Category: Internships

You can do a part time internship during the semester if you agree the hours in advance, protect your attendance, keep a weekly schedule and tell the employer about your exams early. The students who struggle usually did not set limits at the start.

First, check the rules at your college

Before accepting anything, look at your attendance requirement and your internship requirement. Law courses in India generally have a minimum attendance rule, and many universities will not let you sit an exam if you fall below it. An internship that makes you miss classes can cost you more than it gives. Read your university’s regulations, or ask your department, and get the answer in writing if there is any doubt.

Do not assume that an internship excuses an absence. Only your college can decide that.

Choose the right kind of internship

Some formats suit the semester better than others:

• Remote and flexible hours: research, writing, content and compliance tasks can often be done in the evening or on weekends.
• Weekend or half day chamber work: some advocates are happy to take a student for a few hours on days with no classes.
• Fixed hours on site: hard to combine with a full timetable. Save these for vacations.

If you want to look at practice from the inside during term, a local advocate near your college is often the most realistic choice. See our guide to the district court advocate internship for what to expect.

Negotiate the terms in writing

When you get an offer, ask four things in a short email: how many hours a week, which days, what the deadlines look like, and who your point of contact is. Then confirm what you have agreed. For example: “To confirm, I will work Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm and complete one research task each week. I have my internal exams from 12 to 20 December and will not be available on those dates.”

It is far easier to state your limits before you start than to renegotiate them in week three.

Plan the week

1. Write out your timetable with classes, travel, self-study and meals.
2. Mark the fixed internship slots.
3. Find the free blocks and assign tasks to them; for example, 8 to 9 pm for internship research.
4. Keep one half day completely free each week.

Time estimates for tasks nearly always run short. If a research task seems to need two hours, plan for three.

Protect your exams

Tell the employer about your internal exams and the final exams as soon as the dates are known, and agree a lighter or paused schedule. Most employers accept this when told early. Pausing without warning is what damages your reputation. If your marks begin to slip, reduce hours before the problem grows.

Do the work in a way that saves time

• Ask for a clear brief and a deadline for every task.
• Keep a template for your emails and notes.
• Save your work in organised folders so you can find it later.
• Batch similar tasks together.
• Ask one clear question instead of five small ones.

Signs it is too much

• You are missing classes regularly, or your attendance is approaching the limit.
• You are sleeping less than you need to function.
• You are rushing the work and making mistakes.
• You have stopped doing the reading for your own subjects.

When two of these are true, say so to your supervisor and ask for fewer hours. It is better to cut back than to do poor work or fail a paper.

Be careful about unpaid work and fees

Many internships are unpaid, and that is common, but you should not pay to take part. If an employer asks for money during term, read our guide on spotting internship scams. And make sure that you understand what you are getting: a skill, a reference or a published piece, not just a line on a resume.

Make the time count

Before you start, write down what you want from it, such as a drafting sample, a reference letter or experience with a certain court. At the end, ask for feedback and a reference while the work is fresh. Our virtual internship is built for this situation: it is remote, runs over four weeks, and the deadlines are set around the student’s schedule, so you can do it in the evenings.

Finally, a short internship done well, with a clean exit and a good reference, is worth more than a long one that wore you down. Choose the number of hours you can sustain, and keep your studies first.

A sample week

Monday to Friday: classes, an hour of revision each evening, and two evenings reserved for the internship task, 8 to 9:30 pm. Saturday: four hours of chamber work or a longer research session in the morning, with the afternoon free. Sunday: a half day off, and an hour to plan the next week. This gives you around eight hours of internship work a week without cutting into class time. Adjust the numbers to your own timetable and energy, and review them every two weeks.

Talking to your supervisor

If you are falling behind, tell your supervisor before the deadline, not after. Say what you have finished, what remains and when you can deliver it. A short honest message keeps trust far better than a missed deadline with no explanation.

An online internship certificate is worth exactly as much as the work behind it. A certificate that shows you produced something real, supervised by someone who can vouch for it, helps. A certificate you bought for a fee, with no work or assessment, does not, and some recruiters regard it as a negative.

What recruiters actually look at

Hiring managers rarely read certificates as a reason to hire. They read them as a prompt to ask questions. If your resume says you completed a virtual internship, they will ask what you did, who you reported to and what you produced. A certificate you cannot discuss is worse than none at all.

There is no public survey we can cite that settles how every employer treats online certificates, and attitudes differ. Law firms and chambers usually care more about drafting samples, references from advocates and court exposure. Companies hiring for marketing or operations often look at portfolios and projects.

The difference between a real and a paid certificate

Ask five questions about any programme before you sign up:

1. Is there real work? Tasks that are reviewed by a person, not just videos you watch.
2. Is there feedback? A mentor or editor who reads your submission and responds.
3. Can the certificate be verified? A unique ID or a page where anyone can confirm it, and a named issuer.
4. Is the issuer real? A registered body or an identifiable organisation with a track record you can check independently.
5. What did you pay for, and why? A small fee that covers a course platform and assessment is not the same as a payment simply for a piece of paper.

If the honest answer to the first two questions is no, the certificate is a receipt, not a credential.

Fees: what is normal and what is a warning

Genuine internships do not usually charge students to join. Courses and certificate programmes can, if they are sold honestly as courses. The trouble starts when a programme is called an internship, charges a fee, and promises a certificate and a placement. Regulators and institutions, including technical education bodies, have warned students about fee-charging “internship” offers, so check the current notices from your own university and regulator before paying anything.

A simple rule: if the fee is the main thing standing between you and the certificate, treat it as a purchase, and evaluate it like one.

What certificates do not do

• They do not replace an internship your university requires. For law students, the Bar Council of India’s rules and your university’s own regulations set the internship requirement, and a virtual certificate may or may not count. Ask your college before you rely on it.
• They do not guarantee a job or a pre placement offer.
• They are not degrees or diplomas. In India, a degree can only be awarded by a body with statutory authority, so be careful of any programme that uses those words loosely.

When an online certificate is worth having

• You produced a piece of work you can show, such as a drafted agreement, an analysis, a published article or a data project.
• Someone senior assessed it and can be named.
• The certificate states the dates and what you did, in plain words.
• It can be verified without contacting you.

In those cases, the certificate is a document that backs up your work sample, and the sample is what actually carries weight.

