How to get an internship in India without paying anyone

The short answer: a real internship never asks you to pay. To get one in India without paying, build a simple resume, email companies directly, connect with founders on LinkedIn, ask people you know for references, and walk away from anyone who asks for a fee. An internship is for experience, not for a certificate.

I am Boobesh, aka Boo, a student and entrepreneur from Chennai. I have never paid for an internship, and I have done internships that paid a stipend and ones that paid nothing. This is what worked for me, plus what the official guides say about spotting scams.

Rule one: if they ask for money, it is not an internship

This is the first thing I tell first and second year students, because that is exactly who the fee-charging programs go after. In the first year, many students think "I need an internship, I need a certificate", and they will pay anyone who offers one.

Do not. A registration fee, a training fee, a "placement" fee, a kit fee, all of it. Official guides say the same: a legitimate internship never asks the student for a fee. Internshala's own guide on spotting fake companies and this CareerIndia piece on internship scams both say it plainly.

How I found my first internship: 200+ cold emails

I did my first internship in the holidays after my first year. Nobody handed it to me. I found company contact emails, collected more than 200 of them, and sent each company a short email saying: I am a student from this college, this is my resume, I would like to do an internship, and if you have an opportunity in this area I would be happy to help.

One company replied, and I did the internship with them. Two hundred emails for one yes sounds bad, but you only need one.

What you need before you start:

• A proper resume. It does not need many projects in first year. It needs to be clean and honest.
• A skill that matches the domain. Without a skill, you can still get a "pay and join" internship, but you will not get a real one.

Use LinkedIn to reach founders and decision makers

LinkedIn played a big role in my other internship. I connected with founders and decision makers, messaged them personally about an internship, and that led to an online opportunity.

Two things that help:

• Add a note when you connect. Say what you noticed about them and why you want to connect, and end with a question.
• Ask a question. A question shows up as a message request, so when they accept your connection, they see your message too.

If you are building your profile, my other posts on personal branding on LinkedIn and why your LinkedIn is not getting you internships go further.

Pick the right domain

The work you do should match the domain you want to grow in. If you are interested in marketing but your internship is in coding, you will struggle to do it well, and you will not enjoy it. Choose the internship you actually want to learn from.

Startup or big company?

Do not think you must get an internship in a big company. In my experience, you often learn more at a startup, because they let you try many things. It can be pressurising, but at the end you will usually have learned more.

How fake "MNC internships" work

I will not name any company, but I will explain the pattern, because I have seen it.

Some programs say you will do an internship with a famous brand. What they often have is a partnership or a product integration with that brand, which lets them use the brand's logo or a verification code on their own certificate. That does not mean you interned at that company.

Real internships at big companies do not usually come to you. You search for them and apply, they usually pay a stipend, and they do not move you into a WhatsApp group where you get tasks to complete for a certificate. If someone is offering you "an MNC internship" for a fee, treat it as a red flag.

Other red flags from the official guides

• Payments to personal UPI IDs or QR codes.
• Fake placement-cell or college email addresses, with small spelling errors in the domain.
• A company you cannot find on LinkedIn or on its own website.

Where to look

• Your college placement cell and your college's student groups.
• Platforms like Internshala, Unstop, LinkedIn and the AICTE internship portal, while still checking each listing yourself. No platform is completely scam-free.
• Direct emails and LinkedIn messages, like I did.
• References. Talk to friends, family and seniors. Not everyone will help, but some will.

If you have already been scammed

Save the messages and receipts, report it quickly to the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and on cybercrime.gov.in, and flag the listing on the platform where you saw it. The faster you report, the better.

Questions people ask me

Should I ever pay for an internship?

No. An internship is for experience, not for a certificate. If someone asks for money, do not join.

How do I get an internship in first year?

Use the holidays, send direct emails to companies with a short note and a clean resume, and connect with founders on LinkedIn. It took me more than 200 emails, but it worked.

Are unpaid internships okay?

Some of mine did not pay, and I still got real experience from them. The point is that you should not be the one paying.

Is an internship at a startup worth it?

Yes, I think so. You often get to try many things, and you learn more than you expect.

What do I do if I think I have been scammed?

Report it quickly to 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in, and tell the platform where you found it.