First, let’s say you have a free, basic LinkedIn account and feel you need to up your game by converting it into a paid plan with more benefits. LinkedIn offers four core types of paid, premium accounts geared toward specific people and professions:

A Career plan starts at $29.99 per month. Designed for job seekers, this account helps you contact hiring managers, tells you how you compare with fellow applicants, and teaches you new skills to further your career.

A Business plan starts at $47.99 per month. Designed for business professionals, this account offers 15 InMail messages so you can contact people not in your network, lets you learn who discovered your profile and how, serves up greater details on a company, lets you view an unlimited number of profiles, lets you take advantage of online video courses, and shows you how you compare with other job applications.

A Sales plan starts at $64.99 per month. Geared toward sales professionals, this account offers 15 InMail messages so you can contact people not in your network, lets you see who’s viewed your profile, helps you gain insight into your sales accounts and potential leads, lets you view an unlimited number of profiles, and allows you to search for and save the profiles of company decision makers.

A Hiring plan starts at $99.95 per month. Geared toward hiring professionals, this account offers 30 InMail messages, lets you see potential candidates who’ve viewed your profile, provides an advanced search option for finding potential job candidates, lets you view an unlimited number of profiles, suggests potential candidates, and helps you track and manage job candidates.

Within the four basic plans are minor variations. For example, a Recruiter Lite plan offers fewer features than the Hiring plan but has a lower price tag. Each of the plans offers a one-month free trial, so you can test-drive the premium features for 30 days and decide if you want to keep the plan you chose.

To upgrade to a premium plan, log into your LinkedIn account at the LinkedIn website. In the upper-right corner of your LinkedIn home page, click on the link to “Start 1 Month Premium Trial.”

A page pops up listing the four core premium plans. Click on the “Select plan” button for the one you wish to investigate.

LinkedIn displays the features of the plan you selected. Click on the “Start my free month” button if you wish to try out the plan.

Type your LinkedIn password to verify your account. You’re then asked to enter a payment method. Fill out your credit card or PayPal information and click on the “Start your free trial” button to kick off the new plan. Since the first month is free, you can cancel your paid plan anytime within the next 30 days to avoid being charged.

An online receipt pops up, which you can print if you wish. You’ll also receive a receipt via email. Click on the “I’m done” button to close the page.

Okay, now let’s say you have a paid plan but wish to convert it back into a freebie. At your LinkedIn home page, click on your account image and then click on the item for “Premium subscription settings.”

At the page to “Manage your account,” click on the link to “Cancel subscription.”

At the next screen, select the reason for cancelling your subscription. Click Continue.

At the next screen, click on the button to “Cancel my subscription.” Your premium plan subscription is then cancelled. Your account reverts to a free, paid plan. You can then click the button to return to your home page.

And finally, let’s say you have a free, paid plan that you just no longer use and want to shut it down. At your LinkedIn home page, click on your account image and then click on the item for “Settings & Privacy.”

Scroll to the bottom of your account page and click on the entry for “Closing your LinkedIn account.”

At the “We’re sorry to see you go” page, select a reason for cancelling your account. Click Next. At the next screen, enter your password to confirm your account. Click the “Close account” button. Your account is now officially kaput.