How to list it on your resume

Be exact. Write the organisation, the dates, “virtual internship” if that is what it was, and two bullets about the work. For example: “Wrote two explainers on criminal procedure for a legal education publisher; both edited and published.” Do not use the word “intern” in a way that suggests you worked on site if you did not. Never list a certificate for a programme you did not complete.

Free versus paid, honestly

Free programmes are not automatically better; some do not mentor anyone. But a free programme that gives edited, published work has a lower risk, because you are spending effort, not money. Our own virtual internship is free and uses the same test: we can only give a certificate that states what you actually wrote, and it carries a public verification ID. Whatever programme you choose, apply the same questions.

A better use of limited time

If you have one month, you will usually gain more by doing one real task well than by collecting four certificates. A polished writing sample, a clean drafting exercise, or a few weeks at a local advocate’s chamber gives you something to discuss and a person who can speak for you. For an idea of what chamber based experience offers, read about a district court advocate internship.

Bottom line

Choose the programme for the work and the feedback, and treat the certificate as a by-product. If a programme leads with the certificate and says little about the work, look elsewhere.

Questions to ask before you sign up

Write to the organiser and ask: who will read my work, how long does feedback take, what exactly will the certificate state, and can I see a sample? A genuine programme can answer these in a few lines. If the answers are vague or the reply only repeats the price, you have learned what you needed to know. Also search the organiser’s name together with the word “review” and read what past participants say, keeping in mind that both glowing and angry reviews can be unreliable. Look for specific descriptions of the work rather than adjectives.

For law students: a reminder

If your college counts a certificate towards a mandatory internship, it will usually want a letter from a practising advocate, court, firm or organisation, with dates. Ask your department what format it accepts before you spend weeks on a programme that may not satisfy that requirement.

Use Internshala if you are a first or second year student looking for a structured, student-focused listing site, and LinkedIn if you want to reach people directly and build a profile that outlasts a single internship. Most students do best using both, with different habits on each.

This guide compares them on how they work, who they suit and the problems to expect. Features, plans and pricing on both platforms change, so check the current terms on each site before you rely on any detail below.

What each platform is

Internshala is an Indian platform built around internships and entry level jobs for students. Employers post roles, you apply through a form attached to the listing, and the posting usually states the duration, the stipend if any, and the work. Applications often ask you to answer a short question or two for the employer.

LinkedIn is a professional network. It has a jobs section with internship listings, but it is also where you follow firms, read what partners and lawyers post, message people and appear in searches by recruiters. An internship found on LinkedIn may come from a formal listing, or from a conversation that started with a comment on someone’s post.

How applications work

On Internshala, you build a profile once and apply to many listings quickly, adding a cover note tailored to each. That speed is both the advantage and the problem: because it is easy, popular listings can get a very large number of applicants, and a generic cover note disappears in the pile.

On LinkedIn, formal applications use a similar profile based process, sometimes with an “easy apply” option, sometimes redirecting to the employer’s site. The bigger opportunity is the informal route: a polite message to someone who works at a place you admire, with a clear and specific request.

Where each one is stronger

• Internshala: a large number of short term, remote or part time roles, many in content, marketing, research and operations; a clear listing format; useful if you want something to start with and have no network.
• LinkedIn: roles at established firms and companies, visibility with practitioners, alumni connections, and the chance to see who has worked where. For legal students, it is also where many lawyers share news about openings, often before any formal posting.

Where each one is weaker

• Internshala: competition on popular listings is heavy, and quality varies widely between employers. Some listings are thin on detail about the work or the mentor.
• LinkedIn: the jobs section is not tuned for student internships, results can be dominated by senior jobs, and a thin profile gets ignored. Cold messages are easy to send badly.

For law students specifically

Law internships are often filled through emails, references and chamber contacts rather than portals. Court based and chamber internships, in particular, are rarely listed anywhere. Internshala can help with legal research, content, compliance and some firm roles. LinkedIn can help you find and approach lawyers and firms directly. Neither replaces writing a clear email to a specific advocate; our guide to a cold email for a law internship covers that.

How to use Internshala well

1. Complete the profile fully, including projects and a short, clear summary.
2. Read the listing carefully before applying, and apply only to roles you could do.
3. Write a specific answer to the employer’s question, not a template.
4. Check the employer by searching its name independently.
5. Apply early; many listings fill quickly.

How to use LinkedIn well

1. Use a clear photo, a headline with your course and interests, and an about section in plain language.
2. Follow the firms and people you want to learn from, and read their posts for a week before writing.
3. Send a connection request with a short note, and then, after they accept, a precise message. “Could you tell me if you take interns in December?” is easier to answer than “Please guide me.”
4. Comment usefully on posts instead of simply liking.
5. Turn on job alerts for terms such as “legal intern” and the cities you want.

Watch for the same warning signs on both

On either platform, be careful of a role that asks you to pay a registration or “training” fee, offers a certificate in exchange for payment, contacts you only through a messaging app, or has no verifiable company details. Genuine employers can be checked: a working website, named people and consistent information. Our guide on spotting scams in work from home internships goes through the checks in detail.

Which should you choose?

If you are in your first year and have no network, start with Internshala for a few applications and build your LinkedIn profile in parallel. If you are in your third year or later, put more time into LinkedIn and direct emails, since the people you want to work for are likely to be reachable there. If you are short on time, apply to five well-chosen places on either platform rather than fifty at random.

There is no data we can responsibly cite on which platform has a higher success rate for students, and the answer will depend on your field and city. Try both for a few weeks, note which brings replies, and put your effort there.

A two week plan

In the first week, finish both profiles and list ten organisations you would like to work with. Apply to the suitable Internshala listings and follow ten relevant people or firms on LinkedIn. In the second week, send five tailored applications or messages, each with a short note that mentions one specific thing about the recipient. Record every application in a tracker with the date. After two weeks, review: which messages got a reply, and what did they have in common? Repeat the part that worked. This habit alone separates students who get places from those who send a hundred identical applications.

Privacy and safety

Share only what an employer needs: your resume, a short note and, later, a college ID if asked. Do not send Aadhaar or PAN numbers, bank details or passwords to someone you found through either platform. A real internship does not require them at the application stage.

Wait about a week after applying, then send one short, polite email. If there is still no reply, send one more after another week and then move on. A follow-up shows interest and helps your application resurface; more than two shows that you cannot read the situation.

