In many courses, they are now anchored during studies, The Praxis semester. Students leave the university and try their hand at the factory. This can be an advantage provided the company is looking for the internship wisely.
In the internship, it often makes sense to apply for an initiative. Not all internships are being written out. The first contact with the working world is already completed by most students. In the meantime, many of them are doing a practice semester, which is traditionally used. It offers the opportunity to orient oneself professionally.
It can also make it easier to get a job after graduation. But how do you look for the right employer for the internship?
Reflect: Before you enter the first search term on Google, you should go in and be clear about your interests and goals: “What can I do? What do I want? “, Explains Christiane Dorenburg from the Career Service of Freia University Berlin (FU). The next step is to find out what the five strongest competencies are, with which one can stand out from others, advises the career adviser Annette Gregor. Working with myself and my goals avoids detours.
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Unsolicited application: If you already have a specific company in mind, you should apply directly there. “Initiative applications are important because we assume that not all internships are written out,” says Michaela France from the Career Service of the University of Applied Sciences (HTW). Particularly when it comes to international traineeships, it is generally questionable whether these can be found in job exchanges. Again, the direct approach of a company can be useful. “For an internship outside the national borders, you can approach the foreign trade chambers,” says Irene Selling from the German Confederation of German Employers’ Associations.
Recognition of the Praxis semester
At most universities, there is a trainee appointee who supervises the seminar. This is also available as a contact for problems. Internships are usually lecturers from the departments or someone from the Career Center. To be able to recognize the practical semester, an internship report is also necessary in most cases. “It is best to take notes or lead a small diary to the company regularly,” advises Dorenburg.
Apply for a holiday semester: During the practical semester, you can apply for a holiday semester. This does not apply as an advanced semester, and students usually must pay no or a lower student fee. If you have chosen the internship to the best of your knowledge and still realize that the job does not correspond to your own interests, that is not a broken leg: “Learning and gaining experience should be an important part of the internship,” says Dorenburg.
Secondary job in the compulsory internship
Many compulsory internships are either unpaid or badly paid. Students are not entitled to a minimum wage for compulsory internships. Therefore, many students want or need to continue working on the job. But beware: Who works during an internship, by the way, can get problems. “In this case, similar rules apply for trainees as for employees,” explains Irene Selling. This means: If the employment contract is expressly stipulated, the secondary activities must be approved, the employer must first agree if these are not in the spare time. In any case, the secondary activity must not conflict with the working hours of the internship.
