Organisational matters

Whether the statutory minimum wage applies to your internship depends on several factors - e.g. whether it is a voluntary or a compulsory internship. The duration and your current level of education can be decisive as well.

You can find out what applies for your individual internship in the online check of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (online check in German).

You can find out more about funding opportunities for an internship abroad on our page on internships abroad.

In addition to the Career Service, the International Office will be happy to answer any further questions you may have about financing internships abroad.

If circumstances do not allow you to do an on-site internship, a remote internship can be a good solution. However, not every internship can be completed equally well from home. So you should first think about what you want to learn during your internship and whether these activities can be carried out on your home laptop. In general: If an internship is explicitly advertised as "remote", you can assume that the tasks can be handled well from home. However, an unsolicited application can also make sense if you think that your desired position will also work from home.

Important questions in advance

If you have decided to do an online internship, it is important to ask during the interview how the company is prepared for it. Good questions are for example:

- Does the company already have experience with online internships?
- What tasks can I take on as an intern?
- Do I have a specific contact person?
- How does the team work together? Which collaboration tools are used?

Work place setup

Especially in the beginning it can be a big change that your private laptop, which you usually use for Netflix, online shopping and so on, now becomes your professional working laptop. To avoid distraction, you should only have the programs and websites open that you need for your internship during working hours.

If you are not given fixed working hours, set up a structured work schedule for yourself with a fixed starting times, breaks and end. If you have many individual tasks to complete, create a to-do list so that you don't forget any of them and keep your priorities under control.

Also inform your surroundings (family, flatmates) about your working hours, so that you can concentrate on your tasks and are not disturbed during video conferences.

Get to know your colleagues and network

In the home office it is much more difficult to get to know your colleagues than when you are sitting together in the office. Since there is no personal introduction tour in the office, where you can chat briefly, it is a good idea to find out about your future colleagues in advance - the company homepage is a good starting point for this. This way you can already familiarise yourself with who is responsible for what.

Of course, it is equally important that your colleagues get to know you. So that they know not only your name but also your face, you should turn on the camera at least during the first video conference. It is also important to introduce yourself briefly during the first video conference. And it is best if you think about what you want to say about yourself beforehand.

Show initiative and ask for feedback

It can happen with every internship that you have nothing to do at times. Especially with an online internship and the resulting physical distance, it can quickly happen that the boss forgets you while handing out the tasks. If this is the case, simply take the initiative yourself and actively ask for new tasks. Of course, it can also happen that you receive no or too little feedback on your performance. In this case you should also actively ask for feedback.

Video conferences and other tools

In the home office, the physical presence is compensated for with chat functions, e-mails and, in particular, video conferences. Try to familiarise yourself well with these tools and use them to keep up to date and in touch with your colleagues. Also think about the best way of communication depending on the situation. Sometimes a short phone call or video call can be much more useful and efficient than writing dozens of messages via slack or teams.

If problems arise during your internship, you should try to resolve them yourself within the company. If the problems persist, you can contact either your department or the Career Service.