Why following up helps

Small chambers, firms and organisations often have no HR team. The email goes to a person who is also in court, in a meeting or on a deadline. Your application may be read and forgotten, or never opened. A brief follow-up costs you two minutes and brings the application back to the top of the inbox.

It does not guarantee a response. Many places simply do not reply to students, and that is a fact of the field, not a verdict on you.

A simple schedule

1. Day 0. Apply, ideally with a clear subject line and your resume as a PDF.
2. Day 7 to 10. First follow-up, by email. If the posting gave a phone number for queries, you may call once, at a sensible hour.
3. Day 17 to 20. A second and final follow-up, even shorter.
4. After that. Mark the application as closed in your tracker and apply elsewhere. If they get back to you later, treat it as a bonus.

If the posting stated a date by which they would reply, wait until that date has passed before writing. If it said “only shortlisted candidates will be contacted”, a follow-up asking about status is less useful; apply to other places and let them contact you.

What a good follow-up looks like

Keep it under 100 words. Reply to your original email so the thread is visible. Include:

• A clear subject line: “Following up: internship application, [Your Name], [Month]”.
• One line that reminds them what you applied for and when.
• One line that restates your interest and, if true, adds one new piece of relevant information, such as a paper you published.
• A closing that makes it easy: “I am happy to send any further documents.”

Sample email

Subject: Following up: internship application, Riya Sharma, November

Dear Sir/Madam,

I wrote on 3 November to apply for the litigation internship in December. I wanted to check whether you need anything further from me. I remain very interested, and I can adjust my dates if that helps.

Thank you for your time.

Regards,
Riya Sharma
[Phone number]

What not to do

• Do not write the next day. It reads as impatience.
• Do not send the same message across email, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and a phone call in one afternoon. Choose one channel, and use others only if the first stays silent.
• Do not write an angry or guilt-tripping email. “I have not heard from you and this is unprofessional” closes the door for good.
• Do not ask for feedback on a rejection as if you were owed it. You can ask, once and politely, but many will not reply.
• Do not attach new documents without saying why.

If you know someone inside

If a senior, alumnus or professor knows the person you applied to, ask them to mention your name. A short introduction from someone they trust is worth more than several follow-ups. Do not ask a contact to promise a result, only to pass on your application.

Following up after an interview

Send a thank you email within 24 hours, then wait at least a week for the decision, unless they gave a date. If you receive another offer in the meantime and need to decide, it is legitimate to write: “I have received another offer with a decision date of [date]. I remain very interested in your internship, and wanted to ask whether you might be able to tell me about the timeline.” Say this only if it is true.

If the answer is no

Reply with thanks. Keep it to two lines. People remember students who handle a rejection well, and some will write when another opening appears. If you want to understand why applications get turned down more generally, read why law internship applications get rejected.

Keep a tracker

A basic spreadsheet is enough: organisation, contact person, date applied, date of follow-up, result. Without it, students mix up places and send awkward messages. It also helps you see which approach gets replies.

Finally, remember that silence has many causes: a full roster, a partner who is travelling, an inbox that is out of control. Follow up twice, keep applying, and do not let one non-reply decide how you feel about your chances.

Following up by phone or message

Use a phone call only when the posting gives a number for queries or the person has said they prefer it. Call at a reasonable hour, introduce yourself in one sentence, say which role you applied for, and ask a single question: whether they need anything more from you. If the person is busy, thank them and end the call; do not ask to be called back. For a message on LinkedIn or WhatsApp, keep it to two lines and include your name and the role, since the recipient may not remember the email. If you have no clear answer after both attempts, the most useful thing you can do is put your effort into the next application. Many students who got a place did so on the fourth or fifth try, not the first.

A Hindi or regional language note

If you are writing to a local advocate who works mostly in Hindi, a short email in simple Hindi or a polite message in the language they use is fine. Keep the same structure: who you are, what you applied for, and one clear request. Match the formality of their own message.

Internship interviews are short and mostly test three things: can you communicate clearly, do you know why you are applying, and will you be reliable. You do not need clever answers. You need specific ones.

The questions below come up again and again, across law chambers, firms, companies and NGOs. For each one, here is how to structure your answer.

1. “Tell me about yourself.”

This is not a request for your life story. Give a 45 second answer in three parts: who you are now (course, year, college), one or two things you have done that are relevant, and why you are here. For example: “I am a third year BA LL.B. student at [college]. I have done a moot on [topic] and interned at a district court chamber, where I helped prepare plaint drafts. I am applying here because I want to see how a corporate team handles contracts.”

Avoid reciting your resume line by line.

2. “Why do you want to intern with us?”

Name something specific. A practice area, a reported matter the firm handled, a person you want to learn from, a type of work. “You are a reputed firm” is not an answer. Do a few minutes of research before the interview: the website, recent news, the practice areas listed. If you cannot find anything specific, say honestly what you want to learn and why this setting fits it.

3. “Why this field?”

If you are asked why litigation, or why corporate, or why marketing, give one real reason and one small piece of evidence. “I enjoyed arguing a moot on bail, and I realised I liked building an argument from the record” is better than “I have always been passionate about law.”

4. “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”

Pick a strength you can prove, such as research, writing or being organised, and give a short example. For the weakness, pick a real but manageable one and say what you are doing about it. “I tend to over-research before writing, so now I set a time limit for each stage” works. “I am a perfectionist” is a cliché that interviewers usually discount.

5. “Tell me about a time you faced a challenge.”

Use a simple structure: the situation, what you did, what happened. Keep it to a minute. Choose something small and real, such as a group project where a teammate dropped out and you redistributed the work. Do not blame others in the story.

6. Subject questions

If you are interviewing for a law internship, expect a question or two from the subjects you have studied or listed on your resume. If your resume says “arbitration”, you may be asked what the difference between conciliation and arbitration is. The best preparation is to know every claim on your own resume well enough to discuss it for three minutes.

If you do not know an answer, say so, then reason aloud: “I am not certain of the exact section, but I believe the principle is that…” Interviewers often value a candidate who is honest about a gap over one who bluffs and gets caught. Do not invent a case name or a section number.

7. “What do you know about our work?”

Have two facts ready, from a source you can name. Say them briefly and ask a related question. It shows you read about them and are curious about the work.

8. “Are you comfortable with long hours or unglamorous work?”

