundreds of people transitioning from ministry. We’re going to put some raw data behind the decisions that you make and the actions that you take so that you can know if you’re doing enough of the right things to win. So let’s dive in.

Today's Ministry To Marketplace Minute:

Mindset Shift: Which pastor career change strategy is best for you?
Strategy Shift: Let’s break down the numbers. Is LinkedIn Premium worth it?
Do This Right Now: Set your ministry to marketplace strategy.
Who Will Hire Me?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.

Overview

Today's Ministry To Marketplace Minute:

Mindset Shift: Which pastor career change strategy is best for you?
Strategy Shift: Let’s break down the numbers. Is LinkedIn Premium worth it?
Do This Right Now: Set your ministry to marketplace strategy.
Who Will Hire Me?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.

🧠 MINDSET SHIFT: Which pastor career change strategy is best for you?

LinkedIn, as you likely know, is one of the best and most helpful tools to find a job.

You can…

Create a profile that becomes your online resume (I talk more about what your LinkedIn profile should really have to be more effective, like in this newsletter)
Look for organizations that you’re interested in working for
Look for job openings
Connect with people you know (and don’t know)

And this is all really great, as long as this is how you want to find a job.

A recent stat from LinkedIn said that 85% of hires come from networking. Read that again.

85% of hires come from networking.

And you have anywhere from a 0.1% to 2% chance of getting an offer when you apply cold.

85% vs 0.1-2%. Two different strategies. Two different results.

LinkedIn, as you likely know, is one of the best and most helpful tools to find a job.

You can…

Create a profile that becomes your online resume (I talk more about what your LinkedIn profile should really have to be more effective, like in this newsletter)
Look for organizations that you’re interested in working for
Look for job openings
Connect with people you know (and don’t know)

And this is all really great, as long as this is how you want to find a job.

A recent stat from LinkedIn said that 85% of hires come from networking. Read that again.

85% of hires come from networking.

And you have anywhere from a 0.1% to 2% chance of getting an offer when you apply cold.

85% vs 0.1-2%. Two different strategies. Two different results.

♟️ STRATEGY SHIFT: Let’s break down the numbers. Is LinkedIn Premium worth it?

So how does this impact your LinkedIn Premium decision? When you sign up for Premium, you’re probably going to sign up for Premium Career, which is $29.99/mo. It boasts a lot of features, but which ones actually help you based on your strategy decision?

Applying Cold

If you’re applying cold, Premium is going to…

Help you understand the competitive nature of the job you’re applying for
Push you to the recruiter as a featured applicant if you have strong alignment with the job description
Give you advanced filters for finding the right open jobs
Suggest LinkedIn Learning to upskill with certifications
Provide profile enhancement tips

I couldn’t tell you what the average time to offer is for someone coming out of ministry if they are applying cold - but oftentimes I’ll hear 9 months, 12 months, 1.5 years…

Let’s say that with Premium, you are closer to 2% chance of getting an offer than the 0.1% chance.

$29.99 x 9 months = $269.91 for a 2% chance.

If you’re applying cold, Premium is going to…

Help you understand the competitive nature of the job you’re applying for
Push you to the recruiter as a featured applicant if you have strong alignment with the job description
Give you advanced filters for finding the right open jobs
Suggest LinkedIn Learning to upskill with certifications
Provide profile enhancement tips

I couldn’t tell you what the average time to offer is for someone coming out of ministry if they are applying cold - but oftentimes I’ll hear 9 months, 12 months, 1.5 years…

Let’s say that with Premium, you are closer to 2% chance of getting an offer than the 0.1% chance.

$29.99 x 9 months = $269.91 for a 2% chance.

Networking Strategy

If you’re networking, Premium is going to…

Do everything mentioned above, plus allow you to send 5 free messages a month to people you aren’t connected with (hiring managers and others)
Help you draft messages when reaching out to people with their AI tool. Disclaimer, I’ve never tried this, so I don’t know how effective it is. We have our own message templates that we’ve written for people to copy and paste in the Interview Accelerator.
Show you who has viewed your profile so you can connect with them more easily.
Increase your monthly profile search limit from 300 profiles per month to 6,000 profile searches per month.
Increase your daily profile search limit from 80 per day to between 100-150 per day.

If you’re networking, you have about a 15X increased chance of getting interviews through introductions (assuming those introductions are high quality).

Using Premium, you can more easily find the people you want your connections to help you network with more searches than you would likely need.

Let’s say it still takes, on average, 9 months with networking. $29.99 x 9 months = $269.91 for a 30% chance.

30% is better than 2%.

If you’re networking, Premium is going to…

Do everything mentioned above, plus allow you to send 5 free messages a month to people you aren’t connected with (hiring managers and others)
Help you draft messages when reaching out to people with their AI tool. Disclaimer, I’ve never tried this, so I don’t know how effective it is. We have our own message templates that we’ve written for people to copy and paste in the Interview Accelerator.
Show you who has viewed your profile so you can connect with them more easily.
Increase your monthly profile search limit from 300 profiles per month to 6,000 profile searches per month.
Increase your daily profile search limit from 80 per day to between 100-150 per day.

If you’re networking, you have about a 15X increased chance of getting interviews through introductions (assuming those introductions are high quality).

Using Premium, you can more easily find the people you want your connections to help you network with more searches than you would likely need.

Let’s say it still takes, on average, 9 months with networking. $29.99 x 9 months = $269.91 for a 30% chance.

30% is better than 2%.

