Hiring Front End Developers: Eight Skills to Look Out For

Hiring the right candidate for any job can be a challenging job. This is because testing and interviewing the candidate for all the necessary skills within a restricted time frame is very difficult. Some of us don’t even know what all skills to look out for while hiring.

Hiring a candidate for technical jobs like Front End Developing proves to be even harder. This is because a number of skills are required to do a single job. However, it can happen that the candidate you higher even after a lot of scrutinies, turns out to be incapable of performing even the basics of tasks!

Also, only technical skills in a candidate do not qualify him/her as the perfect person for the job. There are a few inter-personal skills that are important too. Therefore, the question that needs to be answered here is- What skills to look out for?

Let us have a look at the 8 essential skills to look out for while hiring Front End Developers.

1. Knowledge of the Basic Front End Development Languages

   There are a few languages that any candidate who has applied for a front end development job must have knowledge of. These languages form the basis on which most websites are designed. The important must-know languages are:

   • HTML and CSS –

     While HTML is the basic language through which a webpage is given a structure, CSS is used to add design and character to elements in the webpage.
     
     HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is used to assemble all the various parts of a webpage. It can be said to be the building block of any website.
     
     Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) helps to create the layout of a page, add colors, fonts, animations and much more to style every element.

   • JavaScript and JQuery –

     HTML and CSS can build a static website, which does not take any input or provide output according to the user. Therefore, to make web pages more interactive and dynamic in nature, languages like JavaScript and JQuery are used.
     
     JavaScript is used to give functionality to the page. You can add interactive features like maps, gaming, audio and video, dynamic animation, scrolling abilities and much more through JS.
     
     JQuery is the collection of plugins and extensions that help in making the use of JavaScript easier and faster on a website. Through JQuery, the front end developer can have access to easier event handling and engaging animations techniques.

   • CSS and JavaScript Frameworks –

     Frameworks make coding a very easy task if you know how to work with them. These frameworks have a collection of files that provide common functionality. Therefore, if you are working on a framework, instead of starting with a blank file and coding from scratch, you will get a file that already has codes for specific features and functionalities.
     
     If you hire someone who does not know how to work on basic CSS and JavaScript frameworks, then you will probably have to teach them to do so! Therefore, it is better to hire a candidate who already has knowledge and experience of working with them.

2. Building Responsive Websites

   With different types of gadgets available through which internet and by extension, any website can be accessed, it is very important to build websites that look and work efficiently in all of them. This means a website must have the feature of adjusting its design and looks when viewed on a desktop, a tablet or a mobile.
   
   The scenario nowadays is that most of our work is conducted via mobile. Therefore, if your customers, accessing your website through their mobile phones, do not go through a satisfactory experience, then it will have an adverse effect on you.
   
   Therefore, the candidate you hire for front-end development must have the appropriate knowledge to make these websites responsive in nature.

3. Optimizing Web Performance

   The main language skills that any front end development candidate must have are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Every other language or skill that is required only helps to make the website more efficient in working and makes the development process easier. However, these other skills are just as important to have as the basic skills are.
   
   One such secondary skill is the ability to optimize web performance. Optimizing means removing the extra burden off of the webserver. This helps in providing robust web applications to users by reducing load time.
   
   The task of optimizing web performance can take up extra time, however, for this reason, the many automation software and programs available in the market can be used. The candidate that you hire must know how to efficiently work with them.

4. Working in Command Line

   The transition of coding from the command line to GUI changed the way programming was done traditionally. It brought an ease to the development part, which led to more and better technologies to rise. However, we still face a few limitations while working in a GUI.
   
   While most commands can be easily run via GUI, there are a few that need to be manually entered through the command line to be executed. This is the case for front end development as well! The developer might need to open a terminal on the system while building a website, which can only be done via the Command line. Therefore, it is important for the candidate to have knowledge of working in it.

5. Constant and Fast Learner

   While all of the above skills dealt with the candidate’s knowledge of front end development languages and technologies, there are a few interpersonal skills that are also very important to look out for. One such skill is the ability to keep learning new things constantly and quickly.
   
   There are new technologies emerging almost every other day. These technologies provide some or the other benefit which makes them very valuable to be used while designing and developing a website. Therefore, the candidate you hire must have the zeal to increase his/her knowledge and must be capable of doing so quickly.

6. Testing and Debugging

   There are many different ways of conducting tests on the created code to check for any existing bugs and errors. This is a very important skill that every front end developer must-have. This is because it can help in removing the glitches in the user interface designs and functionality with ease.
   
   If the developer doesn’t know how to find errors efficiently by applying testing techniques, then they will just be wasting time in unproductive activities.

7. Analytical and Problem Solving Skills

   Having the ability to come up with solutions quickly to every problem that arises while developing the front end. This is because coding and developing whole projects is no easy task. Inconsistencies and minor problems are bound to occur. Therefore, any front end developer must be able to analyze the problem, find out the root cause for it and then come up with ways to remove the problem in an efficient manner.

8. Communication Skills

   Communication is a very important part of the development lifecycle of any software application be it front end or back end. If you are not in constant contact with your clients for whom you are developing the front end, then it could give rise to multiple issues.
   
   The front end must look and work just as the client requires, otherwise, the effort put into designing it would go to waste. Therefore, the developer you hire must have good communication skills to be able to communicate with clients in an effective way.