Many internships involve photocopying, filing, formatting, following up with a registry or reading bundles. Say yes, and mean it. You can add that you want to learn the process properly. If the hours are a real constraint because of classes, say so plainly rather than agreeing and then missing days.

9. “What is your availability, and when can you start?”

Know your dates, exams and holidays in advance. Give exact dates. If you can only do a part time schedule, say so before you are selected.

10. “Do you have any questions for us?”

Always have two. Good ones: “What would a typical week look like for an intern?” “Who would I be working under day to day?” “What would a good internship look like from your side?” Avoid asking about stipend or leave in the first minute of the conversation. If the stipend was not stated in the posting, ask it politely near the end.

Before the interview

• Test the video link and your audio ahead of time. Sit facing a window, not with a bright window behind you.
• Keep your resume open on the screen, and a notepad with two or three points.
• Dress as you would for a first day at the workplace.
• Join five minutes early.

During and after

Listen to the whole question before answering. It is fine to pause for a few seconds. If you are nervous, slow down; nervous candidates tend to speed up and say less than they know. Afterwards send a short thank you email the same day, in three lines. It is not required, but it is remembered.

A note on scams

A genuine internship interview does not ask you to pay a registration fee, buy a kit or transfer money before you start. If you are asked for payment, treat it as a warning sign and read our guide on spotting work from home internship scams.

No answer can guarantee an offer. Interviewers differ, and often the decision depends on how many places there are and who else applied. Prepare, be honest, and treat each interview as practice for the next.

An internship resume should be one page, in plain text that a screening tool can read, with your education first and your best proof of ability second. If you have never worked anywhere, that proof is a project, a moot, a published piece or a society role, not an objective statement.

Most students lose a recruiter in the first ten seconds, not because they lack experience but because the page is hard to scan. Here is a layout that works on a phone screen and in a printout.

The order of sections

1. Header. Name, city, mobile number, a professional email address, and a LinkedIn link if the profile is complete. Skip the photo, date of birth, father’s name and religion. None of these helps your application, and some employers see them as a red flag for a student who has not read any guidance.
2. Education. Course, college, university, expected year of graduation, and your result to date. List the most recent first. Add Class 12 in one line only if you are in your first or second year and have little else.
3. Experience. Past internships, volunteering, part time work, a family business you helped with. Anything where you were responsible for something.
4. Projects, publications and activities. This is where first years win. A research paper, a case comment, a moot, a debate, an event you organised, a small app you built.
5. Skills. Real ones only: legal research platforms you have used, Excel, Word, a language you can draft in, basic coding if you have it.
6. Achievements. Ranks, scholarships, selections. Two or three lines.

How to write one line

Every bullet should say what you did, how, and what came of it. Compare these two:

• Weak: “Worked on research for a professor.”
• Better: “Researched case law on anticipatory bail for a faculty article; compiled 25 judgments into a table that was cited in the final draft.”

The second one is checkable. A recruiter can ask about it in an interview, and you can answer. Never write a number you cannot defend. If you do not know how many judgments you read, say “a set of judgments” or leave the figure out.

Start each bullet with a verb in the past tense for finished work and the present tense for current roles. Keep each bullet to one or two lines. If a bullet runs to three lines, it is probably two points.

If you have no experience at all

You still have material. Think about the last two years and write down every time you produced something or ran something:

• A project submission that got good feedback.
• A class presentation you led.
• A club, society or NSS role.
• A blog post, article or social media page where you explained something.
• A course with an assessment, with the platform and the date.

Put three or four of these under “Projects and activities”. That is a legitimate resume for a first year. What matters is that each entry shows an action and an outcome.

Formatting that survives screening

Many companies and some larger firms use software that parses a resume before a person sees it. Tables, text boxes, columns, icons and graphics can break that parsing and scramble your content. Use a single column, standard headings such as “Education” and “Experience”, one common font at a readable size, and save as PDF unless the posting asks for Word. Name the file sensibly, for example “Firstname_Lastname_Resume.pdf”, not “Resume final 2 new.pdf”.

Keep margins reasonable and leave white space. A dense page with tiny font is harder to read than a page that leaves some of the bottom empty.

Tailor it, lightly

You do not need a different resume for every application, but you do need to change a few lines. If you are applying to a litigation chamber, lead with moots, drafting and any court visits. If you are applying to a corporate team, lead with the company law course, a deal summary, or a commercial law project. Mirror the language of the posting where it is honest to do so. If the ad says “legal research and drafting”, and you did both, use those words.

Mistakes that cost you the shortlist

• An objective statement that says nothing. “Seeking a challenging position to grow” tells the reader nothing. Delete it, or replace it with a two line summary that names your course, year and the kind of work you want.
• Typos. Read it aloud, then ask someone else to read it. A drafting internship rejects a resume with spelling mistakes quickly.
• Inflated claims. Interviewers ask follow-up questions. If you list “drafted a writ petition”, be ready to explain who the parties were and what the relief was.
• Skills lists with ratings. Five stars for “MS Word” help no one.
• Two pages with one page of content. Cut until it fits.
• An unprofessional email address. Create a simple one based on your name.

A short template you can copy

Header: your name in larger text, then city, phone, email, LinkedIn on one line.

Education: “BA LL.B. (Hons), Second Year, [College], [University], expected 20XX. Result so far: [CGPA or percentage].”

Projects: three bullets, each starting with a verb and ending with an outcome.

Activities: two bullets, with your role and the dates.

Skills: one line, grouped, such as “Research: SCC Online, Manupatra. Software: Word, Excel. Languages: English, Hindi.”

Check before you send

Read the posting once more and confirm the resume answers what it asks for. Confirm the file opens on a phone. Confirm the email you are sending from is the one on the resume. Send a short cover note in the body of the email, not just an attachment with no text. If you want a practice piece to add to the “Projects” section, Lexfolio’s free virtual internship produces published writing you can list, though you should only list it once it has actually been published.

One honest limit: formats vary by employer and by country, and there is no single template that every recruiter prefers. When a firm gives its own format, follow it exactly.

Yes, first year students can get internships, but the right target is small and low pressure: a few weeks at a local business, an NGO, a campus society, a startup or a professional’s office. Your aim is to learn how work happens, collect one or two honest lines for your CV and build contacts, not to land a big brand name. Apply to many small places with a short, specific message.

Why start in the first year

Most students begin searching only in their third year, when the competition and the pressure are highest. If you start now, you can try different fields, make mistakes cheaply and arrive in later years with some evidence of work. Employers asking about experience in a final year interview care less about the company’s size than about what you did there.

