What Skills Do I Need To Know Before Applying To Tech Jobs?<\/b><\/p>\n
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SKILLS I NEED TO KNOW NOW<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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Front End Developers<\/b><\/p>\n
Unless you plan on moonlighting in data analytics, data science, cybersecurity, or machine learning, the core tech skills you need to know as a front end developer are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and React, as well as some other related skills we\u2019ll talk about below.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n HTML and CSS<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n HTML and CSS are the bread and butter of front end development. Without HTML and CSS, front end developers wouldn\u2019t be able to create objects on web or app pages or style them. Compared to other languages, HTML and CSS are relatively easy to learn and master. With practice and handy dandy guides, you can bring beautiful designs to life in no time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n JavaScript<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n JavaScript is another bread and butter for front end web development. While JavaScript is harder to pick up than HTML and CSS, it\u2019s powerful and used in both front end and back end development. JavaScript allows users to interact with elements on your page without reloading it, among many other cool applications.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n React<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n React<\/b> is a JavaScript framework, which means that React uses JavaScript as its underlying language but comes with quality of life features that makes it easier to write than vanilla JavaScript. Many LinkedIn job listings for front end developers often ask for React knowledge because it\u2019s so popular among teams, which is why React is definitely a core skill you should know.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While knowing React will definitely give you a leg up, knowledge of any type of framework, JavaScript or otherwise, will also help you during the job search process because each company might use a different tech stack that requires a variety of technical knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Git and GitHub<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Git is software that helps front end developers with version control. As a front end developer, when you make changes to code, you want to track what changes you\u2019ve made, so that you can save or undo them as necessary if the changes you make cause bugs to appear. GitHub(opens in a new tab) allows companies to host their code repositories online and is a very popular tool \u2014 you\u2019ll want to know how to use Git and GitHub to help you with the day-to-day as a front end developer.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mobile first development<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mobile first development is a concept that you should understand as a front end developer. It\u2019s easier to adjust the objects you code from a smaller space to a larger one than it is to compress it later on. Therefore,understanding mobile first development can save you time and miscommunication in the long run.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Designers<\/b><\/p>\n As a designer, there are some technical skill overlaps you share with front end software developers. You may still want to know HTML and CSS but the core skills you\u2019ll need to know as a designer are design fundamentals like color theory and wireframing. The specific tools you use will vary by company.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Color theory<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Color theory is a set of rules that helps determine how colors are used in design based on hue, saturation, and value. Color theory is a design fundamental because your understanding of how colors work can make or break a design \u2014 for example, too many colors can be distracting and the wrong colors can communicate an unintended message. As a designer, while the tools you might use (like Adobe XD or Figma) might change from job to job, color theory is forever.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wireframing<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wireframing is diagramming a webpage\u2019s basic structure so that it shows important features, content, and functionality. Think of website wireframing as sketching a blueprint to the site that you want to design. You can create wireframes using pen and paper as well as tools like InVision. There\u2019s lots of demand for user experience designers, so if that\u2019s the design career path you want to pursue, then getting good at wireframing is something you want to do.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grid systems<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grid systems help you space out elements evenly on websites and apps that you design, which enhances the user\u2019s experience and helps them read your website or app more efficiently. Grids give your designs order and symmetry by aligning and organizing your content along invisible columns. As a designer, understanding grid systems will result in neat and balanced layouts.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Userflows<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Userflows are paths that users will take to move through your website. As a designer, you\u2019ll want to know how to plan userflows to best help users navigate through your site without getting lost or distracted. With a great userflow, you can help users get where they need to go on your site and find what they want in as few steps as possible. By understanding userflows, you\u2019ll come up with better designs that will get you a great new career in no time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n HTML and CSS<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even though you may not be the person writing the code that brings your design to life, understanding HTML and CSS is important for a designer too. Knowing what can be done using HTML and CSS makes you more attractive to work with \u2014 when working full-time or even freelancing \u2014 because you understand how your design translates to the web and how difficult it will be to build.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Documentation<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While it\u2019s definitely important that you know what documentation is and how it works using version control tools like Git and GitHub, \u201cshop-specific\u201d implementation of documentation is something you\u2019ll learn on the job.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Every tech company or startup has a different idea of what gets documented, and what doesn\u2019t, as well as how it\u2019s documented.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n For example, at smaller companies, small, incremental changes might not be as religiously documented as larger bug fixes.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As for how something is documented, some companies may choose to use GitHub while others choose different software. Some companies may push for documentation as soon as a change is implemented while others batch them.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The important thing is that you know why documentation is important and how to do it \u2014 no matter which job you get, you\u2019ll have to do some sort of documentation \u2014 but the specifics of documentation will depend on your (new) company\u2019s habits, definitions, and perceived best practices.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Testing<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Testing is another \u201cshop-specific\u201d skill. Different companies have different standards when it comes to testing.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One point of difference is how often testing is conducted. Whether it\u2019s user experience testing, cybersecurity testing, or just code testing, each company has its own testing schedule and preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Companies also use different testing tools. While you definitely should know how to use at least one testing tool, don\u2019t panic if the company you\u2019re interviewing for says they use a different one.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As long as you know the principles and core skills behind testing, you can definitely learn how to use a new testing tool on the job.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Coding Style<\/b><\/p>\n Writing and structuring style for your code<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another \u201cshop-specific\u201d skill is your code-writing style and how you structure your code. For example, depending on the company set up, your new company might prefer writing reusable code snippets over optimizing large, encapsulated features, or vice versa.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n How the code you\u2019ll be writing is styled and structured is very much a matter of preference, although there certainly are industry best practices.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While it may seem difficult at first to adapt to a different way of writing and structuring your own code, learning how to write code the way your new team likes reading it can be fulfilling \u2014 you\u2019re challenging yourself to grow as a web developer.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Formatting code<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In addition to writing and structuring your code a particular way, the best practices for formatting your code is also something that differs across companies.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While structuring code is about how your code is organized (using snippets that can be reused in multiple places vs. bigger blocks that only execute one main function), formatting code is more about how code is expressed visually and read by other developers on screen.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Each company and team has its own preferences for formatting code. Some companies may prefer smaller code blocks for easy readability while others prefer getting it all in there for easy accessibility.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While you may have learned to use snake case for a particular language, maybe your new company prefers camel case \u2014 there\u2019s nothing wrong with the way you were taught; your new team might just prefer it that way.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Learning on the Job<\/b><\/p>\n It\u2019s important to remember that it\u2019s okay to not know absolutely everything there is to know about tech when you\u2019re just starting out.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stephanie, Skillcrush\u2019s Head of Career Coaching, says, \u201cIf it\u2019s your first time in your new job, you\u2019ll likely still be looking things up and figuring things out and that is okay. It\u2019s normal and expected to problem-solve and learn on the job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s your first foray into the tech industry or you\u2019re further along in your career, there\u2019s always going to be something new at each company you join. It\u2019s absolutely okay to look things up and ask questions \u2014 that\u2019s the reason you love software development, right?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What Skills Do I Need To Know Before Applying To Tech Jobs? SKILLS I NEED TO KNOW NOW Front End Developers Unless you plan on moonlighting in data analytics, data science, cybersecurity, or machine learning, the core tech skills you need to know as a front end developer are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-digital-marketing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}