Now that you have an outstanding cover letter, the next step is creating a resume that works. This will help to get you an interview with a potential employer. Similar to the cover letter, you should tailor your resume for different types of positions to highlight your experience that matches the job description. I do not generally tailor a resume for each and every job that I apply for, instead I keep copies of resumes for different job types.
Frontend or Backend Development?
I have about 50% skills in frontend development (javascript, jQuery, CSS, etc) and 50% in backend development (C#, ORM, SQL, etc). Way back when I was starting out in the industry [read: old lady voice], frontend development was not a separate job category and a web developer was expected to have skills in both practices. Luckily for you, that is not the case anymore and you can focus on one or the other. Which one you focus on is up to you! Or you can always focus on both frontend and backend development and be a rock star!
Resume Sections
A good resume should include the following:
- Your name and contact information – address, phone number, email, LinkedIn Profile, portfolio website URL
- Career Objective – keep it simple: just list the position title(s) you are interested in
- Career Summary – a bulleted list of high level highlights from your career
- Technical Skills Summary – a bulleted list of programming languages, methodologies, etc
- Professional Experience – a table of your employment history over the past 5-7 years including company names, locations, dates, and a bulleted list of your job tasks
- Additional Experience – a shortened list of your job experience 7+ years in the past
- Education & Certifications
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