What is realistic

• Short stints. Two to six weeks, often part time during holidays.
• Unpaid or low paid. Many first year roles pay little or nothing. We cannot quote a reliable figure, so judge each offer by what you will learn.
• Entry level tasks. Research, data entry, social media, event help, basic outreach, document handling. Treat them as practice.
• Remote work. Possible, but be extra careful about scams, as explained below.

Where to look

1. Your own college. Societies, clubs, departments, the placement cell, the library and the fest team all need help. A role there is easy to get and gives you something to write about.
2. Family and neighbourhood contacts. A relative’s office, a local shop, a clinic, a CA or lawyer in your town. Ask politely and be specific about what you can do.
3. NGOs. Many welcome student volunteers. Choose registered organisations with a real address and a named contact.
4. Online portals. Internshala lists roles open to students at all levels, and the AICTE internship portal lists opportunities for students of affiliated institutions. Filter by location and “work from home” and read the listing for tasks.
5. Startups. Small teams often take enthusiastic beginners. Message the founder with a short pitch.

Write a CV when you think you have nothing

You do have material. List your school results, your course, any competitions, clubs, volunteering, projects, languages and tools you can use. Add a one line summary of what you want to learn. Keep it to one page and send it as a PDF.

Describe activities by what you did: “Organised a college quiz with 120 participants and managed a team of five” is better than “event organiser”. Do not exaggerate. Interviewers at this stage are looking for honesty and willingness to learn.

The message to send

Something like: who you are and what you study; why you chose this organisation (one specific line); what you can help with; and the dates you are free. Keep it under 120 words. Send it to a person, not to a general info address if you can find a name. Follow up once after a week and then move on.

Choose skills that make you useful

You do not need years of experience, but a few basic skills help in almost any role:

• Writing clear emails and short summaries.
• Spreadsheets for sorting and basic calculations.
• Presentation software for simple slides.
• Reliable communication, including answering messages on time.

Free online tutorials are enough to start. Practise by making something, not by collecting certificates.

Check your college rules

Under national education policy frameworks and UGC guidelines, undergraduate programmes are being structured to include internships, and early exit awards in four year programmes may involve internship credits at the end of the first or second year. Whether this applies to you, how many weeks are required and what proof is needed are decided by your university. Ask your department early, so that a certificate you earn can count if it is eligible.

Protect yourself

• Do not pay for an internship, a certificate or a “registration”.
• Do not share bank, Aadhaar or card details with someone you have not verified.
• Be wary of offers that promise high pay for easy tasks.
• Tell a parent or senior where you are going if you work in person, and keep to public or proper office settings.

Our guide to spotting work from home internship scams lists the common patterns.

What to do while you work

Ask what a good job looks like. Take notes. Volunteer for one extra task each week. At the end, ask for a brief letter or LinkedIn recommendation and keep a record of your work. Reflect on whether you liked it; this is the most valuable thing you will take away.

A simple first year plan

1. Month one: set up your CV and join one college society.
2. Months two and three: send ten tailored messages to local organisations.
3. Holidays: do a two to four week stint somewhere.
4. Next year: aim for a larger role in a field you tried and liked.

Handling rejection

Most first year applications get no reply. That is normal and rarely personal: small organisations are busy, and many do not respond to students at all. Keep a simple list of who you contacted, when, and what happened. After ten messages with no answer, change something: shorten the email, name a different skill, or ask a senior who got an internship where they looked. Treat it as a skill you are practising, because job applications later will feel much easier.

If you are studying law and want a flexible start, Lexfolio runs a free virtual internship where you research and write articles and can have them published under your name. Our guide to getting an internship with no experience is also a good next read.

A fresh graduate in India has four realistic routes: a company internship, a government backed scheme such as the PM Internship Scheme, an apprenticeship or training programme, and project based or voluntary work with an NGO, research group or professional. Choose by asking which one gives you a named supervisor, real tasks and something you can show afterwards, and be sceptical of any route that asks you to pay.

Why an internship after graduation still makes sense

Employers hiring entry level staff often ask what you can already do. A degree answers part of that; a short stint in a working environment answers the rest. It also gives you a reference, a sense of which function you enjoy and a chance to build contacts. It does not guarantee a job, and no honest programme promises one.

Route 1: Company internships

These are the standard internships offered by companies, startups and professional offices. Duration is typically a few weeks to a few months, and stipends vary from nothing to a reasonable monthly sum depending on the firm, role and city. We could not verify a reliable average, so ask before you accept.

Find them through Internshala and the AICTE internship portal (which lists opportunities for students and recent graduates of affiliated institutions, so check eligibility), through LinkedIn, and by writing directly to small and medium businesses. Alumni networks are especially useful for graduates because former classmates already inside organisations can introduce you.

Route 2: The PM Internship Scheme

The Government of India’s PM Internship Scheme places young people in companies for a fixed period with a monthly stipend shared between the government and the company. It has run as a pilot with rounds that opened from late 2024, and the reported rules have changed between rounds, including the age band, education status, income limit, duration, and number of applications allowed. Several unofficial sites quote different figures, so do not rely on them or on this page for the current terms.

What stays consistent across rounds as reported: you register on the official portal, build a profile, apply to a limited number of internships, and companies shortlist from there. Certain categories are excluded, for example people in full time employment and graduates of some national institutes and holders of certain professional qualifications. Check the official portal at pminternship.mca.gov.in for the current round, age limits, stipend and exclusions before you apply. If a website asks for a fee to “register” you for the scheme, it is not the official one.

Route 3: Apprenticeships and training programmes

Apprenticeship programmes combine on the job training with a stipend and are regulated by law. Some companies and public sector bodies also run graduate trainee schemes. These are more formal than internships and may involve a contract. Read the terms: the duration, the stipend, what you receive at the end and any obligations you take on. Government apprenticeship opportunities are listed on official portals, and you should apply only through those.

Route 4: Research, NGO and professional work

• Research assistantships. Professors and research centres sometimes need help with data collection, literature review or administration. Email them with your CV and a specific interest.
• NGOs and think tanks. Many take graduates as volunteers or interns. You may get exposure to policy, fieldwork or communications. Check that the organisation is registered and has a real address and a named person to report to.
• Professionals. Chartered accountants, lawyers, architects, consultants and similar practitioners often accept graduates for training. It can be a strong way to learn a trade.

