Effective Methods to Showcase Back-End Work?
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For those that you want to explain your tech stack a little more in depth. In your example you could explain the cost savings of mysql vs other databases (ex: sql server). Everyone enjoys hearing how they can save money. With MVC frameworks you could detail how it is in theory easier to maintain due to separation of concerns and in turn, easier to have other developers working on the code base.
For most people, tech stacks are gibberish. Only techs care about that at all.
Jeremy Falcon
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That makes sense and it's what I've done. Its just one of my associates is trying to get me to "talk more in plain English," some clients we may have don't even really know what back-end is, but they do actually NEED it... if that makes sense. It's hard to show a client who doesn't understand code at all what we do... For example, a MySQL site may look and fell exactly the same as a MS SQL Server site, or a MVC vs MVVM, etc... I guess I'll just have to use plain English to explain the concepts as simple as possible.
I'd say the best bet is to know your target audience. Are you talking to an interviewer that understands tech? If so, chat about it all day long. Are you talking to a business guy that has no idea about tech? Then he won't care about XYZ at all. So your friend is right. If it's a business type, they live and breathe on reports, reports, reports. So think metrics. Print out a report on how your backend code, reduced cost by blah blah, or made this such and such improvement. You can throw in a pie chart with that. Just put yourself in the seat of a person who is a business type of person with little tech know-how. How would you want to be sold?
Jeremy Falcon
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What are your tips for showcasing Back-End Dev. work? Especially work where I only did the back-end. Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work... However, with me doing BACK-END dev, the site can look like ass but my work is actually quality work (making it more secure, faster performance, scaled, designing the DB, etc...) because I only did the back-end of things... Not to mention, clients who view my LinkedIn and other Portfolios may not understand or want to understand the actual coding part. Front-End appears at first to lend itself to easier marketing techniques due to this, but I am sure there are workarounds for this that I haven't thought of. I am open to suggestions! Thanks!
Start your own website and showcase your "Back End Work" :-\
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What are your tips for showcasing Back-End Dev. work? Especially work where I only did the back-end. Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work... However, with me doing BACK-END dev, the site can look like ass but my work is actually quality work (making it more secure, faster performance, scaled, designing the DB, etc...) because I only did the back-end of things... Not to mention, clients who view my LinkedIn and other Portfolios may not understand or want to understand the actual coding part. Front-End appears at first to lend itself to easier marketing techniques due to this, but I am sure there are workarounds for this that I haven't thought of. I am open to suggestions! Thanks!
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What are your tips for showcasing Back-End Dev. work? Especially work where I only did the back-end. Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work... However, with me doing BACK-END dev, the site can look like ass but my work is actually quality work (making it more secure, faster performance, scaled, designing the DB, etc...) because I only did the back-end of things... Not to mention, clients who view my LinkedIn and other Portfolios may not understand or want to understand the actual coding part. Front-End appears at first to lend itself to easier marketing techniques due to this, but I am sure there are workarounds for this that I haven't thought of. I am open to suggestions! Thanks!
In some scenarios, queries or spreadsheets of raw, unprocessed data, and the same of processed data, the in between data, and a thorough write-up of what happens to the data, can help a bit. I've only ever shown people query results in person though, and not had to transmit said data elsewhere.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. - Liber AL vel Legis 1:40, Aleister Crowley
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What are your tips for showcasing Back-End Dev. work? Especially work where I only did the back-end. Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work... However, with me doing BACK-END dev, the site can look like ass but my work is actually quality work (making it more secure, faster performance, scaled, designing the DB, etc...) because I only did the back-end of things... Not to mention, clients who view my LinkedIn and other Portfolios may not understand or want to understand the actual coding part. Front-End appears at first to lend itself to easier marketing techniques due to this, but I am sure there are workarounds for this that I haven't thought of. I am open to suggestions! Thanks!
If you have been paid for the work and do not own it, you must not make it avaliable publicly.
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Coming from the standpoint of someone who's given tech interviews... I'd agree with the github or equivalent thing. But rather than release your old company's IP to the wild, why not just build a side project to showcase your skills? Then during an interview just talk about your projects and also mention that if you haven't already. That would work for me.
Jeremy Falcon
I agree whole heartedly with this. Also if you've done something that solved a problem in a neat way you could always write a blog article demonstrating it in a way that does not reveal and company specific ip. Even if nobody reads that blog it'll be there to show a prospective employer in the future.
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What are your tips for showcasing Back-End Dev. work? Especially work where I only did the back-end. Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work... However, with me doing BACK-END dev, the site can look like ass but my work is actually quality work (making it more secure, faster performance, scaled, designing the DB, etc...) because I only did the back-end of things... Not to mention, clients who view my LinkedIn and other Portfolios may not understand or want to understand the actual coding part. Front-End appears at first to lend itself to easier marketing techniques due to this, but I am sure there are workarounds for this that I haven't thought of. I am open to suggestions! Thanks!
Perhaps describe your work to a perspective customer using an analogy. Maybe a house: foundation, electrical, plumbing, etc. This way you can stress the importance of the "unseen" parts of the program using something they can visualize. You can make equivalencies about the design, ease of maintenance, ease of adding enhancements, etc. I have used this very effectively in the past. Pick your own analogy. They still won't know if your actual code is any good, but that's where references and some of the other suggestion made by others here will help.
Mike
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TheOnlyRealTodd wrote:
Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work...
Unless you're in the medical industry and it's heavily regulated and they don't want screenshots available to the public. :sigh:
Jeremy Falcon
Or the banking industry, which makes even getting the source onto github nigh impossible in the first place. One major bank (JPMC) won't even let employees reveal they work there.
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What are your tips for showcasing Back-End Dev. work? Especially work where I only did the back-end. Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work... However, with me doing BACK-END dev, the site can look like ass but my work is actually quality work (making it more secure, faster performance, scaled, designing the DB, etc...) because I only did the back-end of things... Not to mention, clients who view my LinkedIn and other Portfolios may not understand or want to understand the actual coding part. Front-End appears at first to lend itself to easier marketing techniques due to this, but I am sure there are workarounds for this that I haven't thought of. I am open to suggestions! Thanks!
Do a little video that explains in simple terms what your work is about and (without mentioning names) they way you have improved a certain project's quality. Check this example: Server Virtualization with VMware vSphere[^] They show you what this product do in simple terms in a short video. It doesn't give technical details but invites you to know more.
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What are your tips for showcasing Back-End Dev. work? Especially work where I only did the back-end. Front-End is easy: You just show them the website or photos of it, which illustrate the UX/Photo/CSS/HTML work... However, with me doing BACK-END dev, the site can look like ass but my work is actually quality work (making it more secure, faster performance, scaled, designing the DB, etc...) because I only did the back-end of things... Not to mention, clients who view my LinkedIn and other Portfolios may not understand or want to understand the actual coding part. Front-End appears at first to lend itself to easier marketing techniques due to this, but I am sure there are workarounds for this that I haven't thought of. I am open to suggestions! Thanks!
Firstly, you should show some of your work. If it's not work you've done for a client then it should be work you've done at home. Secondly, unless you're showing your work to someone who understands and also has the time to look through your code, you will need a nice UI to go with it. It adds that Jazz Factor to your work. You can then explain that you did the back end to that UI. Finally, There are great sites out there to display you work. I'm going to recommend one (because it's mine :)) codeenv.com allows you to share and show off backend work. You can share your work in an environment which allows users to instantly click and run your code. There are other websites of course which allow you to do similar stuff but I won't recommend them purely out of bias