Gregg Blachford: Career consciousness
The toughest part of Gregg Blachford's job is getting his service known to students early enough. All too often, says the director of McGill's Career and Placement Service, it's only when students are in their final year that they cross the threshold of the place that may hold the key to their future.
"I think students should start thinking earlier in their studies about how they are going to prepare themselves to look for work," says Blachford. "At fourth year, you can't catch up on extra-curricular activities."
Extra-curricular activities? A component of career preparation? Yes, says Blachford, in the sense that any activities a student participates in from her high school years on -- jobs, student organizations, volunteer work, travel, sports, theatre -- constitute "added value" to the degree she's doing.
"That's why leaders in student organizations get jobs," says Blachford, pointing out that when an employer is looking at a potential employee, the actual degree is only one part of the pie; computer skills, languages, analytical and problem-solving abilities, organizational and leadership skills -- and the ability to articulate all of that in written and oral form -- being the remaining pieces.
Blachford believes strongly that in today's job market -- which is much tighter than that of the '60s, '70s and early '80s -- career education is more important than ever. Dispelling myths about the job market is part of that education.
For instance, Blachford notes that while most arts students love what they're doing, they're often in a panic because they don't know what they'll be able to do with their degrees.
"In arts, I spend a lot of time with students calming them down. I tell them: 'You will get something, but it may take longer then you expect,'" says Blachford, describing some of the workshops offered by CAPS such as networking, writing a curriculum vitae and successful job interview techniques -- not to mention "How to get a job with a BA."
As for students in professional programs, Blachford, who also directs the McGill Engineering Career Centre, and the other advisors work with those schools' or faculties' own career or placement people to complement the services they offer.
For the student who just doesn't know what he wants to do after university, Blachford says: Don't fret. Try different things, see different places and don't be afraid to take risks.
Blachford's own career path demonstrates that the man practices what he preaches.
After graduating from Queen's, he hadn't thought much about what he wanted to do -- "You didn't have to in those days" -- but landed a teaching job in a primary school in Sydney.
He knew then that teaching was his vocation, so proceeded to London for formal teacher training, after which he taught at secondary and college levels in England and in Germany -- pausing for a year to do an MA in sociology -- all the while developing an expertise in career counselling.
Blachford then returned to his native Toronto, to see what the old country had to offer. Following a short stint as a guidance teacher, he moved to Montreal in 1991, where the "Ontario-bilingual" teacher found part-time work at Dawson College before starting at McGill.
During his off-hours, Blachford trains volunteers at Gay Line, a crisis and information phone service for gays and lesbians in Montreal, where he also staffs the phones two nights per month.
Given the usually anonymous nature of the work, Blachford never expected to find himself and Gay Line catapulted into the national limelight, as happened recently.
It began with a phone call to Gay Line from a man suffering from amnesia requesting help in finding accommodation and in finding his identity. Blachford obliged and looked after James Edward Brighton, as the young man believed he was called.
Gay Line contacted the media in a bid to discover Brighton's identity. Soon after, Hard Copy reported that Brighton was, in fact, Matthew Honeycutt, from Tennessee, accused of fraud and subsequently accused by the Montreal police of faking his amnesia.
Blachford remains convinced of the young man's amnesia and was shaken by the change in public support for his charge after the accusation of fraud was reported. He and Gay Line quickly tried to regain support for Honeycutt through interviews in the media. Six Montreal police officers arrived at Blachford's house at 1 a.m. to arrest Honeycutt. "It was major overkill.
"Even if he had committed fraud, does that mean we shouldn't have helped him? No matter what he did, Matthew was a found person, needing to find who was missing him," says Blachford. Honeycutt recently returned to the U.S. to be with his family.
Helping people find themselves, then find who's missing them, sounds a little like what Blachford does at CAPS.
Bronwyn Chester
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