Choosing between them

Ask these questions of each opportunity:

1. Will I have a named supervisor who gives feedback?
2. Will I do real tasks, or only observe?
3. What will I be able to show in six months?
4. Is the stipend enough that I can afford to do it?
5. Does it fit the job I want?

Applications that work for graduates

Write a CV that leads with your degree, then projects, then skills. A graduate with a dissertation, a capstone project or a portfolio has material; use it. Keep your email short, name a specific reason for choosing the organisation, and attach a PDF. Apply to fifteen or twenty places with tailored messages rather than two hundred with copy paste. Expect many to not reply, and follow up once.

Gap time and job preparation

If you are preparing for a competitive exam, choose a part time or remote internship that fits your study hours. Be honest with the employer about your availability. Employers generally prefer clear commitments to promises that fall apart in week three.

Remote internships

Remote work widens your choices but also attracts scams. Check that the company exists, speak to someone by phone or video before you accept, and never pay a fee. For more, read our guide to spotting work from home internship scams.

Making a short internship pay off

Keep a record of tasks and outcomes. Ask for a letter or recommendation at the end. Update your CV and LinkedIn within a week while the details are fresh, and thank your supervisor in writing. People who offer to keep in touch and then actually do so find that doors open later.

If you have no experience yet, our guide on getting an internship with no experience shows how to start. Law graduates can also apply to Lexfolio’s free virtual internship, where you research and write articles that can be published under your name.

B.Tech students should plan internships around the college calendar: a small project or short training after the second year, a proper summer internship after the third year, and a final internship that can lead to a job offer. Apply two to four months ahead, show projects rather than only marks, and prefer a role with a named mentor and a clear deliverable over one with a famous company name and vague work.

What you can get depends on your branch, your city and the year, so use this as a framework.

Types of engineering internships

• Software and IT. Web or app development, testing, data work, cloud and security. The most numerous and the most competitive for big names.
• Core engineering. Mechanical, civil, electrical, electronics and chemical students can intern at manufacturing plants, utilities, construction sites, design offices and service companies. These often involve site visits and shadowing.
• Research internships. Universities, institutes and labs sometimes host undergraduate interns for a few weeks with a professor or a research group. Applications often require a short statement and your academic record.
• Government and public sector. Some public bodies and ministries offer internships to engineering students, sometimes through the AICTE internship portal. Check each listing, since terms differ.
• Startups. You will get hands on responsibility but may get little structure. Ask what you will build.

When to apply

Large organisations may open applications several months before summer. Small firms and startups can be flexible and may take interns at short notice. Work backwards from the date you are free:

1. Four months ahead: update your CV, pick two or three projects to showcase, and shortlist companies.
2. Three months ahead: apply to structured programmes and to professors for research internships.
3. Two months ahead: apply to firms that hire with shorter lead times.
4. One month ahead: keep applying; offers often arrive late.

What recruiters actually check

For software roles, recruiters look for working code or a link to your repository, plus the languages and tools you used. For core roles they look for coursework, lab projects, workshop experience and whether you can handle a site environment. For research roles professors look for relevant courses, a clear statement of interest and, ideally, a reason to pick their group in particular.

Grades matter for some programmes and not for others. A mid range grade point with a well documented project is often more persuasive than a high one with nothing built.

Building something worth showing

Choose a small, finished project and document it. A web app with a README that explains the problem, how to run it and what you learned is better than ten abandoned half projects. For mechanical or civil students, a design report with drawings and calculations does the same job. For electronics students, a working circuit with a short video and a circuit diagram does it. In every case the test is whether a stranger can understand what you did in three minutes.

Where to apply

1. Your training and placement cell. Many companies recruit interns through campuses.
2. Internship portals. Internshala and the AICTE internship portal list roles across branches. Read the listing for tasks, duration and stipend, and make sure it names a real company.
3. Company careers pages and LinkedIn. Apply directly, and message an engineer on the team with a specific question about their work.
4. Professors. Email with a short note, your CV and one paragraph about why you want to work with them. Mention a paper or project of theirs that you actually read.
5. Alumni. Ask for a ten minute conversation, not a job.

The email that gets replies

Keep it under 150 words. Say who you are, which year and branch, what you can do, and what you are asking for. Attach a one page CV and link to one project. Do not send the same message to a hundred addresses, because it shows. Follow up once after a week.

Making the internship count

On the first day, ask what you are expected to deliver. Keep a daily log and save screenshots, drawings or code that you are allowed to share. Check confidentiality rules before posting anything. In the last week, present your work to your mentor and ask for a letter or a recommendation. If the company runs a pre placement offer process for interns, ask how it works rather than assuming it will happen; offers depend on the employer and are never guaranteed.

Scams and paid “internships”

Be cautious about any internship that charges a fee, offers a certificate for money without real work, or arrives via an unsolicited message promising high pay for simple tasks. A genuine employer does not ask you to pay to work for them. If a listing is vague about the company’s name, address or supervisor, treat it as suspect. Our guide on spotting work from home internship scams explains the patterns in detail.

College rules and credits

Many universities require a summer training or internship report for engineering degrees, and national policy documents encourage internships as part of undergraduate study. What counts for credit, how many weeks are needed and how it is assessed are set by your university, so read your regulations early. Do not assume a certificate from a brief online course satisfies the requirement.

Pay

Stipends range from nothing to substantial, depending on the company, role and city. We cannot give a reliable figure. Ask about the stipend and expenses before you accept, and weigh it against the learning and the mentor.

If you are earlier in the process, see our guide on getting an internship with no experience.

B.Com students have more internship routes than most people realise: accounts and bookkeeping, taxation and GST, audit assistance, banking and insurance, financial analysis, and general business roles. The best entry point is a local chartered accountant’s office, a small company’s accounts team or a finance startup, and the skill that opens most doors is working Excel plus basic familiarity with accounting software.

Roles, stipends and requirements vary by city and firm. Use this as a map and check each offer on its own terms.

