LinkedIn Payola: Selling out employers and job hunters

This article is factually incorrect.<p>If you pay for a Job Seeker Subscription you show up at the top of the list of APPLICANTS for a job, it does not influence the search result rankings when a recruiter is searching LinkedIn.<p>I think some of the confusion is from the way the marketing copy is worded:<p>* &quot;Get special placement as a Featured Applicant&quot;<p>translation: show up at the top of the list of applicants for a job, but its clear you paid for placement (ex: <a href="http://corcodilos.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/linkedin-pitch-nick.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;corcodilos.com&#x2F;blog&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2013&#x2F;07&#x2F;linked...</a>)<p>* &quot;Stand out in search results with a Job Seeker Badge&quot;<p>translation: you get a badge next to your name in search results telling recruiters you are an activate candidate, I personally think the value of this is dubious (ex: <a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22639568/Search___LinkedIn.png" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;dl.dropboxusercontent.com&#x2F;u&#x2F;22639568&#x2F;Search___Linked...</a>)

Services that are not employer-paid are always less ethically sound. $29 is not on the same scale as some rip-offs in the employment business, and is far lower than what headhunters and employers pay on LinkedIn, but it should be beneath LinkedIn to get on that potentially slippery slope.

I used that service in my job search in the Spring. I don&#x27;t think that it really made any difference in my response rate. I did find my current job via LinkedIn, and my resume was pushed to the top on that ad. However, the job was a great fit for my skill set so I think I would have got the interview regardless.

Exactly how does an employer benefit from applicants showing up at the top of the list because the applicant paid for the top position - after the employer paid to post jobs and to receive applications?<p>On the applicant side, if you can buy top position when applying for jobs posted on LinkedIn, why can&#x27;t you buy position in the &quot;searched&quot; database? Is that &quot;less ethical?&quot;<p>LinkedIn is &quot;a little bit pregnant.&quot; I&#x27;ve got no issue with job hunters doing what they can to get an employer&#x27;s attention, but when LinkedIn starts &quot;transparently&quot; selling positioning to job hunters while it&#x27;s charging employers for access to those applicants... well, like Richard Tomkins said in my column, you start looking like Lance Armstrong.

&quot;Under U.S. law, 47 U.S.C. § 317, a radio station can play a specific song in exchange for money, but this must be disclosed on the air as being sponsored airtime, and that play of the song should not be counted as a &quot;regular airplay&quot;.<p>Source: Wikipedia<p>Does LinkedIn identify the candidates on the top as having a &quot;premium&quot; membership?<p>Also, the &quot;charts&quot; were somehow important in the radio industry, so the law was that paid plays weren&#x27;t supposed to affect the charts. What charts do we have for candidates here?

Isn&#x27;t this just inevitable with social networks? Over time they become sleazier and sleazier in search of revenue?

If I read it correctly someone from UK should sue them, under &quot;The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003&quot; because this practice is illegal in UK.