I’m a Frontend Dev. Stop Forcing Me to Be a Full-Stack.

Overview

This document analyzes the interview experiences of a frontend engineer with over four years of experience. The candidate encountered a consistent misalignment between the advertised frontend roles and the technical skills assessed during the interview process. The interviews frequently emphasized backend knowledge, despite the candidate's explicit focus and expertise in frontend development.

Interview Rounds

The candidate reported that numerous interviews for Angular developer positions included questions heavily focused on backend technologies. Examples of these questions include:

• Optimizing MongoDB queries
• Explaining event-driven systems using Kafka
• Describing the architecture of microservices

These questions contrast with the types of questions the candidate expected and desired, such as:

• Optimizing First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
• Handling memory leaks in Angular applications
• Building Canvas animations from scratch

The candidate observed a perceived tendency to prioritize full-stack capabilities, even when the job description clearly specified a frontend role. This led to frustration, as the candidate felt their core frontend skills and passion were not adequately valued.

Key Takeaways

The primary issue identified is the mismatch between job descriptions and interview content. Companies advertising for frontend developers should ensure their interview processes accurately assess relevant frontend skills. An overemphasis on backend knowledge can alienate qualified frontend specialists and create a negative candidate experience.

Furthermore, the narrative highlights a potential undervaluation of the complexities and challenges inherent in frontend development. Performance optimization, cross-browser compatibility, accessibility, and UX design are critical aspects of frontend engineering that deserve appropriate recognition and assessment during the hiring process.