What commerce internships look like

• Accounts and bookkeeping. Entering vouchers, reconciling bank statements, preparing ledgers. Usually in accounting software such as Tally or a cloud tool. Dull at times, but it teaches the mechanics of how money moves through a business.
• Taxation and GST. Collecting invoices, preparing returns under supervision, tracking notices. You learn deadlines, documents and how errors get noticed.
• Audit assistance. Vouching, verifying documents, drafting working papers. Often seasonal, with heavy periods around financial year end.
• Banking and insurance. Branch operations, customer service, documentation, sales support. Opportunities may be offered through branches or through training programmes; ask directly.
• Finance and analytics. MIS reports, dashboards, cost analysis, financial modelling at a basic level.
• Business operations. Procurement, inventory, vendor payments, and invoicing at a manufacturer or retailer.

Skills that make you hireable

Employers who take commerce interns rarely expect deep technical knowledge. They expect you to be accurate, careful with documents and able to use common tools. Learn these before you apply:

1. Excel. Lookup functions, pivot tables, filters, basic formulas and clean formatting. This matters more than any other single skill.
2. Accounting software. Free trials and student versions exist. Practise creating a company, entering vouchers and generating a trial balance.
3. Basic GST and income tax concepts. What an invoice must contain, what input credit means, what TDS is in outline.
4. Business writing. A short, polite email with no spelling errors.

Where to look

Chartered accountants’ offices. Practising chartered accountants take on commerce students in many cities. Visit or call, carry a one page CV, and ask who handles hiring. A walk in often works better than an online application at small firms.

Your college. Ask the placement cell and the commerce department. Teachers often know local firms who need help at specific times of the year.

Online portals. Internshala lists finance and accounts internships, and the AICTE internship portal lists opportunities mainly for students of affiliated institutions. Filter for your city or for remote work, and read each listing for tools and tasks.

Small and medium businesses. Traders, distributors and manufacturers often need help with invoicing and records and have no formal intake. A short email to the owner or accounts head can start a conversation.

Banks and financial institutions. Check careers pages and ask at branches. Do not pay anyone who promises a placement.

A CV that fits a commerce internship

List your stream and year, your software skills, and any relevant coursework. Add projects: a mock set of books, a class case on ratio analysis, a stock market project, or a college fest budget you managed. Describe the output: “Prepared monthly accounts for a college society with 12 transactions a week” is better than “managed accounts”.

If you are preparing for CA, CMA, CS or CFA, say so. Employers know that these students may want flexible hours, and being open about your schedule is better than disappearing in exam season.

If you plan to become a chartered accountant

The CA route has its own mandatory practical training, called articleship, which is separate from a casual college internship and follows rules set by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. A summer internship at a CA firm can help you decide whether the work suits you, but it does not replace articleship. Check the current rules on the institute’s official website.

Work you can do before anyone hires you

• Build a simple Excel sheet that tracks monthly expenses and share it as a sample.
• Take a listed company’s annual report and calculate five ratios. Write a one page note on what they show.
• Read a small GST guide and explain it in plain language to a friend. If you can write it clearly, you can show it.

Samples like these let you answer the question every recruiter thinks of: what can this student do? Attach them or mention them in your email.

Protect yourself

Be careful with offers that ask you to deposit money, to pass on your bank details beyond what a payroll needs, or to handle the company’s money through your personal account. A genuine employer will not need you to do any of that. Never share OTPs, and never log in to a client’s banking or tax portal on a personal phone unless your supervisor has explained the arrangement properly.

What to ask at the start

• Who is my supervisor and how often will we speak?
• What will I own by the end?
• Are the hours fixed, and what happens in busy periods?
• Will I receive a certificate or a letter?

Pay

Stipends for commerce interns vary widely, and many short internships at small firms are unpaid or pay a modest amount. We do not quote a figure because we could not verify a reliable one. Treat the learning and the reference as the real return.

For more ideas, see our guide on finance internships for commerce students. If you want writing practice on business and law topics that you can show employers, Lexfolio’s free virtual internship offers it.

BBA students can start internships from the first year, but the sensible plan is to move from small, skill building roles in years one and two to a structured corporate or startup internship in the summer after year two or in year three. Apply four to eight weeks before you want to start, tailor each application to the role, and expect many roles to be unpaid or to pay a small stipend.

What follows is a plan, not a promise. Availability, stipends and requirements vary by city, college and year.

Check what your college requires

Many BBA programmes include a compulsory summer internship or a project with a report and a viva, usually after the first or second year. Some colleges arrange placements through a placement cell, others expect you to find your own. Read your syllabus and ask your department two questions: how many weeks are needed, and what documents you must submit afterwards (certificate, report, supervisor feedback). Under the national education policy framework, institutions have been moving towards building internships into undergraduate programmes, but what that means for your degree is set by your own university.

What to aim for in each year

• First year. Short, low pressure roles: a college society, a local business, a family contact, an NGO, a campus ambassador role. The goal is to learn what working feels like and to have something honest to write on a CV.
• Second year. A proper summer internship of four to eight weeks in one function. Choose marketing, sales, HR, operations or finance and see if you like it.
• Third year. A role aligned to what you want next: a job, an MBA, or your own venture. If you plan to take the CAT or another exam, build the internship around that timeline.

Which functions suit BBA students

Marketing and social media. The easiest to enter. Expect content, campaigns, research and basic analytics. Keep a portfolio of what you made.

Sales and business development. Lead generation, cold outreach, follow up. Tiring, but you learn to deal with rejection and to talk to customers.

Human resources. Screening CVs, scheduling interviews, onboarding paperwork. Good for understanding how organisations hire.

Operations and supply chain. Process tracking, vendor coordination, data entry that becomes data analysis if you ask good questions.

Finance and accounts. Reconciliations, MIS, basic reporting. Strong Excel helps more than any course certificate.

Startups. You will get more responsibility and less structure. Ask exactly what you will own before you accept.

Where to look

1. Your college placement cell and alumni. Alumni usually reply to a short, specific message from a current student.
2. Internship portals. Internshala is the best known for student internships; the AICTE internship portal also lists opportunities, particularly for students of AICTE affiliated institutes. Create a complete profile on one or two rather than a thin one on ten.
3. LinkedIn. Follow companies in your city and message the person who manages the team, not a generic recruiter.
4. Direct emails. Small companies often never advertise. A clear email with your CV can work.
5. Family and neighbourhood networks. Not glamorous, but often the fastest route to a first role.

How to apply with no experience

Your CV should fit on one page. Lead with education, then projects, then any activities. A class project, a fest you organised, or a small online shop you ran for a month counts if you describe what you did and what happened. Compare “Managed fest sponsorship” with “Contacted 40 local businesses and raised funds from six”. The second tells the reader something.

