How to get hired
The law does a lot of the hiring for you. Every listed company, and every other company with paid-up share capital of ₹10 crore or more, must have a whole-time company secretary as key managerial personnel. Listed companies, and public companies above the size limits in the rules, must also get a secretarial audit, which only a CS in practice can sign. So the market splits into company jobs and practice jobs, with NBFCs and listed groups paying best.
The training years
After the CSEET and the Executive Programme, ICSI's training structure has three parts: a one-month Executive Development Programme, 21 months of practical training once you have passed the Executive level, and a Corporate Leadership Development Programme at the end. You can train with a practising CS (certificate of practice plus at least a year's experience), or with a company that employs a whole-time CS and has paid-up capital of at least ₹50 lakh or net worth of at least ₹5 crore, among other approved bodies. The minimum stipend in ICSI's guidelines is ₹5,000 a month, or more if the Council revises it; many companies pay above it. The first two months are probation, during which you may switch with 14 days' notice; after that, transfers are restricted. CS trainee jobs covers finding a seat.
Choose a trainer by the work, not the brand. A PCS firm handling incorporations, ROC filings and secretarial audits for many clients teaches you more forms in 21 months than a large company where you file the same three returns.
First job after membership
Typical first titles are "Assistant Manager – Secretarial", "Company Secretary" at a small listed or unlisted company, "Compliance Officer" at an NBFC or broker, and associate roles at PCS firms and law firms. Interviews test real work: draft a board resolution for a related-party transaction, list the filings after a director resigns, explain a SEBI LODR disclosure timeline, or tell them what changes when a private company crosses ₹10 crore of paid-up capital.
Regulated businesses: NBFCs, brokers, fintech
NBFCs, housing finance companies, brokers and fintechs need people who can read RBI or SEBI circulars and turn them into a compliance calendar. Titles look like "Manager – Compliance" or "Risk and Compliance – Regulatory". Add FEMA basics and, for listed companies, SEBI's insider trading regulations, both of which come up in these interviews. Pairing CS with LLB or CA opens the senior roles here; see the legal and compliance guide.
Practice
To sign secretarial audits and certifications you need a certificate of practice from ICSI. Since April 2025, secretarial auditors of listed companies must be peer-reviewed under SEBI's amended Regulation 24A, with a fixed term, so peer review now matters if you want listed clients.
What the work is like
Company secretarial work runs on a calendar: board and committee meetings every quarter, results and shareholding disclosures to the stock exchanges, the annual general meeting, and annual ROC filings after it. Deadlines are fixed by law and missing one costs the company money, so the job rewards checklists and calm. In a small company the CS often also handles legal agreements and HR compliance; in a large group the role is narrower but closer to the board.