Nowadays, diplomats maintain a lot of various roles in order to promote their countries’ interests abroad. Being well-educated, they receive an opportunity to cope with the majority of tasks related to their duties. Nevertheless, the representatives of the human resource management department prefer hiring experienced professionals as they have more practice. If apprentice diplomats want to reach the level of their colleagues, they need to follow the advice of those professionals who have already achieved success in this field.
A lot of interesting and useful information can be received from H.E. Lady Catherine Ashton’s lectures. One of them was focused on the ten major aspects of diplomacy, the implementation of which has a positive influence on career development. Topics connected with the engagement and understanding of the issue seem to be the most relevant and helpful for an apprentice diplomat.
H.E. Lady Catherine emphasizes the fact that it is vital for every diplomat to understand both the country and the nation it represents. In order to reach this goal, a professional is to be aware of the issues they have. However, one should also realize that it is not enough just to list some problematic points and schemes on them. To understand the issue, a diplomat should search for its core and track the way it altered with the course of time. In this way, even an apprentice employee will be able to make the right decision.
Background information provides a diplomat with an opportunity to find solutions, even for the most difficult problems. That is why enormous attention should be paid to both education and knowledge. As a result, they become able to provide the most appropriate solutions to any issues faced.
Professionals are to be engaged in diplomacy. H.E. Lady Catherine and H.E. Bernardino Leon agree that this principle is one of the most critical ones in addition to the understanding of the issue. In this way, novice employees should always be able to represent their country, nation, and organization. What is more, they are expected to build positive relations with the representatives of other parties. Such relationships ensure the possibility to develop decent negotiations and reach the main goal.
In addition to the points mentioned above, apprentice diplomats should be good orators. They need to learn to provide answers to any questions without exception. Of course, this skill can be trained only while practicing. Thus, it is vital to use everything learned in class in other environments. It is important to be aware of the peculiarities of the communication as well. Diplomats need to understand what they say, when, and to whom. Those who want to be engaged should be ready to accept different ideas. In order to make the right decision, they must consider various points of view and gather all the important information. Thus, to become a successful diplomat, one should develop both communication and decision-making skills in order to take appropriate actions in difficult situations.
In addition to that, apprentice diplomats can search for advice in the book “Naked Diplomacy” by Tom Fletcher. With its help, they can deepen their knowledge of the principles of democracy. As a result, it will be possible for them to improve international relations in the future. Professionals are likely to benefit if they focus on the opportunities provided by technological development. For instance, using the Internet and social media, they can improve interactions with different countries.
The use of social media also allows promoting peace and preventing terrorism. Professionals should post those messages that bear some information that opposes different crimes. In addition to that, this tool provides an opportunity to get in touch with citizens and to find out their ideas, opinions, wishes, and expectations. As a result, it will be easier to develop the most relevant diplomatic strategies.
Even though people have various character traits, diplomats need to focus on the ability to maintain several roles, be brave, creative, and engaged. An apprentice diplomat should be able to find the golden mean between promotion and boasting. One needs to focus on the development of connections with other countries. Their representatives should notice a sense of authenticity instead of self-centeredness.
At the global level, diplomats also need to think about the mitigation of inter-boundary conflicts and the provision of economic, energetic, societal, and environmental safety. Diplomats are to be perseverant and committed. These traits are significant because they ensure that professionals are able to set clear goals and to accomplish them appropriately. They ensure that diplomats can improve international relations and promote diplomacy. In this framework, a lot of attention should be paid to international cooperation and its involvement in addressing the country’s priorities.
Finally, it is significant for apprentice diplomats to bear in mind that not all principles of diplomacy will work for their countries. Each nation is unique, and this fact cannot be ignored. For the UAE, for instance, the focus on regional democracy is not really critical. The same can be said about respect for the law. The thing is that it is improper to impose Islamic laws, for example, on the countries with the Catholic population. Even though diplomacy presupposes the necessity to promote some ideas internationally, it is significant for novice diplomats to realize that diplomatic relations do not imply any pressure, as it is associated with negative connotations and only worsens relations between different countries and their representatives.
As it was already mentioned, diplomats need to define the main issues faced by the country and solve them. In this framework, it is also vital to mention that the resolution should be maintained in a peaceful way so that both countries can benefit from it. Through their representatives, countries are to get in touch with each other and engage in a dialogue that allows finding a resolution. However, this point is not appropriate for the UAE because it is more focused on its own societal and national interests. In this way, it is important for professionals to base their solutions on national values and human rights.
Thus, it can be concluded that an apprentice diplomat who is willing to become a successful professional should follow the advice of professional speakers and diplomats who have already achieved great triumphs in this sphere. On the basis of the information they provide, it can be claimed that it is critical for inexperienced professionals to be engaged in diplomacy so that they can build positive relations with other countries.
Being able to identify and understand the issue, diplomats can find the most appropriate solution, ensuring that it meets the needs of the population. With the help of technological development, professionals can easily promote international relations and get to know what their society thinks about various topics. Finally, they should focus on the development of the particular character traits that are needed in this sphere. However, it is also crucial to check whether the selected principles of diplomacy correspond with their countries’ needs.