Your covering email should be five or six lines: who you are, what role you want, one specific reason you chose this company, and what you can offer. Attach the CV as a PDF and name it with your name. Follow up once, politely, after a week.

Spotting bad offers

• Any request for money to “register”, “confirm” or “secure” an internship.
• An offer letter that arrives without an interview or a conversation.
• Vague tasks, no named supervisor, no company address.
• Pressure to decide immediately.

Paid courses sold as internships exist. A genuine internship gives you work to do, someone to report to and, if the company agrees, a certificate or letter at the end.

Getting value from the weeks you have

On day one, ask your supervisor what a good outcome looks like at the end. Write down what you did every day in two lines. In the last week, ask for feedback and, if it went well, for a short recommendation letter or a LinkedIn recommendation. Keep samples of work you are allowed to share.

When you update your CV, write results where you can: numbers of leads handled, reports built, posts published. If you cannot share figures because of confidentiality, describe the scope instead.

Pay and expectations

Stipends vary widely and many internships for students are unpaid or pay a modest amount. We cannot give a reliable figure, because it depends on the city, the company and the role. Judge an internship by what you will learn and who will supervise you, and treat any stipend as a bonus.

If you are still stuck

Talking about it in interviews

When someone asks what you did, answer in three parts: the task, what you did about it, and what changed. Practise one story for each internship. Be ready to say what you would do differently, since interviewers value honesty about mistakes over a perfect account.

Read our guide on getting an internship with no experience. If you want something you can start without waiting for a company to reply, Lexfolio runs a free virtual internship where you research and write articles that can be published under your name.

A summer internship project report is the document your business school marks after you finish your summer placement. Write it around one specific business question that the company actually cares about, support it with data you collected yourself, and keep a clear line from the problem to your recommendation. Most reports lose marks for being a diary of the internship instead of an answer to a question.

Your institute’s rules decide the details: length, format, number of weeks, who evaluates. Treat everything below as a working method and let your project handbook overrule it wherever the two differ.

What the report is actually for

At most business schools the summer internship project, often called SIP, comes after the first year and is assessed through a written report and a viva. The duration and the credit weight vary by institute, so read your handbook before you plan anything. The report is evidence that you can take an unstructured problem inside a real organisation and produce something a manager could use.

Evaluators are usually reading dozens of these. They look for a clear objective, a defensible method, honest limitations and a conclusion that follows from the data. A beautifully formatted report with a vague objective scores lower than a plainer one with a sharp question.

Get the topic right in week one

Do not accept a topic like “study of marketing practices at XYZ Ltd”. It cannot be answered. Ask your company guide what problem is on their desk this quarter, then narrow it until it fits in a sentence with a number in it. For example: why repeat orders from small dealers fell in two regions, or whether a change in credit terms would improve collections.

Check three things before you commit:

• Can you get the data? Ask which sheets, reports or customers you can access, and whether any of it is confidential.
• Is it finishable? You have weeks, not months. A smaller question done properly beats a large one done badly.
• Will your faculty guide accept it? Send a half page note with the objective and method and ask for a reply in writing.

Working with two guides

You will normally have a company guide and a faculty guide. They want different things. The company guide wants something useful; the faculty guide wants academic rigour. Keep both informed with a short weekly update: what you did, what you found, what is blocking you. Managers are busy, so send it by message or email rather than asking for a meeting.

Ask the company guide early whether the report may name the company and show real figures. If not, agree on what can be disguised, such as indexing numbers to 100, and tell your faculty guide that this was a condition of access.

A structure that works

1. Title page, certificates and declaration. Your institute will supply the formats. Get the company certificate signed before you leave, not after.
2. Executive summary. One page: the problem, what you did, what you found, what you recommend. Write this last.
3. Introduction and company background. Keep it short. Only include background that helps the reader understand the problem.
4. Objectives and scope. Two or three specific objectives, and what you deliberately left out.
5. Methodology. Sources of data, sample size, tools, time period. If you ran a survey, include the questionnaire in an appendix.
6. Analysis and findings. The main body. Use tables and charts only where they make a point, and say in a sentence what each one shows.
7. Recommendations. Specific, ordered by priority, with an owner and a rough sense of cost or effort where you can.
8. Limitations. Be honest. A small sample or a short period is not a failure; hiding it is.
9. References and appendices.

Collecting data without wasting the weeks

Start with what the company already holds: sales records, customer complaints, process documents, previous reports. This is faster and more reliable than starting with a survey. Then add primary data only where internal data cannot answer the question: a short customer survey, interviews with five or six employees, or observation of a process.

Keep a log of every file you received and who gave it. When you write the report you will need to say where each number came from, and when your faculty guide asks, you will be able to answer in seconds.

Writing it so it reads like analysis

Write each finding as a claim followed by evidence. “Dealer repeat orders fell 18 percent in the north” is a finding only if the table that supports it is in front of the reader. Avoid sentences that could appear in any report, such as “customer satisfaction is important for business”.

Use your own words for company background, but when you borrow a framework or a figure from a published source, cite it. Many institutes run reports through similarity software, and sections copied from the company website or from older student reports are the commonest reason for trouble. If the company shared an internal document, say so, and do not paste it in.

Preparing for the viva

The viva usually tests whether you did the work yourself. Expect questions like: why this method, why this sample, what would change your recommendation, and what did you do on a normal day. Re-read your report the night before and prepare a two minute explanation of the problem, the method, the main finding and the recommendation. Know every number on every chart.

Also be ready to explain what went wrong. Saying that your survey response rate was lower than hoped and how you handled it shows more maturity than claiming everything went to plan.

Common mistakes

• Describing the company at length and the problem briefly.
• Collecting data first and finding a question afterwards.
• Charts without a sentence saying what they show.
• Recommendations that cannot be traced back to a finding.
• Leaving the writing to the last week.

A simple timeline

If your internship runs for around eight weeks, which is common but not universal, a workable split is: week one for topic and method, weeks two to four for data, weeks five and six for analysis, week seven for a full draft shared with both guides, and the last week for revisions and certificates. Scale it to your own duration.

If you are still looking for an internship to anchor your project, read our guide on how to find and apply for MBA internships. If you want practice writing structured, sourced pieces before your report is due, Lexfolio runs a free virtual internship built around exactly that.