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Ubaid Sid
Ubaid Sid

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How to write a Frontend Web Developer Resume?

Hey folks, I am going to apply for a job as front end web developer in a company for which resume is required. Do you have any advice on resume for entry level developer applying for first time?

Top comments (13)

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nerdy_girl profile image
Natalia

The first rule of resume - don't write every language/technology you've ever heard/studied about. Just don't.
It will show them that you wrote everything from some example resume and don't know any of them actually. Write only those things you know and you are interested in (if you can answer questions about them in the interview!). Remember that recruiter may ask you about anything that you wrote. If you know CSS but you will write that you know SCSS they can ask you about example mixins you created or what's the difference between them with examples. If you don't answer - well, most likely you won't get a job as you didn't tell truth in resume.
Oh, and don't write that you know Word/Excel/Paint, etc. You can basically recognise entry-level CVs thanks to that - I've seen it too many times.

Write a simple resume which will actually sum up your skills. I would rather hire a person (entry-level) with 3-4 skills in a CV that can be proven than with 15 skills and almost no proof. In "about me" section - if you are going to add it - you can add that you are interested in XYZ in your free time. It will show them you are interested and ambitious, you don't know this yet but there is potential :)

I can totally recommend canva.com for writing resume. It's free and has PDF export. Templates are clear, simple and look professional.

Good luck with that job 🤞

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bgdesigns profile image
Bryan George

I would like to double down on not putting every language/technology you've ever heard or studied about. To many times I would see someone who listed every language from Front-End to Back-End because they read about it once, then I would ask a simple question about CSS and they would not be able answer it. Like Natalia said if you can answer questions or at least be able to carry a conversation on about the language/technology then add it to your resume.

All around I wish I took this advice when I first started would have made interviews a lot easier going forward.

Best of luck!

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ubaid profile image
Ubaid Sid

I was going make this mistake of writing all skills and sub-skills in my resume. I thought that would make a good impression on my interviewer, but your point has made me avoid doing that.

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nerdy_girl profile image
Natalia

Glad we could help you :D Leave a note later if you got the job! :)

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strdr4605 profile image
Dragoș Străinu

I think Frontend Web Developer Resume is the same as any other Developer Resume.

Usually, you divide resume into sections, here is an example used by me:

  1. Contact data
    • name
    • email
    • phone number
    • Linkedin/Github profile
  2. Personal Profile (Write something about you. What you like about programming, hobbies ...)
  3. Education (descendent order by time):
    • 2017-2019: Uni, Bachelor of Computer Science
    • 2015-2017: College, Computer Science
  4. Experience (descendent order by time):

    • Web app for Uni course: My team was aggregating a public gov API and my task was the website that displays external debt of Country in a friendly way. I created a small VueJS app with FLUX Architecture. | Link to Github repo
    • Chatbot: Using Facebook API I created a chatbot that message uni schedule, every evening and morning. I used NodeJS and ... | Link to Github repo
    • mOcKiNgCaSe: npm package that converts a string to mOcKiNgCaSe. Contribution: Added "onlyLetters" option. | Link to Github repo
  5. Skills

    • Development: JavaScript/TypeScript(proficient), Version control/GIT(proficient), HTML/CSS(working knowledge), Python(basic knowledge)
    • Languages: Romanian(native), English(fluent), Russian(fluent), German(beginner)
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ubaid profile image
Ubaid Sid

Thanks Dragos. Is photo necessary on resume?

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strdr4605 profile image
Dragoș Străinu

No, I would suggest to not attach the photo

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josemoreira profile image
José Moreira

why?

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xowap profile image
Rémy 🤖

If you have a good photo (taken by a photographer) that will make your CV look better then put it. Otherwise don't.

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phizzard profile image
Phil Tietjen
  1. Keep your known languages and libraries focused on the things you know.

  2. Ask yourself to explain the languages and libraries you know, you'll find any gaps you might have and what level of experience you have when it comes up.

  3. Research on these gaps, you don't want to be stuck getting asked: "Can you define OOP?" without an answer.

  4. Proofread for any typos or mistakes. Written and verbal communication is more important than people think as a developer, and this can give off a less than good first impression.

  5. Remember all the things you put down on your resume, sometimes it can be too easy to jot something down and forget about it. You don't want to get blind-sighted by your own resume.

  6. Bonus Make a small, simple, nice looking portfolio site and leave a link on your resume. Especially as a front end developer, it's a nice addition that shows you know the basics of creating and deploying something to the web. It also allows you to better show off any small projects you might already have on the go and add a little more personality about yourself.

Overall, be honest in both your resume and interviews. Interviewers can usually tell when you're genuine.

Hope you land somewhere fitting that will allow you to grow your skills! Good luck!

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ubaid profile image
Ubaid Sid

Thanks Phil. I will definitely add a portfolio website. It is still under development in Gatsby.js

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xowap profile image
Rémy 🤖

If you are a beginner, I'm going to look for

  1. Small but significant experiences (personal projects, ...). The more abstract the better (nth HTML portfolio: meh, custom regular expression engine: yeah)
  2. Engagement of some sort in a dev-related community
  3. Consistency in what you look. Don't put every tool that you ever did a tutorial about, choose what you really used and like. It won't close more doors than a confused message of "master of none". I hate nothing more than an junior that writes they master ASM, C++ and Python
  4. Insider jokes and references. I've never regretted to interview someone that made his CV using LaTeX or that puts an IT-related easter egg. Like if you put "Brainfuck" in the languages you know it's a pretty good sign

General advice (also refer to the whole thread):

If you really want to use a scale, define the scale somewhere. I like the way Google does that during the interviews. They'll ask you to rank yourself from 0 to 10 on several skills relatives to the job (Python, TCP/IP, etc) but they will explain you the scale. While I don't remember it exactly each number basically it's something like:

  • 0 — don't know at all
  • 5 — you're the person everybody in the company goes to see if they have questions about it
  • 10 — you've invented the damn thing

Even if you don't use the scale, you can describe your skill level in relationship to others. Like:

  • Python — Beginners refer to me
  • JavaScript — Teaching it at university
  • etc

But more than anything what matters is proofs. You want to communicate JavaScript experience? Put JavaScript experience in your job descriptions, possibly with links and references.

(Also it's forbidden to reveal the Google hiring process publicly so I guess that Google's never going to hire me, oh nooooo)

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stealthmusic profile image
Jan Wedel

Although you specifically asked for a resume, in Germany a cover letter is pretty common (not sure about where you live). There have been some good suggestions about the resume already.

When I get applications I actually value the cover letter more than the CV, especially if the CV doesn’t fit the open position (as in „no experience in the required technologies“). In that case, i want to see the person is passionate about SW development and can explain why. A reason why the job offer is interesting would be a bonus, but only if it’s the truth. for me I would rather hire a good developer without a deep love for the domain than the other way around.