My internship at the United States Commercial Service in Bucharest in the summer of 2006 was a very rewarding experience from many points of view.

First, it helped me get a feel of international trade and of its various aspects. As an economics student, I was delighted to see abstract concepts such as market barriers, demand and supply or benefits of trade coming to life right in front of my eyes. It was even more satisfying to see that my work on several projects could in fact contribute to trade successes.

Second, I think I gained some useful skills, which will be of tremendous help during my future work experiences and with university work. I improved my communication skills by having to contact and obtain information from companies, helping set up meetings or translating many documents from Romanian to English and vice-versa. I acquired several technical skills, like learning how to structure a market research report or how to write a company profile and improved my analytical ability by having to work with various trade statistics and to interpret them.

Third, I got to work with a group of people who, besides being very good at what they are doing, were extremely supportive and friendly. It was a pleasure being part of their team. I really did not feel those four weeks passing by, even if this was my first proper full-time work experience.

Last but not least, my internship with CS Bucharest was of tremendous help in securing another internship with a major international investment bank in London in 2007. It boosted my resume and gave me a valuable work experience to talk about during my interviews, in addition to the recommendation received from the U.S. Commercial Attache to Bucharest Cindy Biggs. It was the best work-experience I could have got that summer and I would recommend it to any other university student.

For more information about my intern experience with CS Romania, U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, you can e-mail to monica.pascu@N0SPAM.mail.doc.gov