If you’re a student right now, your inbox is probably a graveyard of “Thank you for your interest” emails or worse, total silence. Most students think the secret to getting placed is applying to more jobs. In reality, the secret is knowing where to look.

Applying for a startup role on Naukri is like trying to buy fresh milk at a hardware store; it’s just the wrong place. If you want to stop wasting time, you need to master these five platforms and understand exactly what each one is for.

1. LinkedIn

LinkedIn isn’t just a resume site; it’s a living, breathing professional ecosystem. The real placement gems aren’t always in the “Jobs” tab they are usually in the posts made by HR managers.

• Best Suited For: High-growth startups and premium off-campus drives.

• The Secret: Stop just clicking “Apply.” Start following recruiters at companies you love. When they post “We’re hiring,” send a polite DM or ask for a referral. That direct connection is worth ten blind applications.

• Common Trap: Having a ghost profile. If a recruiter clicks your name and sees a blank “About” section or no profile picture, they’re moving on to the next candidate.

• Check it out: LinkedIn Jobs

2. Internshala (The Entry Point)

If you are in your 2nd or 3rd year, this is your home base. It’s built specifically for students, which means the companies here expect you to have zero experience.

• Best Suited For: Internships that often lead to full-time Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs).

• The Secret: Speed is everything. These recruiters get flooded. If you see a role you like, apply within the first few hours. Also, treat the “Assignment” like a final exam it’s usually the only thing they actually look at.

• Common Trap: Copy-pasting the “Why should we hire you?” answer. If it looks like a template, it’s an instant rejection. Tell a real story instead.

• Check it out: Internshala

3. Naukri.com (The Corporate Engine)

Naukri is the “Old Guard” of Indian placements. It is still the #1 tool for massive MNCs and service-based giants like TCS, Infosys, or Cognizant.

• Best Suited For: Bulk hiring and entry-level corporate roles.

• The Secret: The Naukri algorithm rewards “freshness.” To stay at the top of a recruiter’s search list, log in every morning and update one small thing on your profile even just a comma. It tells the system you are active and looking.

• Common Trap: Not reaching 100% profile completion. If your profile is “thin,” the algorithm will literally hide you from the big recruiters.

• Check it out: Naukri Fresher Jobs

4. Indeed

Think of Indeed as the Google of jobs. It doesn’t care about your “network” or how many followers you have. It simply scrapes the entire internet to find every open role out there, because it’s so massive, it’s where a lot of smaller companies and startups post when they don’t want to deal with the chaos of LinkedIn.

• Best Suited For: It’s for finding local roles, niche technical jobs, and companies you’ve probably never heard of but that pay surprisingly well.

• The Secret: The “Last 3 Days” Rule. Indeed is notorious for “Ghost Jobs listings that stayed up after the role was filled months ago. Always set your search filter to “Last 3 Days” or “Last 24 Hours.” If you’re the first to apply to a fresh listing, your chances of a callback quadruple.

• Common Trap: The “Easy Apply” addiction. Because it’s so easy to click a button, students apply to 50 jobs an hour without looking. If the job description asks for a specific skill (like Python or Tally), and it’s not in your resume,                                                the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) will bin your application before a human ever sees it.

• Check it out: Indeed’s “How to get a job” Hub

5. Company Career Pages (The Direct Route)

This is where the “smart” students spend their time. Big companies like Google, Amazon, and Deloitte post their off-campus drives on their own portals long before they hit LinkedIn.

• Best Suited For: High-salary, competitive, official drives.

• The Secret: Bookmark the “Careers” page of 10 companies you actually want to work for. Check them every Monday morning. Applying directly on their site means your resume goes straight into their internal database without a middleman.

• Common Trap: Waiting for a notification. These companies don’t always advertise these roles—you have to be the one to go and check.

Conclusion

Stop searching randomly. If you want an internship, go to Internshala. If you want a role at a big MNC, keep your Naukri profile active. If you want to work at a specific dream company, go straight to their Career Page.

Systems beat luck every single time.