I marketed myself mostly on my writing and research ability and my enthusiasm. Writing and research are crucial because those are the skills used most by the interns. Because the internship is unpaid, the embassy is looking for interns who are most likely to remain energetic. And finally, professionalism is also very important, because all of the interns speak on the telephone or meet with important individuals. Labarre had prided himself on his personal initiative.
Chain of command is everything.
He worked in the trade office. Avanessy also worked in trade. Originally, when I accepted the position, I was afraid that I might be doing filing, getting people coffee or picking up their dry cleaning. I was completely mistaken. I attended Congress on a couple of occasions and submitted reports which were sent to Ottawa.