China-Singapore Jingwei Client, July 27th (Luo Kun intern Tang Xiaoyu) is another year of job hunting season. The high-paying financial industry has always attracted the attention of many recent graduates. The internship experience in large institutions can undoubtedly increase their competitiveness. However, there are always too many internship positions in well-known financial institutions. Some intermediaries are targeting opportunities and start a paid internship business.
An internship at an international investment bank costs 17,000 yuan a month, and an internship at a leading domestic brokerage firm costs 20,000 yuan...Behind the clearly marked internship resources, intermediaries often need to open up internal relationships and share with internal employees. The interns will be arranged by "internal and external cooperation" In his favorite and spent a lot of money. The legal person pointed out that this behavior of the employee has violated the law without the employer’s knowledge, and the serious case may even constitute a crime.
Spend 20,000 yuan to go to the top brokerage for internship?
As early as 2018, some financial institutions issued a statement to boycott the implementation of payment services. But nowadays, paid internal push is still common in the financial industry.
The microblog "internship" super chat is full of the words "introduction". Posting "internship" will invite a large number of intermediaries to actively inquire; similarly, search on some second-hand trading platforms with the keyword "internship in financial internship" There will also be a lot of links. Although the fees vary from agency to agency, most of them range from a few thousand to tens of thousands, and the internal referral process is generally similar.
After seeing the job application post of a reporter from Sino-Singapore Jingwei, Song Xiang took the initiative to contact a reporter from Sino-Singapore Jingwei through Weibo. According to him, he is still a student, doing an internship with seniors, so the prices given are all For the first-hand price, there is no "middleman making the difference". He said that if you want to go to a leading domestic brokerage firm for field internship, the intermediary fee needs 22,000 yuan.
"If it is an on-site internship, it can be found in the intern system, and there will be a work license. Many intermediaries say that they will leave personnel, but in fact, you will cover up when you ask him." Song Xiang said. . "Go to personnel" means that interns can sign an internship agreement with the company, and can obtain an internship certificate and corresponding internship salary.
Song Xiang said that generally speaking, as long as you have passed the college level, the best grade is the third and fourth grade, the best score is the top 20%, and you have passed the fourth and sixth grades, there is no problem.
Promoting famous enterprises within a fee seems to be a well-known secret among financial students. “It’s really not easy to find a job this year. I spent a long time looking for an internship before, but in the end I chose paid internal referral." Jin Ming, a junior in an accounting major at a business university, passed paid internal referral in June this year. , Joined an accounting firm, one of the eight largest accounting firms in China, and officially started his internship life.
In fact, as early as the beginning of this year, Jin Ming planned to find a summer internship anyway. However, the epidemic prevented this plan from being implemented. After consulting several internship intermediaries, Jin Ming learned that some seniors had set up an internship referral agency, and at this time it happened that all of the projects in this matter needed manpower. Out of trust in seniors and concerns about his job prospects, Jin Ming paid a registration fee of 4000 yuan.
"Thinking about it now, I am also lucky. At that time, I signed an online electronic contract. When I paid the money, I was very worried. I was worried that he would black me out and disappear. Fortunately, everything went well, otherwise there would be a psychological shadow. "Jin Ming said frankly.
Paid internship benefit chain
Generally speaking, the intermediary will promise the student that the internship will be guaranteed, but the full amount will be refunded, and the internship certificate, letter of recommendation, and background investigation will be supported. In terms of specific procedures, intermediaries generally require students to pay a certain amount of deposit and then sign a contract. Subsequently, the intermediary will contact the internal staff of each company and begin to push internally. Students only need to wait for the tutor to contact, and after receiving the offer, they need to make up the balance to the intermediary.
Contract template provided by the intermediary.
A person from the bond department of a securities firm revealed to a reporter from Sino-Singapore Jingwei that after he was formally hired, a person in charge of an overseas study agency approached him, hoping to do an internship with him and pay him a share, but he sternly rejected him.
Many financial professionals said that they had similar experiences, and they all chose to reject them. On the one hand, they felt that the money earned by students was not honorable. On the other hand, they were worried that if the company found out, they would face punishments such as expulsion.
It is understood that when an intern is successfully recommended, the insider will receive a "hard cost" of as little as several thousand yuan and as many as tens of thousands of yuan.
The aforementioned agent Song Xiang said, "The managers are definitely not happy that they take students only four to five thousand yuan a month, and the monthly salary is more than 30,000, and there is no shortage of four to five thousand."
Intermediary
During the investigation, a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei found that through paid internal push, some people got their wish to enter the head company, while others were deceived and wasted time and money.
Wang Can, who is about to graduate next year, will not be able to contact him anymore after paying the agency 8,000 yuan. “At the time, I told me that I didn’t want to go to personnel. I could do a remote internship with internal employees or give me an internship certificate.” Since his school was not the “target school” of his favorite institution, Wang Can wanted to pass the paid internship I pushed to increase the "gold content" of my resume, but I was deceived of my living expenses for months by the intermediary's rhetoric.
Xia Lin started a paid internship business on a second-hand trading platform. After paying a consultation fee of 9.9 yuan and a resume modification fee, a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei obtained Xia Lin's WeChat account. She has repeatedly emphasized that she has cooperative relationships with many financial institutions, but she kept silent about the name of her company.
