How to Tell a Real Internship From a Fake One

Every year, a large number of students spend three months on something described as an internship that turns out to be commission-only sales, or an unpaid content mill, or a "training programme" they were asked to pay for. It is worth ten minutes of checking before you apply.

Signals worth taking seriously

You are asked to pay anything. Registration fees, training fees, security deposits, kit charges. A legitimate employer does not charge you to work. This single rule filters out most bad listings.

The role has no defined work. Read the responsibilities. "Support the team in various activities" is not a job description. A real employer knows what they need done, because they need it done.

Compensation is described only as "performance based". For a sales role at a real company this can be legitimate and is disclosed clearly. In a listing aimed at students with no experience, it usually means there is no stipend and no floor.

The company has no traceable footprint. No website that predates the listing, no employees findable anywhere, no registered address. A small company is fine. An invisible one is not.

Urgency pressure. "Only 5 seats left, confirm within 24 hours" is a technique, not a hiring process.

Questions to ask before you accept

Ask these in writing, over email, and keep the reply:

• What will I be working on in the first month, specifically?
• Who will I report to, and what is their role?
• Is the stipend fixed, and when is it paid?
• Is there a written offer or internship letter?

An employer who is annoyed by these questions has told you something useful.

What verification does and does not mean

On PehlaChance, a verified badge on a company means the business has been checked — registration details, a working domain, a contactable person who is genuinely associated with it — before that company could publish. Listings are reviewed before they go live, and students can report a listing at any time.

What it does not mean is that the internship will be a good experience, or that the team will be well organised, or that you will enjoy it. Verification is a floor, not a recommendation. Read the listing carefully even when the badge is there.

If something goes wrong

Report it, early. The value of a reporting mechanism depends entirely on people using it while the problem is still small. A report that says "this listing asked me for a ₹2,000 registration fee after I applied" protects every student who would have applied next week.

Keep records: the listing as it appeared, the emails, any payment request. Screenshots are enough.

The uncomfortable part

The reason exploitative listings work is that students are anxious about experience, and anxiety makes bad offers look like the only offers. They are not. An empty three months is genuinely better than three months of unpaid cold calling that you cannot put on a resume.

Being selective when you feel you have no leverage is hard. Do it anyway.