In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Careers & Enterprise Centre at Durham University is currently offering a remote service, with our standard hours being 09:00 – 17:00 Monday to Friday throughout the year, (yes, we’re open in vacations!) excluding public holidays. Once we resume normal service back on campus, you can find us on the ground floor of the Palatine Centre, opposite Disability Support.

Our core services include the provision of advice and guidance, information resources, skills and employability development programmes and employer activities.

We are here to help you to make career plans and take the next steps towards getting where you want to be. This can include exploring your career options, learning about different roles, sectors and employers, developing your skills, gaining work experience, making effective applications and preparing for interviews. It doesn’t matter if you have no idea about the direction you want to go in, or have a specific career in mind already, we’ll provide you with guidance, advice and information.

Our website is a great place to start, to learn more about the Careers & Enterprise Centre and the services and support we offer. You can access a wide range of information resources on our website, covering CV writing, interview preparation, work experience, finding a job, sectors of employment and much more. We also have a dedicated diversity section, which includes a series of guides to support your individual needs and concerns about areas including:

• Disability Support and Disclosure
• Discrimination
• Identifying Diversity Friendly and Inclusive Employers
• Reasonable Adjustments in Recruitment and Employment

We run a bespoke work experience programme, ‘Enabling Opportunities’, which provides support to a small number of students from under-represented groups, including those with a disability. The programme supports students who are seeking to develop confidence and skills which will be beneficial when applying for work experience and employment opportunities. ‘Enabling Opportunities’ encompasses a series of workshops, tailored one to one mentoring and coaching, and engagement with employers. It aims to provide a greater depth of support for students facing potential challenges in accessing opportunities. The programme runs annually, starting in Michaelmas (term 1). Find out more about the programme and how to apply at:  durham.ac.uk/careers/students/jobs/workexperience/events/enablingopps/

The Student Services Portal is the online gateway for current students and registered graduates to browse careers events, search for advertised work experience and job opportunities and to book a careers appointment. You will also find the option to ‘Ask a Careers Question’ on the portal and one of the team will respond to you directly.

Appointments

We currently offer careers appointments (available to current students and graduates of Durham University) via Microsoft Teams, e-mail, Skype and Zoom. Our default is Microsoft Teams for current students while operating remotely. You can book a ‘quick query’ appointment on the Student Services Portal directly.  A ‘quick query’ is a 20-minute initial appointment with a Careers Adviser, suitable to discuss specific careers questions or to access support with an application or interview.

To find out more about our appointments and how to book, please visit durham.ac.uk/careers/students/careerplanning/appointments/.

If you require an alternative type or longer appointment or any other adjustments, please e-mail us at careers@durham.ac.uk

Get in touch

If you have any queries about any aspect of our services or our support, you can also contact us directly.

We also have a dedicated area of our website for prospective students here: https://www.dur.ac.uk/careers/students/prospectivestudents/

Article written by Adelle Fairclough, Careers and Enterprise Centre, Durham University