When I look back on the various interns who have worked for me over the last decade, there was one in particular who I thought was not a howling success; she was from a wealthy background in a former Soviet republic, not very political or interested in the Balkans which I mainly worked on at the time, rude to the secretarial and administrative staff, and wasn’t in the office as often as I would have liked. I tend to use her as the example of what not to look for when hiring (in particular, the fact that I put too much credence in a warm recommendation from a trusted colleague, who was friends with her very rich American husband but of course had no idea of her skills and interests).

To my surprise she got in touch with me from the USA this week, saying, “Those years in Brussels are among my fondest memories and working for you was one of the highlights.” It just goes to show that a particular incident can look very different from the other side of the equation, and also makes me feel that perhaps my mentoring efforts weren’t being completely wasted.