Contacting the Careers Service

Almost every UK university has a dedicated careers service. They will sometimes be called something slightly different, such as ‘The Careers Department’, ‘Careers and Employability Services’, or ‘Careers and Placements.’

Finding the right person

The majority of these careers services have a ‘Director’ or ‘Head of Careers’ who leads the department. They are the key power holder for the Fossil Free Careers campaign, as they tend to be the person making the decision about whether or not to implement an Ethical Careers Policy. Don’t forget about other power holders who might influence this decision, however: other careers staff, sustainability staff, or even Vice-Chancellors!

Lots of the information about your uni’s Careers Service will be available on your uni website, or available to students via a ‘careers portal’. Start by searching for a Director of Careers, or looking through the staff pages to find their name and email.

Once you have found the contact details for your university’s Head of Careers, it’s time to get in touch. You can then just send them a polite, short email which lays out who you are, what the campaign is about and why you are getting in touch with them.

Getting in touch

We have a template you can adapt below. You could include links to Student Union/Association motions, workers’ union branch motions, or local media pieces about your campaign if you have them. Feel free to send a polite chasing email after a few weeks if you don’t hear anything!

If the Student Union/Association are working with you on the campaign, they might be able to set up a meeting for you and act as a bit of an intermediary. They will have the relevant contact details and experience working for student interests in the uni.