Advising & Career Services

BTC's Advising & Career Services staff want to help make sure you have everything you need to be successful as a student and graduate. Advisors can help you explore careers, prepare for an internship, locate a part-time job while in school and help you prepare to search for a job when you are nearing graduation.

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Career Exploration

Not sure where your interests lie? Take the Career Assessment and find out! Choosing a career, college major, or training program that matches your personality and interests is more likely to lead to career satisfaction and success.

Explore BTC Programs

At BTC, we’re here to help you access the hands-on education that can give you an advantage in today’s job market. We offer 33 associate degree programs and 55 certificate programs for in-demand fields. For more information look at our Degrees & Certificates.

Meet with a Career Advisor

Career Advisors help you clarify goals, interests, and values to plan for a rewarding career. Advisors work with students in all stages of the career planning process, from developing career goals to gaining the interviewing skills needed to land your dream job. Call the Admissions & Advising department at 360.752.8345 to make an appointment with a Career Advisor.

Explore Online Resources

Below is a selection of useful websites that provide a variety of free assessments and information to help you explore career options.

America's Career Infonet - This site offers an extensive career research library, including 450 career videos.
Bureau of Labor Statistics - This site provides data from the Department of Labor about the economy, including projections and regional information.
Career Builder - This is The Wall Street Journal’s career center site. It has great job information.
Discover Nursing - Learn about a career in nursing. Search for programs and scholarships.
LiveCareer - A comprehensive career development site with resources and information for all ages
Mapping Your Future - This site has career planning information including useful tips on job hunting resumes and interviewing. Also has occupational information and interest assessment.
Monster Board - This site has a huge job database that is easily searched by geographic location and type of employment. There is help with resumes and career advice.
My Future - This is a site for non-college careers, including the military and vocational careers. It has an interest survey to help students identify careers. It also has a section on personal finance and a guide to interviewing.
My Plan - Helps students and professionals plan more fulfilling lives by making well-informed decisions about their education and careers. Whether you’re deciding on what college to go to, choosing a major, planning ahead for your first career, or thinking about making a career change, MyPlan.com can help you explore options and bring clarity and insight into figuring out what’s right for you.
O*Net Resource Center - The nation’s primary source of occupational information. The O*Net database contains information on hundreds of occupations. Career Exploration Tools, a set of self-directed career exploration assessments, is provided.
Washington Career Bridge - Home to over 5,000 education and training programs, Washington Career Bridge lets you search for training programs by location, subject area, and type of school.
Washington State Apprenticeship Program - Find out what an apprenticeship is and what it can do for you. Get general information and contact numbers for Washington State Apprenticeship offices.
Worksource Washington - WorkSource is a statewide partnership of state, local and nonprofit agencies that provides an array of employment and training services to job seekers and employers in Washington.

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Academic Planning

BTC offers several tools to help you plan your schedule.

Class Search

Search for individual classes from an alphabetic list, or use filters to narrow your search.

ctcLink

Current students can login to ctcLink to search for classes, add classes to your schedule, print your schedule and check your grades all in one place!

Planning Worksheet

Just need a quick planning resource you can scribble out? Use this simple 6 Quarter Educational Plan worksheet with your advisor to map your plan of study on the go.

Schedule Planner

This online registration tool helps students identify available classes within the upcoming quarter. With Schedule Planner you can enter the courses you would like to take while selecting your available throughout the day, to find out the classes that would fit into your schedule. You can also register through Schedule Planner right away.

Check Your Transcript 

An important tip is to frequently check your transcript to know your final grades and progress. Financial aid and other funding sources require student to maintain satisfactory academic progress so don’t get caught by surprise. Also, be prepared to bring your unofficial transcript when you meet with an advisor so you can discuss your progress together.

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Job Search

Submit Résumé

Send a copy of your résumé to your College Navigator for review. It is best to include the job posting when possible:

Online Job Search Resources

Several online resources are listed below and provide the most up to date positions locally, regionally and nationally.

AfterCollege
Campus Point
Care.com
Career Bliss
Career Builder
Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing Job Board
Craigslist
Glassdoor.com
Government job openings
Hiring Our Heroes - Resume Builder
Indeed
Job Accommodation Network
Monster Jobs
Northwest Jobs
Nurses Beyond Borders
NursingJobs.us
Online Resumes Tips
Technology Alliance Group (TAG)
The Federal Bonding Program

Job Searching Skills: Resumes, Cover Letters and Interviewing

If the prospect of writing a resume seems daunting, or interviewing fills you with anxiety, we understand.

We can provide one-on-one assistance in finding potential positions, crafting your resume, writing an attention-grabbing cover letter, and even practicing for interviews. You’ll be more confident when you know you’re ready to present a solid resume and interview skills.

Contact your Navigator for an appointment. In the meantime, try these helpful guides:

Make an appointment with your navigator: Email  Admissions@btc.edu or call Admissions & Advising at 360.752.8345

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Employer Resources

Recruitment

On-Campus Recruitment

Contact Career Services at CareerCtr@btc.edu or call 360.752.8345.

Classroom Presentations

Contact Career Services to find out how you can meet with our students in their programs or set up a table in our Cafeteria.

Career and Internship Fairs

Employers have the opportunity to meet BTC students and recruit for current or future positions.

Community Job Postings

Thank you for contacting Bellingham Technical College (BTC) with an employment opportunity for our student and graduates.

We're excited to share Career Coach as a primary tool for employers to post open positions and for students to search for job opportunities.

What is Career Coach?
Career Coach is a powerful online service that uses Emsi's comprehensive labor market data to help students find careers that match their strengths.

To add new job postings, you will first need to create an employer account with BTC. After your employer account is activated, you will have access to submit job openings that will be added to BTC's Career Coach page as they are approved.

If you have questions about BTC Career and Internship Fairs, coordinating a campus presentation, or conducting on-campus interviews, please contact CareerCtr@btc.edu or call 360.752.8345.

BTC appreciates your support of our students and stands ready to help you meet your workforce needs.

Internships & Job Shadows

Internships are a great way to meet your company’s needs while providing valuable real-world experiences to student interns.

What is an internship?

An internship is a program that allows students and recent graduates to gain practical work experience with a company or organization. Internship programs vary widely depending on what kind of position the student holds, what type of company is hosting the internship, when and where it’s held, and what kind of compensation the student receives. Internships have proven to be highly successful for companies who have partnered with Bellingham Technical College. This document identifies some of the key benefits for companies, actions companies can take to build a successful internship, and the typical application processes.

Benefits of Hiring Interns:
  • Offers high quality and sustainable recruitment tool for identifying qualified and motivated students to meet company needs.
  • It can be cost effective.
  • It offers a low-cost method of training potential hires and determines a pipeline of candidates.
  • Acts as a recruiting activity for future hires.
  • An excellent way to connect with the community and build relationships with local colleges.
  • Provides an opportunity to build supervisory experience for regular employees.
  • Can fulfill a civic and professional responsibility by providing students a real work experience.
  • Interns tend to promote the company they work at to other students.

Contact Career Services at CareerCtr@btc.edu or call 360.752.8345.

 

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Hours & Contacts

Regular Hours

Mon to Thu: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fri: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

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