Questions from a Back-End Developer Candidate and Our Recommendations

Just 5 min reading time.

Are you a junior or pro Web Developer and interested in probably the best job in the world? Well, you’re not alone. We often get questions about the Web Developer position at eJump, mostly about what is the best way to apply, and we decided to answer some of these questions on the blog. Here we go:

What software/ programming languages (besides PHP/MySQL/HTML/CSS) do I need to know and master? I want to be a PHP programmer.

Our Web Developers have specific and different attributes from Front End Developers, but whoever wants to learn and work in the Front-End department as well will receive all our support because these two positions complete each other.

We work quite a lot with platforms like WordPress so you need to be pretty good at working with it. HTML and CSS are fundamental and need to be mastered. But being experienced in working with several other frameworks is definitely an advantage. We try to use frameworks and libraries (CodeIgniter, React, Redux, Laravel etc.) and avoid building some things from scratch in order to spend more time on the creative process and on improving the user experience.  Knowing the classic programming algorithms is mandatory. Once the algorithms are mastered, one can proceed to learn new frameworks depending on the needs and types of the projects the back-end developer will be assigned to.

What should my portfolio include?

When we look at the portfolio of a potential future co-worker we would like to see a series of websites or apps developed by him or her. If all the projects are presented along with a description of the things you have done, all in a nice and easy to understand way, then you will definitely win our hearts much faster. In our mind, this means you are organized and love to create things that are easy to understand at a first glance by anyone. We can assume that this work ethic will be found in the code you will write and that will make us very happy.

HINT! If you are a beginner web developer and don’t have and extensive portfolio or real projects with clients, we won’t mind if we find apps/websites created for learning purposes in the portfolio – with the condition that this fact is visibly stated.

We will appreciate a lot if the projects (even the demo ones) are modern and truly spectacular.

How much experience do I need to have for a junior/entry level position?

One of the things we value the most is excellent quality of work and that is the first thing we look at. So we actually prefer to see fewer projects, but modern, cool, and of higher quality, rather than numerous mediocre ones.

We tend to look at the potential of a future co-worker, so the “on paper” experience will matter less than what you can actually do and your willingness to learn. We believe that the more complex technical aspects, frameworks and such, can be learned rather quickly with some support if you have the desire to do so.  To us, truly amazing ideas and the desire to always create something of value are the things that matter the most. We will always be willing to hire a junior freelancer (with only 6-12 months of experience) who proves he or she can rise to our standard and requirements.

What kind of tests do I need to take to be considered for the job?

The first step of the hiring process is the portfolio that is hopefully packed with high-quality and interesting works. This is a must and helps us to go beyond the selection phase in order to invite the front-end developer to an interview.

We try to figure out if a candidate is a good match with our organizational culture from the answers to the interview questions. We also try to find out what would be your attitude and strategy in some common client- designer- front end developer situations and how you will go about solving these situations.

During the interview we ask some technical questions as well in order to get an idea about the experience and current skill-level of the candidate. If all goes well and you go to the next phase you will receive “homework”, meaning 2 very specific tasks to solve (usually some PHP/MySQL and/or JavaScript implementation done after a well-written brief). So there are no tests taken during the interview, at the office, but you will have the chance to prove your skills and amaze us.

If the implementation is done correctly and creatively and everybody in the recruiting team likes it, then it is very probable that you will become part of our team soon.

Does this answer your questions? If not, make sure you contact us right away.

Have a question? Wondering about prices? Want to know if we can
do something for you?

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Are you looking for a reliable partner for your web design agency? Do you need a smashing website that will make your competitors afraid of going out of business? How about a mobile app? We love our work and are eager to talk to you, show off our skills and our portfolio. Drop us a line. We’re guaranteed to reply and we’re real friendly too.

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