Probably not.

There we go. Article over.

Wasn’t that easy?

Still here?

Fine. Let’s talk.

In today’s job market, especially with Covid making everything more complicated, finding employment is one hell of a task. People are understandably desperate to find work, and competition is fierce. I should know; I am one of the millions who are currently swimming against the tide of rejections, unsuccessful interviews, and the deafening silence of unresponsive HR departments.

So, how does one stand out from the crowd? How can we make our CVs shine in a stack of hundreds?

Courses, qualifications, killer personal statements —…

When I first came out, I wanted to hide.

I had a partner and that was great, but I wanted that to be where my queerness stopped. I just wanted to blend in with the crowd. I disapproved of Pride parades, I was confused by queer fashion, and I generally wanted to keep the whole thing as quiet and unintrusive as possible.

Since then, some things have changed.

I’ve thrown myself into queerdom

And I love it.

But I am also all too aware that it's a privilege that I am able to do that without much fear of oppression or violence. There are millions…

I can’t tell you how to make money online.

I know that appears to be what the vast majority of people in this industry are writing about these days but, honestly, I can't join their ranks because I don't have all the answers.

Hell, I'm not even sure I have any of them.

I’m surrounded by people who do though, apparently.

The world of online writing is starting to feel a bit like an echo chamber. So much of our content is inward-looking, discussing issues that affect only this industry and giving advice to new writers about how to get…

It sounds like a lot.

And, to be honest, it feels like a lot too. Over 100,000 words released out into the world since November and over 12,000 views across the whole portfolio. It's not earth-shattering or career-defining, but I still couldn't be more proud of the things I have achieved in the last 9 months.

And you, whoever you are and however much you may or may not have published, should be proud too.

When I first started creating content online, I thought I was going to take the world by storm from the comfort of my little desk…

It's a stereotype, I know. The Internet is awash with tongue-in-cheek memes about the speed of queer relationships, and the last thing I want to do is contribute to the cacophony.

However, as much as I abhor stereotypes of any kind, I actually think there may be a grain of truth to this one. And I think I know why, too.

We missed out.

And we don't want to miss out anymore.

Yesterday, I stumbled across Alex Mell-Taylor’s fascinating article ‘Understanding Our Queer Obsession with Childish Things’. In just one article, they managed to articulate a number of things that…

Hi. I’m Sean.

You probably already knew that.

Not because I’m popular or anything. But my name is at the top of this article.

So… Hi.

Thanks for coming.

While I've got you, I have something to ask you, actually…

How much do you really want to know about me?

We all know that personal writing gets reads

It's one of the basic tenets of not just this platform, but all content hosting sites. Raw, personal, relatable content is king. It’s stories that bring us to tears or force us to grin from ear to ear that we love to read. …

Rainbows everywhere.

That was what LinkedIn, of all places, looked like last month. As I perused through the job listings, desperately trying to find a remote job that could sustain me at the tail end of the year from hell, I was assaulted by our beloved rainbow in every possible guise and form.

It was as if the whole world had woken up on June 1st and realised — ‘Oh s**t, the queers exist’ and proceeded to cover their businesses in quick-fix allyship in preparation for Pride Month.

Honestly? It made me feel slightly sick.

Sure, some companies legitimately tried to move with the spirit of pride. They hosted…

‘They’ll add a week to the Easter holidays and then we’ll get straight back to normal.’

It was early April 2020. I was still waist-deep in teacher training at a rough urban school in England. We were sat in the staff room of the Maths department, having a surprisingly heated discussion about this new virus that was raising concerns in Asia. Some of us were already suffering under a sense of impending doom. Others, like my colleague quoted above, were convinced that the whole thing would amount to nothing and that it was all a big fuss for nothing. …