With five campuses and around 50,000 students enrolled each year, BCIT is one of BC’s largest post-secondary. BCIT degree graduates have a 98% employment while diploma and certificate graduates have a 93% employment and apprentice completers have a 98% employment.
How are BCIT students in finding employment? In this Graduate Advice series, we ask our graduates about their tips to getting hired before or right after graduation.
Jeffrey Salvo, Bachelor of Business Administration
“One of the most surefire ways to have an employment offer lined-up prior to graduation is to be involved with the BCIT community and get connected. The BCIT Student Association runs programs to help current and recently graduated students prepare for their careers through workshops, job preparation, and even a mentorship program. There are also numerous clubs you can join that have affiliations with companies through sponsorship or events that connect you with potential employers. At my time at BCIT I was affiliated with several groups: I competed with BCIT JDC West, joined the BITMAN Association, volunteered with the BCITSA and was a member of the Leaders of Tomorrow Mentorship Program. Establishing a network through those communities helped me get employed prior to graduation, but more importantly, gave me meaningful friendships that helped me succeed during my journey at BCIT.”
Meghan Brommeland, Bachelor of Science in Nursing
“My advice for getting hired right before or after graduation is to contact the workplace or unit that you’re interested in working near the end of the program and express your interest, ask about qualifications they look for when hiring new graduates and if there are casual options to get your foot in the door if they are not hiring in a full-time position. If you are precepting in a unit that you want to continue in, let your manager know early! If you’re planning to do additional training after graduation look into the application process requirement and again, reach out to program heads for more information and share your eagerness to learn from them. It worked for me!”
Tanush Verma, Computer Systems Technology
“[Take part in] industry projects, co-ops, part-time jobs [related to your field], BCIT Student Association’s Mentorship Programs, hackathons competitions, and other [opportunities to build your hands-on experience]. Expand your knowledge and learn new skills while networking as early as you can. Also, practice doing interviews with your fellow students and instructors. Opportunities are right there, you just need to hustle.”
Karen Kan, Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering
“Academic success alone will not secure your dream job. Meet industry professionals at networking events and on LinkedIn to learn about roles that you aspire to achieve. Take the initiative to seek internships. Not only will you gain industry experience before graduating, you will also have a better understanding of which roles interest you.”
Karin Chan, Technology Support Professional
“I was lucky to get hired after my internship and have been with the same company since. The Technology Support Professional (TSP) program gave me a great foundation for what I would tackle in the everyday IT world. It can be difficult to teach something that is always changing and always moving to something faster, newer, and better, but TSP equipped me with the basics of how everything works.”
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