'Broke and educated thirtysomething, please employ me' - Out-of-work Sheffield teacher flooded with offers

Despite having 11 GCSEs, three A-levels, a degree and experience of teaching English abroad, Lauren Hackett was at her wits end after seeing rejection letter after rejection letter land at her door.

She was so desperate to work she even considered taking to the streets with a sign reading 'broke and educated thirtysomething - please employ me'.

But following an appeal in The Star yesterday, she has since been flooded with more than 25 emails from potential employers and well-wishers inviting her to apply for vacancies.

Lauren, aged 30, of Nether Edge, said: "The response has been fantastic. I want to say thank you for running the appeal.

"I've had emails from employers and people who at least know someone who is looking to hire people.

"The jobs have ranged from call centre work to shop assistant positions, but there's also a few teacher-related jobs which is my field so I'm very pleased."

Lauren spent several years teaching English in Portugal and the United Arab Emirates, before returning to the UK to study for a masters degree in applied linguistics at the University of Sheffield.

But she has seen more than 200 job applications fail in the last three months - prompting her to consider moving abroad again to find work when her course finishes in January.

Lauren said she was happy to speak out about her situation as she feels many others are in the same boat - despite recent Government forecasts that the employment market is 'buoyant' in South Yorkshire with thousands of vacancies.

She said: "I am glad that the appeal put the issue in the spotlight and has sparked debate about how hard it is to find a job in the current climate."