Front-end web developers bear the responsibility to craft the user experiences (UX) of applications and websites. They make sure that the web design is aesthetically pleasing, and that the interfaces effectively represents the brand. Front-end web developers also make sure that every visitor can identify and vibe with the company and its products.
Almost all businesses are dependent on the customer impact of their websites or apps. Since the very survival of the business is often determined by the quality of the users’ experiences, the demand for front-end developers has gone through the roof. In the U.S., experienced front-end developers command a handsome average salary of around $100,000 a year.
If you’re looking to get a foot in the door of the tech world, you need to master your web development skills. If you hone these skills to perfection, you’ll be able to land the job of your dreams; even when there’s a large pool of candidates vying for the same position.
Next is the important step of creating an enticing resume. You might possess all the qualifications you need to succeed, but if you fail to market yourself well, then all the time you’ve invested could go to waste.
Whether you’ve been in the industry for years or you want to land your first job as a developer, our tips will help you fine-tune your resume. We’ve created this guide to help you ultimately land a front-end development job you’ll love.
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Why Do I Need to Refine My Resume?
You know you'll need to submit a portfolio, coding challenge, and cover letter to get noticed. So you might be wondering whether it's really worth it to spell-check your resume one more time.
Well, it is. Most recruiters take less than 10-15 seconds to read through a resume. These few seconds can dictate the entire trajectory of your career as a front-end developer. So it’s important that your resume is tweaked in a way to catch their attention, fast.
And if that isn’t enough incentive: according to a leading job survey, almost every corporate job opening receives almost 250 applicant resumes; out of which just 5-6 candidates are interviewed. And usually, just one of them is given an offer at the end of the process. This shows how important an attractive resume is to get you into the interview process.
The ideal way to proceed is to have a bullet-proof resume that speaks volumes about you, your achievements, and your work ethic. When you know how to prepare such a resume, you’ll have a skill-set that will make your life easier when you decide to transition into a new job. And, most importantly, you’ll be taking your success into your own hands instead of leaving it to chance.
Tips for an Eye-Catching Web Developer Resume
Now, let’s quickly go over the important components of a resume that can make the difference between you landing a job or not.
- To begin, you should include a career summary that highlights any previous front-end developer experience. When you sum up your professional journey, make sure to stay away from cheesy or cliché lines that most people use. This could quickly lead to your resume ending up in the pile of rejects. Instead, try to use simple professional language to show your skill sets, work experience, and passions. Since the rest of your resume will supply them with the information they need, make sure to restrict this summary to 3 to 4 lines at most.
- Next, highlight your technical skills. Make sure that this section is near the top of your resume so that the recruiter doesn’t have to work too hard to see it. This section also helps as a lot of leading companies now employ different types of recruitment software; this software helps scan the resume for certain top-ranked keywords to see if you have the skills they want.
Also, make sure this section is kept simple by listing your skills as bullet points to draw the recruiter’s attention to them. Another option is to list each coding language you know based on your proficiency levels.
- You should also include a brief overview of your work experience. This is the section where you can list all the relevant experience you’ve gained in front/back-end development or even computer science. Without being too wordy, list all of your previous employers, the duration of each job, the responsibilities you handled, and your achievements in those roles.
If you're relatively new to the industry, then don’t forget to mention experiences like an internship or school projects. Even if the projects weren’t paid, they’re still valuable.
- Even more effective than a simple mention would be to make the links available to the recruiter. But a word of caution, make sure to censor out projects that didn’t turn out as well as you’d hoped, as they may not leave a good impression. At the end of the day, a portfolio will help you tell your story better and may tip the scales in your favor if it’s presented well.
- Feature your educational qualifications. This section should be mentioned towards the bottom of your resume if you’ve racked up enough years of experience with good companies. In the case that you lack work experience, make sure that this section is displayed at the top of your resume to make up for this. List your school name, location, graduation year, and the coursework you undertook.
Final Front-End Developer Resume Tips
By now you should be well-acquainted with exactly what you need to tweak on your resume. The goal with this article is to help you vastly improve your chances of landing your dream job. Now, on to the next step: in addition to building a strong developer resume, you’ll also need to draft a personalized and thoughtfully articulated web developer cover letter.
For those of you just about to start your journey to become a web developer, we offer a comprehensive online course for prospective software engineers. Our Web Development course introduces the core concepts and practical techniques that you need to kickstart a career in web development.
In the course, you’ll learn platforms like HTML5, CSS, JavaScript,Responsive Web Design, and AngularJS. The program also includes optional courses in Perl, PHP, ASP.NET, or Python.
The course includes comprehensive hands-on exercises facilitated by expert instructors, as well as 1-on-1 mentorship. This style of teaching boosts retention and confidence. It also assures competency with the new skills being acquired. Registrars are available at 1-978-250-4983 to answer any questions you may have regarding the programs of interest to you.
You can continue to learn more about how to succeed as a web developer by reading up on some useful web-development articles. When you continue to learn, you set yourself up for success in the long run - which means that stellar resume of yours will lead to a new job.
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