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How to find an Intership

Be aware, that - depending on the economical situation - it might take up to 200 outreaches to find a suitable internship.
So, it is good to make a structured list (e.g. in EXCEL), to track how far the outreach proceed.

Possible Templates for Communication

Email template for a unsolicited application (Initiativbewerbung)

Betreff: Pflichtpraktikum / Praxissemester – Embedded/Elektronik – ab <Monat Jahr> (12–20 Wochen)

Guten Tag Herr/Frau <Name>,

ich studiere <Studiengang> an der <Hochschule> und suche ein <Pflichtpraktikum/Praxissemester> ab <Datum>.
Ich kann Ihr Team konkret unterstützen bei:
- <1> (z.B. Embedded C / STM32 / RTOS / CAN)
- <2> (z.B. Prüfaufbauten / Python Testautomation / HIL)
- <3> (z.B. PCB-Layout / Altium / Inbetriebnahme)

Kurzprofil: <1 Satz – was du schon gebaut/getestet hast>.
Anbei: CV + Notenübersicht + 1 Seite Projektportfolio.

<optional>
Ich bin auf Ihr Unternehmen aufmerksam geworden, weil <1 kurzer Bezug: Produkt/Technologiefeld/Branche>.
Falls es grundsätzlich denkbar ist, Praktika in Ihrem Bereich zu betreuen:
Könnten Sie mir ggf. sagen, ob es bei Ihnen eine passende Ansprechperson gibt (fachlich/technisch)
oder ob Sie mir empfehlen würden, mich über einen bestimmten Weg zu bewerben?

Viele Grüße
<Name>
<Tel> | <LinkedIn/GitHub> | <E-Mail>

Why this template is likely to work:

1. Recruiters skim extremely fast.
   • In an eye-tracking study, the average initial resume screen was ~7.4 seconds, see TheLadders Eye-Tracking Study (PDF)
   • “Good” resumes shared: clear section/title headers, job titles that pop, and bullet-style accomplishment lists (F-/E-pattern scanning). Cluttered, long-sentence layouts performed worse.
2. German application guidance explicitly recommends short, value-first openings, see StepStone: Einleitungssatz Bewerbung
   • opening should be max 2–3 sentences
   • avoid generic phrases
   • explicitly “Mehrwert betonen”.
3. For Germany, email+PDF routing/forwarding is the normal “plumbing” for SMEs too, see Absolventa: Bewerbung per E-Mail.
   • for email applications (incl. Initiativbewerbungen), combine the whole application into one digital file (PDF), because it can be forwarded internally quickly to the right person.
   • The email subject should clearly state what you apply for so it can be assigned correctly.

Phone script (30 seconds)

Hallo, mein Name ist <Name>, ich studiere <Studiengang> an der <Hochschule>.
Ich habe Ihnen eine kurze Initiativbewerbung für ein Praxissemester geschickt (Embedded/Elektronik).
Ist das bei Ihnen angekommen – und wer wäre die richtige technische Ansprechperson?

via Job Portals

In the following some relevant search engines are shown.
Be aware that the following links are already partially filtered by:

• vicinity to Heilbronn
• Praktikum

You might also look for keywords like

• Elektrotechnik, Elektronik, Electronics
• Embedded, Microcontroller
• ECAD,
• EMC, EMV

The following list covers relevant job search sites:

1. Stepstone - strong in Germany; good filters by city/region
2. Xing Jobs - Germany-heavy.
   Refine the search by the „hamburger menu“ with
   1. Search radius: as you wish
   2. Employment type: Student
   3. Career level: Student/Intern
3. LinkedIn Jobs - best for “embedded/firmware” and direct networking
4. Jobware
5. GlassDoor
6. XING – Praktikum Jobs
7. Absolventa
8. Bundesagentur für Arbeit – Jobsuche (Praktika) - often overlooked, but does not have as much results
   Refine the search by clicking onto „Arbeit“ below „Was suchen Sie?“ and change it to „Praktikum/Trainee/Werkstudent“

“Indirect” directories (great for SMEs)

The following websites are good spots to find small and medium enterprises („SME's“) which might look for engineers.
An unsolicited application to them would a a good idea.

