Getting an internship
Quick answer
A legitimate internship has a written description, a named supervisor, and a schedule. In the Philippines, unpaid internships must also meet the conditions in Article 306 of the Labor Code; never pay a fee for the privilege of working.
An internship is the least well-regulated thing most students do before they start work, and the one with the most confusion around it. This guide covers how they are advertised, how to tell a genuine placement from a scheme that sells you access to one, and the legal rule that governs unpaid internships, which almost nobody knows exists.
What an internship is actually for
Two different things are called internships. One is a structured placement with learning objectives, a supervisor, and assessment. The other is a body who will put you at a desk and put their logo on their website. Both exist in large numbers. Only the first is worth the time, and they are easy to tell apart.
A structured placement has a written description of what you will do, someone responsible for you by name, a schedule, and usually an assessment at the end. If you cannot name the person who supervises you, that is the finding.
How they are advertised
Through your school’s placement office, which is usually the most reliable route and often the only one your institution endorses. Through employer career pages directly, which is worth doing even if you use a placement office, because schemes advertise openings that employers never offered. Through agencies and paid platforms, which vary enormously.
Paid schemes, and what to be careful about
Some organisations charge an applicant fee, or a placement fee, or require a purchase, in exchange for an internship. The useful question is simple: is the employer paying for you, or are you paying them? In a legitimate internship the employer bears the cost, because they are getting something from it. An arrangement where the candidate pays a fee for the privilege of working for free has moved the value the wrong way, and the organisation’s incentive is to collect fees from as many candidates as possible rather than to place them well.
Other signals: a guarantee of placement, testimonials that cannot be verified, an offer arriving before you have been asked any substantive question about your qualifications, and a placement letter that arrives by email with no reference number and no contact at the employer.
The rule about unpaid internships
In the Philippines unpaid internships are not a grey area. Article 306 of the Labor Code, as amended, sets conditions for unpaid trainees and interns, and the principal ones are:
- The intern works at least twenty hours a week.
- The intern works no more than eight hours a day.
- There is a written agreement between the school, the student and the employer.
- The intern does not cover a regular employee’s duties during ordinary working hours, and there are restrictions on working a seventh consecutive day.
These conditions come from the amendment to the Labor Code and are what makes an unpaid arrangement lawful. An arrangement offering you unpaid work with none of those protections in place is not a permissible internship, whatever it is called.
The practical point: the written agreement is required, and it should exist before you start. If an employer wants you to begin without one, you know where you stand. Your school’s placement office should be able to tell you whether a specific arrangement meets the requirement; that is a normal question and asking it is not a problem.
Getting one without paying anyone
Apply directly to organisations you would genuinely want to work for, including small ones and non-profits, who are often short of applicants and do not run placement schemes. Start before you are eligible if the programme allows it, and use your school’s placement office even if you are applying directly elsewhere. Have your CV and a short, specific cover letter. Say what you can do and which part of their work you are interested in, rather than describing yourself in general terms.
What not to rely on
On any promise of a guaranteed placement, whatever the name on the website says. On testimonials, which are trivially fabricated and unverifiable. On being told that an internship is “industry standard” for a role, which is sometimes used to normalise unpaid full-time work. And on the absence of a written agreement, which is not a sign of informality.
Tools for the paperwork
A CV and a cover letter are the whole application, and both are easier to get right when the formatting is not being done by hand. All of these run in your browser and keep what you type on your own machine.
Common questions
Can an internship be unpaid in the Philippines?
Yes, but only when the conditions in Article 306 of the Labor Code are met, including a written agreement between the school, student, and employer, at least twenty hours a week, and no more than eight hours a day.
Should I pay for an internship?
No. In a legitimate internship the employer bears the cost because it gets work or a pipeline of candidates. An arrangement where you pay a fee for the privilege of working has moved the value the wrong way.
What makes an internship worth taking?
A written description of what you will do, a named supervisor, a schedule, and usually an assessment at the end. If you cannot name the person responsible for you, that is the finding.