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Check the vacancy and referral route independently

First establish that the job and recruitment channel exist, then identify whether you are buying coaching, a recommendation or an internship service. A public application link marketed as an internal place, payment for guaranteed entry or a certificate without genuine work warrants further checking.

Who we are: An independent career-information editorial team.
Sources: Official links where available; preparation checklists and teaching examples are our editorial work.
Last source/content check: 2026-10-02. English edition: 2026-10-04. Unverified items are marked.
Cooperation disclosure: No paid-provider recommendation on this page. Inquiry details are not automatically forwarded to an agency.

What does the fee actually buy?

CV editing, practice and advice have deliverables that can be examined in a contract. A recommendation needs separate evidence that the employer permits the route and that the recommending person and channel are genuine. Charging alone does not establish fraud, and the word “referral” does not establish a job guarantee.

Three official checks

  1. Vacancy: independently locate the employer’s official page, job identifier, location and current status.
  2. Mechanism: ask the recruiting team through an official channel whether the claimed recommendation arrangement exists.
  3. Actual route: establish whether the provided item is a valid recommendation code, an internal submission or an ordinary public application link.

A screenshot, a group-chat statement or an unreachable “internal contact” is not sufficient evidence. A valid employee referral may still lead to the normal screening, test and interview process.

Is an internship real?

Confirm the employer, supervisor, work content, dates and actual outputs. The agreement, daily work and CV description should be consistent. A certificate alone without genuine work must not be presented as an internship; interview questions may reveal the discrepancy.

  • Ask who assigns and reviews work.
  • Keep permitted records of your own tasks and deliverables.
  • Distinguish a training exercise, course project and company internship.
  • Check confidentiality before sharing a work sample.

When to pause

  • A recruitment conversation suddenly becomes paid training or borrowing.
  • A large fee is required before any verifiable role information is provided.
  • The seller guarantees employment but cannot show the employer’s basis for that claim.
  • You are encouraged to invent experience or alter documents.

Retain the advertisement, contract, payment record and communications, then verify with the employer before proceeding. The linked official warnings support these risk checks; they do not establish wrongdoing by any particular organisation discussed online.

A short evidence log

Record the claim, official vacancy URL/job ID, the person or channel you checked, the date, the written response and the unresolved question. This makes a decision more useful than collecting an unverified list of “safe” providers.

Compare the contract and deliverables · View the existing contract-pack request entry (Chinese).

Sources and verification

Ministry of Justice: paid-referral risk report · last checked 2026-10-02

Shenzhen HRSS: recruitment-to-training risk warning · last checked 2026-10-02

Questions

Does an employee referral bypass screening?

Do not assume so. Verify the employer’s process; a recommendation is not a guarantee of a test, interview or job.

Can a certificate-only programme be written as an internship?

Only describe genuine work accurately. A certificate without the claimed work does not justify inventing an internship.

Return to the official source before applying or paying. Preparation advice and translated explanations do not replace the employer’s or authority’s decision.

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