GERMANY | Internship: At Work | Recognition
References play a very important role in Germany. They are seen as proof of performance, qualifications gained and provide information about the applicant’s personality. It is not common practice to name other people as referees. You should always ask for a reference after completion of your internship. This should include: 1) the time period, your name and the company 2) description of the tasks 3) assessment of your performance and your personality.
Due to employment law reasons, every reference sounds good even if it actually mirrors a poor result. This means that a special language is used in references – a language register which only personnel managers understand.
You will find an example of a reference and two explanations of the codes in the links.