How to Verify a Company Before You Apply

Before applying anywhere, a few minutes of verification can save you from wasted time or worse. 1. Check the company's official website independently, don't rely on a link sent to you. Search for the company name directly and navigate to their site yourself. 2. Confirm the role appears on the company's own careers page, not just a job board or a message forwarded to you. Many scams impersonate real companies using their name and logo on fake listings. 3. Look up the company on LinkedIn. A real company generally has an established company page, employee profiles, and some history, not a page created days ago with no employees listed. 4. Check for a registered business identity. In India, you can look up company registration details via the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (mca.gov.in) for private limited companies, which lends real credibility to a claimed employer. 5. Read recent, genuine reviews, but treat any single review (positive or negative) with proportion. Look for consistent patterns across many reviews rather than one dramatic post. 6. Email domain check. A recruiter emailing from a free address (like a generic webmail domain) rather than the company's own domain is a warning sign, especially for larger, established companies. None of these checks are foolproof alone, but together they build a reasonably reliable picture before you commit any time, documents, or money.