1. get in Engineering job search
2. Fachverband microtec-suedwest
3. Clusterportal BW
4. Korporative Mitglieder des VDE Württemberg

Also via the B2B supplier directory one can find EMS/automation integrators fast:

1. wlw.de: Elektronik-Fertigung (Heilbronn)
2. wlw.de: Elektronik-Fertigung (Stuttgart)
3. wlw.de: Elektronik-Fertigung (Karlsruhe)

Additionally, exhibitors are companies which are actively selling & building new products. They often hiring quietly.
also companies from there are suitable for an internship

• embedded world exhibitors
• SPS (automation) exhibitors
• Control (quality/testing) exhibitors
• Motek (production/automation) exhibitor directory
• All About Automation
• Expo for Electronics Manufacturing

Google operators

Keywords

Suitable keywords for electronics topics:

• Entwicklungsingenieur, Elektronikentwicklung, Hardwareentwicklung, Automatisierung,
• Prüftechnik, Prüfstand, Testautomatisierung, Hardware-in-the-Loop
• Mikrocontroller, Embedded Software, firmware
• EMV, EMC, EMS, Pre-Compliance
• Leistungselektronik, power electronics, DC/DC, Inverter, Motorsteuerung, BMS, Batterie Management, SiC, GaN, power electronics, Schaltnetzteil
• PCB Layout, Leiterplattenlayout, Altium, kiCAD, ECAD, Leiterplattenbestückung,

Suitable keywords for roles:

• ( „Internship“ OR „Working student“ OR „Bachelorarbeit“ OR „Masterarbeit“ OR „Abschlussarbeit“ OR „Pflichtpraktikum“ OR „Werkstudent“ OR „Praxissemester“ OR „Praktikum“ )

Add the region smartly

Append one of these blocks:

• (Heilbronn OR Neckarsulm OR „Region Stuttgart“ OR Ludwigsburg OR Böblingen OR Sindelfingen OR Esslingen)
• (Karlsruhe OR Ettlingen OR Bruchsal OR Pforzheim OR „Technologieregion Karlsruhe“)
• (Mannheim OR Heidelberg OR Ludwigshafen OR „Rhein-Neckar“)

filter urls

Often the URLs of the companies have „job-relevant“ keywords, like:

• inurl:karriere
• inurl:jobs
• inurl:stellen

Examples search strings

Search career pages directly:

• („Praktikum“ OR „Praxissemester“ OR „Werkstudent“) (Embedded OR Elektronik OR Prüftechnik) (Heilbronn OR Stuttgart OR Karlsruhe OR Mannheim) inurl:karriere
• (Praxissemester OR Abschlussarbeit) Elektronik inurl:jobs
• (Prüftechnik OR EMV OR EMC) Praktikum inurl:stellen

Exclude giants (reduce noise):

• („Praktikum Embedded“ Stuttgart) -Bosch -Porsche -Mercedes -Daimler -SAP -ZF -Continental

General search for suitable companies

• („Leiterplattenbestückung“ OR EMS OR „Elektronikfertigung“) (Heilbronn OR Karlsruhe OR Mannheim)

Search LinkedIn via Google

• site:linkedin.com/jobs („Werkstudent“ AND Embedded AND Stuttgart)
• site:linkedin.com/company („Elektronik“ AND „Karriere“) Stuttgart

Examples for SME Jobs

Examples for possible jobs beyond the big players (from 16.12.25):

1. ATS Automation - Praktikum in Engineering & Design
2. Schulz Group - Praktikant / Werkstudent (m/w/d) Produktentwicklung – Konstruktion & Elektronik
3. Carrybots - Installation und Deployment Mobile Roboter, Softwareentwicklung Robotik ROS
4. VEGA Grieshaber - Abschlussarbeit/Praktikum/Werkstudententätigkeit: Hardware oder Software im Bereich Embedded Systems

Job Fairs

Important: dates shift slightly each year - start checking Aug/Sep and bookmark the “event calendar” pages.

A quick list of the job fairs that regularly deliver SMEs and “hidden gems”

• MeetING (HHN, Heilbronn) – engineering-focused, very regional (Oct)
• CareerContacts (HKA, Karlsruhe) – multiple days, includes engineering faculties (Oct)
• IT-Mittelstandstag (HS Esslingen) – explicitly SME-focused (Nov)
• StepIn (Uni Stuttgart) – all engineering, annual (Nov)
• bonding Firmenkontaktmesse Karlsruhe – big student fair; many suppliers/SMEs participate (late Nov)

Calendar (between 01.10 – 31.12, recurring / usually each year)

How to use these fairs to find “hidden gem” internships (fast playbook)

1. 2–3 weeks before
   1. Download exhibitor lists; pick 20 target SMEs (suppliers, test houses, automation integrators, EMS/PCB, energy/storage).
   2. Prepare a 30-second pitch + 1-page CV (German-style).
   3. Book time slots if the fair uses a matching platform.
2. At the fair
   1. Ask directly: “Do you supervise Praxissemester/Praktikum projects even if nothing is advertised?”
   2. Ask for the technical hiring person (team lead / lab engineer), not only HR.
3. Within 24–48 hours
   1. Send follow-up email: “Nice meeting you + 2 internship project ideas I can execute in 12 weeks.”

The big List

In recent years, the “big players” have been more cautious about hiring employees and posting job openings, even for internships.
So you can look around there—but don't feel sorry for yourself if you get rejected.