According to him, this service not only includes internship placement, but also job placement. "If it is a formal position in the investment banking department of a brokerage firm, it will cost about 200,000, but the resume requirements are relatively high. The eight majors need about 70,000. You can choose from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and the headquarters can also be used." Xia Lin added. An industry insider told the Sino-Singapore Jingwei client that Xia Lin is very likely a liar and the possibility of spending 200,000 yuan to buy a job is extremely small.
After reading the resume of a reporter from Sino-Singapore Jingwei, Xia Lin recommended the investment banking department of Caixin Securities. The intermediary fee was 20,000 yuan. "If you are applying for the job yourself, you must have a master's degree of 211/985," Xia Lin said. She said that she could also consider going to CITIC, but the price is higher, requiring 25,000 yuan. When a reporter asked about the specific internship location of CITIC Securities, Xia Lin said that it depends on the specific project. There is no need to go to the company. Entering the project means entering the job.
"For example, I will push you to the Shanghai branch for an internship. If they have a project in Tianjin, then you can go directly to Tianjin; if the project is over, you can choose to go back to the office or end it." The reporter asked himself. Which branch was pushed to and where the official seal of the internship certificate belonged to. Xia Lin said that due to the shortage of summer internship places, CITIC’s project was full.
Later, Xia Lin again recommended the Beijing Investment Banking Department of Caixin Securities to a reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei. This time, she offered to go for an internship with only 17,000 yuan.
A reporter from China-Singapore Jingwei asked the Human Resources Department of the Beijing Investment Banking Department of Caixin Securities via email for verification. Caixin Securities stated that "the company has not cooperated with any intermediary agencies, please be aware of risks." According to the homepage of CITIC Securities’ official recruitment website, the company issued an announcement on July 7 stating that it “has no cooperative relationship with any unit, group or individual recommending campus recruitment and internship resumes.”
CITIC Securities also stated that it will conduct background checks on the candidates’ past experiences. If any applicants are found to have entered into transactions with such institutions or individuals on documents similar to the “guarantee recommendation” agreement or the so-called “examination data”, the company reserves the right to cancel the transaction. The right to apply for qualifications, close their application process and even withdraw their employment notice.
Information map of college graduate photos. Photo courtesy of Tang Xiaoyu
Lawyer: Internal employee participation is illegal
In some people's opinion, the internal promotion of paid internships belongs to "one willing to fight and one willing to endure", which is necessary in the current shortage of internship positions.
Zhao Zhuan, a lawyer at Beijing Zhilin Law Firm, pointed out in an interview with the Sino-Singapore Jingwei Client that college students are now facing difficulties in finding jobs. Many people hope to get internship opportunities during their stay at school, accumulate work experience, and make early plans for graduation and job hunting. However, the current internship position Still in short supply. In addition, the interns themselves have less experience and need to be guided by an intermediary as a professional organization, which creates a demand. In other words, paid internal push is a result of market demand and is a legal act. In this process, intermediaries provide job recommendation, packaging resumes, training, guidance, consulting and other services, and charging fees for these services is also a legal existence.
Zhao Occupation believes that if there is a cooperation agreement between the intermediary and the employer, and the intermediary collects fees and shares with the employer, and there is a factual relationship, then the behavior of the employer is illegal. However, if the fee is only collected by the intermediary, it is a legal phenomenon.
Lawyer Wu Xuhua, the co-founder of Zhejiang Kenting Law Firm, also agrees with this view. Wu Xuhua told Zhongxin Jingwei that although there may be some illegal phenomena in paid internship, such as fraud, fraud, etc., this does not affect the certainty of paid internship as a normal market behavior, "the law can do nothing without prohibition." However, it is worth noting that if the intermediary and the employer’s employees share the individual share without the employer’s knowledge, then the employee’s behavior is illegal and the off-book payment is illegal, serious or even a crime, that is, the crime of bribery by non-state employees.
In addition, if the intermediary refuses to refund after the payment fails, how can the interns defend their rights? Wu Xuhua believes that there is a contractual relationship between the interns and the intermediary, which enables the interns to rely on the contractual agreement between the two parties when they claim that the intermediary breaches the contract. However, since the contract itself is provided by the intermediary, it is very likely to be detrimental to the interns. As for the agreed liability for breach of contract, there are obstacles in claiming. Secondly, the law also has provisions on compensation for losses. Interns can request intermediary compensation based on their actual losses, but the losses in this case are difficult to prove.
Therefore, Wu Xuhua personally advocates using the Consumer Protection Law to protect the legitimate rights and interests of interns. The consumer behavior here refers to the process by which the interns pay fees to the intermediary and the intermediary provides information to facilitate the transaction, and the Consumer Rights Protection Law stipulates that consumers have the right to know, to choose, and to trade fair. "I agree that interns can protect their rights through the Consumer Rights Protection Committee, Consumer Associations, and even in accordance with the Consumer Rights Protection Law, which requires a refund of one compensation and three indemnities. However, there is still controversy about whether it can be used in this way." New Jingwei APP)
(In the text, Jin Ming, Song Xiang, Xia Lin, and Wang Can are all pseudonyms)
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