Internship opportunities

Internships offer valuable skills and workplace connections. Here is what you need to know to land the perfect internship for you.

An internship is a great opportunity to dive deeper into the subject you study, learn more about its practical applications and gain experience in the job market. No wonder many degree programs require or recommend an internship.

Whether your internship is voluntary or mandatory, a great letter of reference from your employer during your internship will most certainly impress your future boss. Don’t view your internship as just a requirement to graduate: It’s an opportunity to acquire valuable skills and often enough, former interns are hired after they graduate.

How to find an internship

The first place to look for an internship is at the university’s career services page. Career services offer a lot of information, advice and internship listings. The listings are often in German, which makes sense as fluent German language skills are often required for internships.  

At the university job fairs or local and regional job fairs, you also have the opportunity to talk to future employers and ask them about internship opportunities.

If you can’t find a suitable internship through your university or have mind set on a specific company, you can also contact them directly or look at job sites online for opportunities. Make sure that the internship is in line with the requirements of your studies.

You should have ample opportunities to learn about your company and industry during your internship. Just being hired as cheap labor violates the spirit of internships. Ask about the kind of work you’ll do and what departments you’ll work in beforehand.

MeinPraktikum.de has a database with internships searchable by city, area of study and favorite company. The search results indicate whether the internship meets the criteria for a required internship in the respective field of study.

If an internship is mandatory for your studies, it doesn’t count toward the maximum hours of work that you are allowed under your work permit. An internship can be paid or unpaid.

What to expect during an internship

If you sign up for an internship, a contract should be in place that states the hours that you work, what your tasks are, what your learning objectives are and when and how feedback on your progress will be given.

It should also state what resources are being made available to you, who you can ask for advice. Ideally, companies have a dedicated HR person for interns and apprentices or some from of mentorship.