Side Project Tech Stack
Hello, I've seen a lot advice on here about doing side projects that are front-end focused and visible to recruiters, and it seems that Android/ iOS apps are a great way of doing that.
I'm in a position right now where I have about 3 years of web development experience and so most of the positions I'm applying for are web dev related, although I'm open to any. I decided to start working on an iOS app because I thought it'd be fun and the app would actually be useful to me + others.
I do have a side-project on my resume I did involving TypeScript/React, and so I was wondering if creating an iOS app with Swift and putting it on my resume would kind of hinder my chances at web dev jobs or would it still be something that could help land me an interviews for those jobs?
Thank you,
Hamza
Discussion
(3 comments)- 13 months agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
I don't think having an iOS project while applying for webdev jobs would hurt you. The critical skill the company is looking for is your ability to learn quickly and apply new skills in your work.
Even within web dev, it's very unlikely that the tech you used will exactly line up with the web dev that a company uses.
Given your 3 YoE in web dev, I would not be concerned about iOS making you a less viable candidate. A few other ways your intention will be clarified:
- You will apply for web dev roles
- Ideally you can get a referral who knows your background and advocates for you in a web role
- If you're really concerned, you can put a one-liner at the top with your desired role
- 43 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
I don't think it will help, but I don't think it will really hurt you either. What I do recommend though if your iOS exploration takes off (e.g. you make a side project app with 10,000+ users) is to make 2 resumes:
- Resume 1: Focused on your web development skills
- Resume 2: Focused on your iOS development skills (side projects, certifications, any exposure you happened to get to iOS on prior jobs)
If your goal is to pivot to iOS long-term, I would try to do it with an internal transfer instead of a job switch. In this market, employers aren't taking risks, so they're not going to allow many new hires to join with a tech stack pivot. Get into a company that has both web/mobile as a web engineer, prove yourself there, and then look for an internal switch to iOS (you will be de-risked as you have shown that you are a high-performer in the company).
This is for a different stack transition, but the same concepts apply: "How to transition from back-end development to distributed systems?"
And this is to help with the side projects: [Taro Top 10] Building Impressive Side Projects
- 23 months agoEng @ Taro
I do have a side-project on my resume I did involving TypeScript/React, and so I was wondering if creating an iOS app with Swift and putting it on my resume would kind of hinder my chances at web dev jobs or would it still be something that could help land me an interviews for those jobs?
It shouldn't hinder you, but it could raise some questions, especially if someone less technical is taking the first pass at your resume:
- Is this person more suited for a mobile development role?
- Is this person trying to pivot into a mobile role, so they aren't interested in web anymore?
But, any of the above concerns can be resolved by declaring what kind of position you are looking for at the top of your resume. You can move the side projects into a secondary section on your resume to signal that you are passionate about coding in your spare time, but it's not what you've worked on primarily.
