Internship

General Info

I heard that students saying it takes too much time to search for an internship. Actually, it’s not true. It is not so difficult to get an internship. It doesn’t mean that you can get an internship within a day. If you have prepared a good cover letter and resume, you can find an internship easily.

Students with a mandatory internship in their course will be given little more priority than a voluntary internship. It doesn’t mean that the chances are not there for the other students, but it will be competitive.

The main reason behind this is because of basic income (Mindestlohn) rules which apply for the voluntary internship.

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Types of internship

Mandatory internship (Pflichtpraktikum) – Students who must do an internship as a part of their course.
Voluntary internship (Freiwilliges Praktikum) – Students doing an internship which is not mandatory for their course completion.

Who can do internship?

Mandatory internship – Only students who are registered in the university are eligible to do this internship.
Voluntary internship – Anyone who has a valid visa. For example, it is also possible to do a voluntary internship with dependent visa.

Note: Most of the companies recruit only the students. Special exceptions are possible only if the employer allows.

I would highly recommend each and every student to do an internship before completing the course. It helps you to find a job easily.

Click here to read “Why work experience is important than finishing your studies in Germany?”

Applying for an internship

Few things you should keep in mind before applying for an internship.

Apply for the position which is related to your profile.
Do not apply for more than 2 vacancies in the same company at the same time. Wait for the result and then apply for the rest. If you have more number of vacancies, then analyse and apply for the one which suits more to your profile.
Follow up your application. If the deadline is not mentioned in the website, call to HR or the contact person and ask for the result. This may give them a chance to look at your application. Do this only after two or three weeks after applying. Mention your application number, your last name, date of submission, vacancy number and other details if necessary. This gives a good impression.
If you are getting too many rejections, try to find out the reason. It is better to consult with career service (Ausbildungszentrum) in your university which is free of cost.
Do not think that you are always right. It is better to discuss with other friends who are working in some company and get their suggestions.