Gap in Experience -- Some thoughts appreciated

Hello everyone,

I don’t know if anyone can relate… I have a Comp Sci degree and actually worked as a web developer back when the web was still fairly new and the dot-com “boomed”. I also worked for 2 years remotely as a web developer for another small business. But after having my 2nd child, I decided to take a hiatus and have not been in the industry for almost 10 years. This year, I decided to go back to programming and after a lot of searching, this last August, I found FreeCodeCamp through some post on FaceBook and have enjoyed doing the algorithm challenges and projects that I’m almost done with the Front End Developer Certificate.

My question is, how do I go about phrasing a resume to account for the lack of industry experience for the last 10 years? So much has changed with the web, with a lot more frameworks out there, so I’ve been doing a lot of self-learning through FreeCodeCamp, edx.org, books and the like, and have come up with a few projects that I can put on a portfolio. But I’m wondering what would make my resume attract potential employers.

Also, a few years ago some recruiter told me that companies don’t like seeing gaps in resumes, so I’m trying to find out how to best approach this. Do I just start with jr. developer jobs? Mid-level? Also, are there websites that cater to starters or re-starters that want to work on a project-by-project basis?

I really would appreciate any feedback and encouragement especially from those who could relate to my situation.

Thanks again to Quincy Larson and the FreeCodeCamp team/ community for all the great work in helping a lot of people become developers.

Anne

Just tell the truth, you took a break to raise children and now that they’re older and more independent, you can now go back to doing the work that you once did before.

I agree, lots have happened in 10 years… so I think make yourself up-to-date with the latest front end frameworks (React, Angular, VueJS – depending on what’s popular in your area) and get familiar with the CSS frameworks out there. With your CompSci and previous experience, I think employers will see the value in that.

And oh yeah, make that portfolio beautiful too… style/colors etc… lots of web developers with a programming mindset are lacking in this area and if you can show a strong sense of modern/contemporary design and style, I think companies grab those kind of people pretty fast too (even if they don’t have openings.)

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thanks for the encouraging remarks and helpful tips. I will make sure to beautify my designs for my portfolio.

Same boat as you, altho I am just starting out on freecodecamp