The couple operated a small business and in 1944, Delia Parodi was hired as a stenographer in the Department of Labor by its new appointee, Colonel Juan Perón. Parodi assisted Perón in his fundraising efforts dealing with the devastating 1944 San Juan earthquake, and became close to Eva Duarte (who would soon be Perón's fiancée and most influential adviser). Following Perón's election to the Presidency in 1946, Parodi was transferred to the Province of San Luis, where she participated as an enumerator during the 1947 Census. The experience earned her a promotion as a local ombudsman in the Las Cañitas section of Palermo (today an upscale ward in Buenos Aires).