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Business

why can't I get hired.

I've applied to a lot of jobs and not getting hired. I'm applying for front end developer/designer jobs.

my website/portfolio is www.larrycimosz.com

resume:

Career Objective: With skills in HTML and CSS I’m looking to get hired as a web developer and prove that I have what it takes to become a full-time front-end web developer in the industry. I have one year of relevant experience which I display on my website listed in the header.

Summary of skills: • Ability to create a website. • Able to modify a template. • Created a multi-page website. • Launched website on the internet. • Ability to learn new skills and be self-taught. • Knowledge in front-end development. Technical skills: • Skill in HTML and CSS • Knowledge of JavaScript • Knowledge of jQuery • Basic knowledge of PHP • Basic knowledge of java. • Knowledge of atom text editor. • able to use hosting and domain website • able to use notepad and notepad ++ • basics of object oriented programming

Work experience: • Relevant experience.

Education: • Independent Coursework • Self-taught • high school graduate

6 Answers

Stuart Wright
Stuart Wright
41,118 Points

I'm not a professional web developer so not an expert here, but here are some comments which I hope will be helpful:

  • You've listed a lot of skills in your post above which I don't see mentioned on your website (e.g. knowledge of jQuery). These should definitely be mentioned.
  • That said, I wouldn't bother mentioning which text editors you are able to use. It is assumed that if you have the ability to code you'll be comfortable enough with these, and specifically mentioning this hints at you being somewhat inexperienced I would say.
  • Most importantly, I think that you need to demonstrate that you have these skills, rather than just list them. Nobody is going to hire you based solely on what you say you can do. Link to some other websites you have built. If you haven't built any other websites, I would encourage you to start building.
  • I might be off-base here, but a decent percentage of job advertisements I see these days are advertising for 'full stack' (i.e. front-end and back-end), rather than solely front-end. You mention that you know a little Java/PHP, so maybe if you focus on improving these skills, you could then market yourself as a full stack web developer rather than front-end only. That would open up a lot more possible positions for you. I think that any company that hires staff for front-end only probably expects you to be very skilled with JavaScript/jQuery and possibly a framework such as Angular (if that's what they happen to use). Whereas for a lot of full stack positions, I think that simply being competent in all areas may be enough.
  • As for your website itself, I would personally go for a much less bright colour scheme. Design isn't really my area of expertise, but generally speaking, I think simple is better when it comes to colour schemes. Look at the Treehouse website. Lots of whites/greys with small hints of colour. I would also lose the popup which displays when first visiting your page, as it's not really a good user experience. I would say that the clock doesn't really serve any purpose either. I would encourage you to browse portfolios of other web developers for ideas for how you can improve your own site.

I hope the above is seen as helpful rather than harsh. You've only been doing this a year, and you have a lot more skills now than when you started out, and a year from now you'll have a lot more skills than you do now as long as you keep working hard at it. For the time being, I think you have to focus on continuing to learn and, most importantly, keep building things, so that you can develop an impressive portfolio. Of the points I've made, I definitely put the most emphasis on the third one. Unless you have a computer science degree or similar (which most of us on Treehouse tend not to, I believe), you really have to prove to employers that you can build things - they aren't just going to take a chance and give you an interview because of what you say you can do. Keep at it, and good luck!

Thank You

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,644 Points

With minimal experience, your web page really has to carry a lot of the weight of conveying your ability.

“A resume should be treated as one of your major design jobs. The typeface you use, the layout, etc all show exactly what level of design you are at. Every detail counts, and the sum of these details gives an impression of you as a designer.”
— from What They Didn’t Teach You In Design School: The Essential Guide to Growing Your Design Career by Phil Cleaver.

A few initial reactions to your site:

  • the "alert" box in itself could deter many viewers
  • always spell-check after every change
  • display a collection of accomplishments, use "virtual" site designs if you don't have enough actual ones

There are a number of articles about portfolios in the Treehouse Blog you might find helpful. And here's a portfolio of another student that might give you some ideas.

And if that's not enough, here are 70 Well-Designed Resume Examples For Your Inspiration. Most of these are intended to go on paper, but many of the ideas can be translated to a web page.

If I improved in php would that help with getting a job with my limited skills in front-end development. It seems like most of the jobs available are geared more towards back end development. I've heard if you know a server-side language they even hire people with just html and css . Is this the case? Thank You

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
229,644 Points

A server application developer might not need to know HTML or CSS at all. But you need to become familiar with what the employers in your area are looking for. There's no single skill set that will give you the best prospects world-wide.

Stuart Wright
Stuart Wright
41,118 Points

Something I didn't notice when I replied yesterday is that your site is pretty much identical to the one used in the following course:

https://teamtreehouse.com/library/introduction-to-html-and-css/make-it-beautiful-with-css/select-and-style-by-class

It's ok to take inspiration from other people's work, but your own website should really be your own creation, rather than a slightly adapted version of someone else's work.

I did use the site in this course as a sort of template for my website. I'm a novice front-end developer. I've been programming for a year but I'm still learning a lot. The code for this website was my code and research from google and from the website in this course, as I said I did use the website as a template. I did add a lot of my own code for this website. I always hear programmers on youtube say don't reinvent the wheel. I will upload a site in the future that is more original. Thank You

I know this post is almost a year old, but how is the job search going? I am in the same boat as you.