Front End Developer Skills for a Resume

Front end teams hire developers who build fast, accessible interfaces that match the design. Show the frameworks you use, then prove quality with numbers: load times, accessibility fixes, tests and the people who use what you built.

Updated

14 skills at a glance

Hard skills

What the work takes, how a hiring manager judges each skill, and a bullet point that shows it.

  1. HTML, CSS and JavaScript

    The foundations still matter. Show them through work that needed them, such as semantic markup or complex layouts.

    Example bullet pointRebuilt the marketing site's layout with CSS Grid and semantic HTML, removing 2,000 lines of old styles.

  2. TypeScript

    Mention migrations or strict settings. They show depth rather than everyday use.

    Example bullet pointMoved a 60,000-line JavaScript codebase to strict TypeScript over three months without pausing feature work.

  3. React, Vue or Angular

    Name the framework and what you built with it: its size, its users and the hard parts, such as state or forms.

    Example bullet pointBuilt a multi-step booking form in React with saved drafts and inline validation, raising completion by 12%.

  4. Next.js or similar frameworks

    Show that you understand rendering choices: server rendering, static pages and caching.

    Example bullet pointMoved product pages to static generation in Next.js with timed updates, cutting server costs and load time.

  5. Accessibility (WCAG, ARIA)

    Name the standard and the level, and say what you fixed or built so that everyone could use the product.

    Example bullet pointTested the checkout with a screen reader and keyboard alone, then fixed its focus order, labels and error messages.

  6. Web performance and Core Web Vitals

    Give before and after numbers for a metric such as Largest Contentful Paint or Interaction to Next Paint.

    Example bullet pointCut Interaction to Next Paint on the search page from 450 ms to 120 ms by breaking up long tasks.

  7. Testing (Jest, Playwright, Cypress)

    Show the kinds of tests you write and what they protect, such as the main purchase flow.

    Example bullet pointWrote Playwright tests for sign-up, checkout and account settings that run on every pull request.

  8. Design systems and Storybook

    Show adoption: how many teams or screens use the components you built.

    Example bullet pointBuilt accessible button, dialog and form components in Storybook that replaced five inconsistent versions.

  9. Responsive design

    Mention the range of screens you support and how you test them.

    Example bullet pointMade the reporting dashboard usable on phones by turning wide tables into stacked cards below 600 px.

Soft skills

Shown through what you did, never claimed as adjectives.

  1. Eye for detail

    Show it through polish users noticed, or problems you caught before release.

    Example bullet pointCaught spacing, contrast and focus problems in design reviews before they reached production.

  2. Working with designers

    Show how you shaped a design together, not only how you built it.

    Example bullet pointDefined spacing and color tokens with the design team, shared by Figma and the codebase.

  3. Empathy for users

    Show that you watched or listened to users and changed something as a result.

    Example bullet pointListened to support calls about the billing page and simplified its layout, halving related tickets.

  4. Explaining trade-offs

    Describe a decision you explained to people outside engineering, such as scope against speed.

    Example bullet pointExplained the cost of a custom date picker to product managers and proposed an accessible library instead.

  5. Curiosity

    Show something new you learned and put to use, such as a browser feature or a tool.

    Example bullet pointIntroduced container queries to the component library, removing dozens of special-case styles.

Keywords from front end developer job postings

Use the ones that are true for you, in your bullet points as well as your skills list.

  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Next.js
  • Largest Contentful Paint
  • WCAG
  • component library
  • Storybook
  • Playwright
  • responsive
  • bundle size

Each posting has its own words. Our guide to tailoring your resume to a job description shows how to find them and where to put them.

Where to put your skills

  • In a skills section: a short list of the hard skills the posting names, in its words.
  • In your bullet points: every skill that matters should show up in something you did, with a result. That is where a hiring manager believes it.
  • In your summary: two or three of the skills the job asks for most.

More on choosing them in how to choose and prove the skills on your resume.

Questions

What skills should a front end developer list?

HTML, CSS and JavaScript, TypeScript, your framework, accessibility, performance, testing and responsive design, plus working with designers and an eye for detail.

Should I include a portfolio link?

Yes. Put a link to your portfolio or GitHub with your contact details, and make sure the projects there show the skills the job asks for.

How do I show accessibility skills?

Name the standard, such as WCAG 2.2 AA, and give a concrete fix or feature, like keyboard navigation or screen reader labels.

Put them to work

Start from a front end developer resume that already uses these skills, for an invented person, and make it yours in the builder.

Use this exampleRead the front end developer resume example