As a front-end developer, you know how to make a seamless web app that helps users accomplish what they need to do. You have a strong combination of technical ability and creativity.
It can be really difficult to channel this wide-ranging developer skillset properly on a resume as well as write a cover letter to impress employers.
That’s where we come in. Over the last few months, we analyzed numerous developer resumes and learned exactly what works to help front-end developers get more interviews.
We distilled what we learned into 19 front-end developer resume examples to give you some brain food.
We’ll also share some handy resume tips and resume-building tools that have worked to help other developers land jobs in 2024.
If there is one thing you take away from this before you create a resume, then let it be this: quantify the bullet points on your resume whenever possible.
Our data show that is the most important factor in determining whether or not you’ll get an interview after controlling for experience and qualifications.
Here are some other high-level tips that we’ll dive into in more detail below:
Incorrect spelling or grammar is the silliest of reasons to be rejected for a job, and it is 100% preventable.
Be sure to proofread your resume a few times, then have someone else look at it for you.
It’s not what you want to hear, I know, but customizing your resume for each front-end role you apply to will improve your chances of getting more interviews.
I promise it’s easier to do than you may think and should take no more than 15 minutes for each application, especially if you take advantage of one of our free resume templates that make it easy to customize.
Here’s a good, quick process for tailoring your front-end developer resume for each job:
To hammer home how easy this can be in practice, let’s look at a concrete example.
Example: Customize your account executive resume for the job
This front-end developer, Johann, has five years of experience building web apps for B2B companies. He is most comfortable with Angular, HTML/CSS, and PostgreSQL.
On his first version of his resume, this is how we describe his latest work experience:
Feedzai
August 2017 – Present, New York NY
Front-End Developer
This is the job description for the role Johann is applying to at Acme Corp:
Responsibilities
Qualifications
Most of the experience Johann listed for his time at Feedzai is directly applicable to this role at Acme Corp. His focus on business goals aligns perfectly with this job description.
The only difference I would make to his work experience is that I would explicitly include the languages he used for each of his projects to match the skills Acme Corp is looking for in this role.
The changes are underlined below.
Feedzai
August 2017 – Present, New York NY
Front-End Developer
These changes are small, but they make Johann a much more appealing candidate to Acme Corp.
Before a hiring manager or recruiter looks at your resume for a front-end dev role, an automated system called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) reviews your resume.
An ATS is filtering resumes based on keyword matching. This is why it’s critically important to try to include as many skills listed in the job description on your resume as possible.
Be careful to remember that a human will still look at your resume!
Nothing is a bigger red flag to a technical hiring manager than a resume where a developer claims knowledge of a laundry list of different skills and frameworks.
It’s much better to be an expert in one to two languages than a beginner in many different languages.
As a rule of thumb, only include languages and frameworks on which you’d be comfortable being interviewed.
Here are common resume skills employers look for in front-end developers to give you some inspiration.
95 percent of front-end developers shouldn’t include a resume objective on their resume.
Hiring managers are conditioned to ignore resume objectives because they’re usually generic and don’t add value to a resume.
You should only include an objective if you’re going to take the time to customize it for each job to which you apply.
To ensure a hiring manager reads your objective, you should include numbers and the company’s name to which you’re applying.
The company’s name will draw the hiring manager’s attention as they skim your objective, which will encourage them to read the entire resume objective.
Your front-end developer resume objective should include your top one to two qualifications or biggest career accomplishments (quantified, of course), as well as why you’re interested in the company/role to which you’re applying.
Here are a few resume objective examples for inspiration: your next role.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: the single most important thing you can do on your resume is to quantify your impact.
To accomplish this, focus on your accomplishments instead of your responsibilities. Don’t be afraid to brag on your resume!
Quantifying your impact on your resume accomplishes a few major goals:
These impacts can be very rough estimates!
To give you an idea of how you can quantify your impact as a front-end developer, try to ask these questions about your past projects and work experiences:
Acme Corp
August 2017 – Present, New York NY
Front-End Developer
Acme Corp
August 2017 – Present, New York NY
Front-End Developer
Applying for front-end developer positions can be incredibly stressful and demoralizing. Take a second to congratulate yourself on taking a huge step and updating or building your resume!
Before you know it, you’ll be in a new front-end role you love. You got this!
Use numbers to add weight to your career achievements. Other candidates will say they developed platform technology solutions, reduced valuation time, improved user acquisition, or wrote maintainable code. That’s all well and good, but you’ll snag recruiters’ attention when you quantify your impact. Achievements that lead to improved time on page or conversion rate, a boost in revenue, a decrease in the manual workload, etc., are numbers you should talk about proudly in your front-end developer resume.
Additionally, taking the time to write a customized front-end developer cover letter (even if it’s not required in the job app) will complement your resume well.
2. How do you know what skills to include in your front-end developer resume?There’s no end of technical skills and front-end tools that are available, but your resume shouldn’t be a dumping ground to list just anything. Check out the front-end developer job description to see what that company specifically needs. For instance, if they mention React, Angular, and Django, and you’re comfortable sharing in an interview how you’ve consistently used these skills to drive success, list these in your resume.
3. How do you write a resume for an entry-level front-end developer job?Everyone starts somewhere, and you can still build a resume that’s professional and enticing to employers. While including relevant coursework from college or internship experience is a great start, you’ll help hiring managers understand what you can offer when you share academic or personal projects that relied on front-end development skills. If you built a full-stack web app to help patients keep track of prescriptions as part of a class project, talk about the skills and tools you used as well as the impact of the project.
