Your experience with HTML and CSS
For any modern front-end developer, a solid grounding in HTML and CSS is a must. Whether you're applying for a junior developer role or something more senior, you can expect to be asked about your experience with these foundational technologies. You might be asked about the latest HTML5 semantics or specific CSS techniques such as flexbox or grid layout. Your responses help illustrate your technical baseline and working practices.
Working knowledge in JavaScript
Another language you're almost guaranteed to be asked about is JavaScript. This is a dominant scripting language on the web and a fundamental skill for front-end development. Questions might range from basic concepts to ES6 syntax, closures and promises, asynchronous programming, and JavaScript libraries and frameworks like Angular, Vue, or React.
Familiarity with jQuery, Polymer, or React Flux
In the ever-evolving world of JavaScript libraries and frameworks, your knowledge and experience in these specific libraries and frameworks can give potential employers insight into your skills, versatility, and adaptability. React Flux, for instance, is a unique way of managing data flow in React applications, while Polymer is a lightweight library to develop web components.
Experience with responsive design
Responsive design ensures a web application looks good on any device, from desktop monitors to mobile phones. You might be asked about how you've implemented media queries, mobile-first versus desktop-first strategies, or about your principles when it comes to delivering high-quality user experiences across different devices, screen sizes, and orientations.
Problem-Solving approach during a project
Your problem-solving skills are crucial, as coding is essentially solving problems. Employers want to know that you can think on your feet and navigate your way comfortably around issues that arise during a project. How you approach debugging, problem-solving techniques, seeking help, and learning from your experiences are common themes you can expect.
Working with version control systems like Git
Version control systems such as Git are essential tools in a developer's toolkit. You might be asked about your experience managing revisions, collaborating with teams, handling merge conflicts, or employing particular workflows.
Experience with RESTful API integration
Whether it's making HTTP requests or manipulating responses, many modern applications require developers to interact with RESTful APIs. Understanding how to work with them, available tools for testing them, and troubleshooting when things go wrong, are important skills to possess.
Knowledge of testing frameworks and debugging
Good testing and debugging skills not only demonstrate your efficiency and reliability but also your commitment to creating high-quality code. This could mean knowledge of testing frameworks such as Mocha, Jest or Jasmine, understanding how to write unit tests, integration tests and familiarity with debugging tools.
Understanding of website performance optimization
Fast loading times and smooth animations are no longer a luxury, they're expected. Understanding and discussing methods for optimizing your code reflect your attention to user experience and best practices when it comes to performance.
Types of projects you have previously worked on as a Front-End Developer
Your past projects provide concrete examples of your skills, the type of work you excel at and your experiences with different technologies, tools, and domains. Be prepared to discuss various challenges, successes, and key learnings.
Familiarity with coding practices and software principles
Knowing the techniques is important, but understanding why we apply them is equally significant. Your knowledge of software principles such as SOLID or DRY, design patterns, or methodologies like agile or scrum can all help paint a picture of your overall technical understanding.
Knowledge of cross-browser development
Since web applications need to run smoothly on various browsers, you need a deep understanding of cross-browser compatibility. You may be asked how you've tackled specific cross-browser development problems or about your experience with tools and techniques to aid cross-browser development.
Experience with server-side CSS pre-processing platforms like LESS and SASS
Preprocessors like LESS and SASS can make CSS much more maintainable and flexible. Your experience with these tools, vendor prefixes, mixins, or variables can demonstrate your proficiency with advanced CSS techniques.
Experience in object-oriented programming (OOP)
Though JavaScript is prototype-based, understanding object-oriented programming can be very beneficial. Topics you may discuss include classes, inheritance, encapsulation, or polymorphism, and how these concepts can be applied in JavaScript.
Experience in dealing with SEO-friendly website implementation
SEO is an important consideration for any website. Here you could discuss how you've ensured the technical SEO fundamentals are in place, such as structured data, clean URLs, or mobile optimization.
Experience with content management systems
Highlight your experience with popular CMSs like WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla, or discuss your custom solutions. This can help employers understand your experiences and how you can leverage CMS to save clients time and resources.
Ensuring the technical feasibility of UI/UX designs
Designs are nothing without their successful implementation. This could be ensuring a layout scales well across devices, or delivering smooth, natural animations or implementing a complex interactive element. These experiences reflect both your technical skill and your ability to work with design teams.
Experience with graphic design applications
When asked about your experience with graphic design applications, you will be able to share your proficiency in use Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch, or other design tools you're familiar with to help in bringing UI/UX designs to life on the web.
Use of automated task runner like Grunt and Gulp.js
If you are comfortable with tools like Grunt and Gulp.js, you can demonstrate how you've automated repetitive tasks, improved efficiency, and made your (and possibly your team's) job easier.
Design tools you have worked with during your career
Whether it's Photoshop, Sketch, InVision, Figma, or any of the countless other design tools available today, your familiarity with these makes you versatile and capable of working closely with UI/UX designers. It's another way of showing your range as a front-end developer.