How to know if an internship is legitimate or not?

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Having an internship experience during college can add significant value to your resume, especially in this era when it is very tough to find one. Due to this trend, many students fall into the traps of some companies. 

A good internship always takes care of these three points: they pay you, mention your roles and responsibilities, and include a description of the company.

If you either trust too quickly or have no experience to judge an internship, here are five pointers for you. Keep these in mind, and you will always stay away from scams and fake internship opportunities.

Is Your Resume Not Getting Shortlisted?

Internships that ask you to pay – These are clearly red flags. Even the online internship search platform – Internshala asks users not to pay any amount to employers. The employers of these fake internships ask the students to pay some amount to join the internship. They might also ask you for fees for certificates, security, training, laptops, etc. but, do not fall for it. Internships are supposed to pay you. You are not supposed to pay anything to anybody.

Some internships charge for guaranteed placements in the future, even that could be a scam because these days, no one can guarantee you a job. Internships are supposed to provide you with a valuable learning experience, not for asking for money from the student. One thing to keep in mind here is that some internships abroad may ask you for money, but be careful while joining. If they are providing you with training, or some benefits, it is safe to sign up. It is worth your money as internships that you do abroad have great value.

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Internships with companies whose data is not present on the internet – If you get selected as an intern in a company with no records or data on the internet, the odds are that it is fake. A point to note here is that some startups in the initial stage do not list their information online, but there might be at least some mention of it, be it a social media page or a website. You can find about startups and companies on CrunchBase and check if it exists or not. If you start working for a startup in its initial days, you can get an opportunity to grow and be promoted to higher roles. Nevertheless, make sure you conduct your research and only join the company once you gather some proof of its legitimacy. 

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Unpaid Internships – Not all unpaid internships are fake, but ethically, only NGOs should hire unpaid interns. Other organizations can also recruit unpaid interns, but they should give them extensive training to compensate for the work they do. The risk with unpaid internships is that sometimes the student is not even legally considered as working, so if you were doing that internship to put on your resume, that would be your loss. Unpaid internships can also be sketchy if you are assigned way too many tasks from the start and are not getting any payment for that. Some employers claim to keep you on probation for some months and start paying you later, but that doesn’t happen. You will probably have to work all day, and the employer will keep stretching your probation period.

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Internships with no offer letter or contract – If you are working for an organization and investing your time in it, they should acknowledge it and provide you with an official offer letter. You cannot claim to have worked at a company if you don’t have an offer letter and a completion certificate. If the internship is a paid one, then the formal offer letter should mention the monthly compensation in addition to your tasks.

Tenor

The only way to save yourself from falling into these traps is to make yourself aware, and whenever you come across a shady internship listing, report it to the platform you found it on. Let us create awareness and make the internet a safe place for everyone!

By: Ria Prasad

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