If you’re networking, Premium is going to…

Do everything mentioned above, plus allow you to send 5 free messages a month to people you aren’t connected with (hiring managers and others)
Help you draft messages when reaching out to people with their AI tool. Disclaimer, I’ve never tried this, so I don’t know how effective it is. We have our own message templates that we’ve written for people to copy and paste in the Interview Accelerator.
Show you who has viewed your profile so you can connect with them more easily.
Increase your monthly profile search limit from 300 profiles per month to 6,000 profile searches per month.
Increase your daily profile search limit from 80 per day to between 100-150 per day.

If you’re networking, you have about a 15X increased chance of getting interviews through introductions (assuming those introductions are high quality).

Using Premium, you can more easily find the people you want your connections to help you network with more searches than you would likely need.

Let’s say it still takes, on average, 9 months with networking. $29.99 x 9 months = $269.91 for a 30% chance.

30% is better than 2%.

The Verdict

This is a cost analysis problem.

If you’re passively searching or not ready to get a job in the next 3-6 months, then Premium probably doesn’t make sense for you.
If you’re actively searching and using the cold application method only, Premium may not be worth it, considering there is no limit to the number of jobs you can search or apply for (though I don’t recommend applying through LinkedIn - the organization’s career page is much more effective). It might be worth it for competitive insights, but that’s it.
If you’re actively searching and using the networking method, Premium might be worth it if you are trying to network with people you are not yet connected with, and the search and outreach functions are going to be a primary method of the job search.
If you’re actively searching and using the networking method, Premium might not be worth it if you have a small network and plan on only networking through those and leveraging the “2nd connection” and “current company” search features, which are available to all free members.

In the Interview Accelerator, we recommend that clients do not get Premium until LinkedIn notifies them that they have hit their limit, then get the one month free trial LinkedIn provides, or use our two months free trial.

My recommendation to you: find a process that works for you first before spending money that you may not need to spend. Then, when you hit the limits doing what works, you can weigh the cost-benefit.

This is a cost analysis problem.

If you’re passively searching or not ready to get a job in the next 3-6 months, then Premium probably doesn’t make sense for you.
If you’re actively searching and using the cold application method only, Premium may not be worth it, considering there is no limit to the number of jobs you can search or apply for (though I don’t recommend applying through LinkedIn - the organization’s career page is much more effective). It might be worth it for competitive insights, but that’s it.
If you’re actively searching and using the networking method, Premium might be worth it if you are trying to network with people you are not yet connected with, and the search and outreach functions are going to be a primary method of the job search.
If you’re actively searching and using the networking method, Premium might not be worth it if you have a small network and plan on only networking through those and leveraging the “2nd connection” and “current company” search features, which are available to all free members.

This is a cost analysis problem.

If you’re passively searching or not ready to get a job in the next 3-6 months, then Premium probably doesn’t make sense for you.
If you’re actively searching and using the cold application method only, Premium may not be worth it, considering there is no limit to the number of jobs you can search or apply for (though I don’t recommend applying through LinkedIn - the organization’s career page is much more effective). It might be worth it for competitive insights, but that’s it.
If you’re actively searching and using the networking method, Premium might be worth it if you are trying to network with people you are not yet connected with, and the search and outreach functions are going to be a primary method of the job search.
If you’re actively searching and using the networking method, Premium might not be worth it if you have a small network and plan on only networking through those and leveraging the “2nd connection” and “current company” search features, which are available to all free members.

QUICK WINS

✅ DO THIS RIGHT NOW: Set your ministry to marketplace strategy.

Evaluate your job search strategy and commit to one strategy.
Work on the strategy until you hit a limit.
Determine how much work you want to do and if paying the $29.99 is worth it!

Evaluate your job search strategy and commit to one strategy.
Work on the strategy until you hit a limit.
Determine how much work you want to do and if paying the $29.99 is worth it!

🚀 FROM THE COACHING GROUP

A second win in one day: my target company emailed me this afternoon. They are requesting an initial interview with me this week!

🤝 WHO WILL HIRE ME?: 5 ministry friendly organizations with jobs for ex-pastors.

Because of the time sensitive nature of job postings, we post these in the newsletter only.

Get the newsletter, along with 747+ others, every Friday morning.

Subscribe here.

Because of the time sensitive nature of job postings, we post these in the newsletter only.

Get the newsletter, along with 747+ others, every Friday morning.

Subscribe here.

Rooting for you! 🚀

Todd Linder

Founder and Head Coach // Connect with me on LinkedIn

Todd Linder

Founder and Head Coach // Connect with me on LinkedIn

How we can help you:

The Ministry To Marketplace Interview Accelerator: Join 102+ others that have successfully transitioned from ministry into marketplace jobs that value their experience. The Interview Accelerator will give you our proven step by step process, coaching, and community to getting more interviews for jobs that value your ministry experience and support your family. Let's hop on a call!
The Ministry To Marketplace Quiz: Join 600+ other ministry to marketplace job seekers that have taken our 60-second (FREE) quiz to find out what is hindering your job search. You'll get a video and PDF results report straight to your inbox that will identify where you are, and what you need to focus on right now to get results. Take the FREE quiz here.

The Ministry To Marketplace Interview Accelerator: Join 102+ others that have successfully transitioned from ministry into marketplace jobs that value their experience. The Interview Accelerator will give you our proven step by step process, coaching, and community to getting more interviews for jobs that value your ministry experience and support your family. Let's hop on a call!
The Ministry To Marketplace Quiz: Join 600+ other ministry to marketplace job seekers that have taken our 60-second (FREE) quiz to find out what is hindering your job search. You'll get a video and PDF results report straight to your inbox that will identify where you are, and what you need to focus on right now to get results. Take the FREE quiz here.

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