Step 3 — Documents and the boring admin

Nothing here is interesting, and all of it will block you at exactly the wrong moment.

The checklist

• Government photo ID and address proof.
• PAN — needed for the salary account and the offer.
• Bank account you can actually operate locally.
• Every payslip from the last year.
• Relieving and experience letters from each previous employer.
• Degree certificates — the physical ones, not a photo of a photo.

Background verification is real

Most mid-size and large employers run a third-party check. A gap you didn't mention, or a title that's inflated by one level, surfaces here — after you've resigned from the old job. Say the true thing on the form.

Nobody has ever lost an offer for a six-month gap they explained. People lose offers for six-month gaps they hid.