The Career Development Center (CDC) encourages students to pursue experiential learning opportunities throughout their time at NYU Shanghai. We work diligently to ensure that students engage in productive, meaningful work, and require that employers abide by certain standards. However, It is also important that you consider the following before you accept a position with an employer:
An internship combines what you are learning in the classroom in a real world setting. Through this experience, you should gain practical knowledge and build professional connections while receiving feedback from your supervisor.
Are You Asking the right Question?
Before you accept an offer it is important to get a realistic idea of what the position has to offer. At the interview stage, make sure you ask questions such as:
- What is a typical day like in this role?
- Who will my supervisor be?
- What type of evaluation and review process takes place to evaluate performance?
- Am I gaining transferable skills that will prepare me for the next step in my career?
Is the Employer Providing Compensation?
The CDC believes that all students should receive compensation for their work. However, we acknowledge that some industries do not typically pay their interns, yet they still provide a meaningful learning experience. In addition, according to China Labor Law, all international students are only allowed to accept unpaid internships and must go through an internship registration process at the Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security.
Are They too Good to be True?
The CDC makes every effort to screen employers and job postings on NYU Shanghai CareerNet. However, if you receive a suspicious email or phone message from an employer, it is extremely important to exercise caution.
Contact Career Development Center immediately if the answer is "yes" to any of the following questions:
- Does this job promise a large salary for almost no work? Especially if I have little or none of the required experience?
- Does this position offer me a large payment or reward in exchange for allowing the use of my bank account?
- Does the contact's email address match the company's website domain? (i.e. xxx@qq.com rather than firstname.lastname@companyname.com)?
- Are there multiple misspellings in the job posting or email?
- Does the posting focus more on the money I will make rather than the responsibilities of the job?
- Does this opportunity sound too good to be true?
- Read more about fraudulent job postings.