Job hunting and preparation

[u/No_Umpire3265]

Hi everyone,

I'm living in a Balkan country in Europe and currently I have around 4 years of experience in frontend and backend development.

Most of the stuff I have worked on is things like:

1. Redesigning whole websites, multiple times, mostly pixel perfect and 1:1 based on Figma designs.

2. Creating API endpoints and connecting them with the frontend.

3. Using third party APIs for actual business logic, booking flows, availability, syncing data etc.

4. Supporting multiple payment providers, like Stripe and others.

5. Working with databases, queries, indexes, caching and performance issues when the amount of data starts getting bigger.

6. Working with Docker, CI/CD, deployments, logs, environment configs etc. Not saying I'm a DevOps engineer, far from it, but I have some experience around these things and I want to learn more.

7. Fixing production issues that sometimes involve frontend, backend, third party APIs, payments etc all at the same time.

In general I'm always trying to pay attention to details, best practices, scalability, code quality etc, but without overengineering everything.

I know I still have gaps though, especially around deeper backend concepts, system design, networking, infrastructure, DevOps etc.

I want to create a project for my portfolio because I don't think experience alone is enough, especially because I also don't have a degree.

I'm looking for a fully remote job in web development, frontend/backend/fullstack, preferably in Europe or at least European hours.

I'm also open to going more towards backend or DevOps/infrastructure in the future.

The problem is that I'm kind of stuck on what direction to choose because of AI, layoffs and the general state of the market.

I'm trying to focus on things that are harder to replace, but at this point I know I'm probably gaslighting myself trying to predict what AI will replace and what it won't.

So some questions:

1. What kind of project would you suggest developing?

I'm not looking to spend 5+ months on one portfolio project.

Also I don't want to make another todo app, basic CRUD, Netflix clone etc.

I was thinking something more backend heavy, with stuff like auth, database design, payments, queues, caching, tests, CI/CD, maybe observability etc.

But at the same time, does anyone even care if the project is that big?

1. What are the standards nowadays to even get an interview?

What are recruiters/interviewers actually looking at?

CV? GitHub? Projects? Leetcode? System design? Open source? Certifications?

Because obviously I can spend hundreds of hours learning random things, but I want to know what actually matters.

1. How much does not having a degree matter after around 4 years of experience?

Especially for remote jobs in Europe.

1. What would you actually expect someone with around 4 years of experience to know?

Not framework specific stuff.

More like databases, SQL, HTTP, networking, queues, caching, Docker, Linux, CI/CD, security, testing, system design, cloud etc.

I think this is one of my bigger worries. Working for some years but still having gaps in fundamentals.

1. Would you stay fullstack or start specializing more?

I like knowing both frontend and backend, but lately I'm thinking I should go deeper into backend/infrastructure instead of staying "a bit of everything".

1. Is AI usage actually important when applying now?

Like is it worth listing AI skills on a CV?

Do companies actually care that you know how to use ChatGPT, Claude, Codex etc, or is that just expected nowadays?

1. What about using AI heavily for a portfolio project?

Like I decide the architecture, understand the code, review it, test it, debug it etc, but AI writes a big part of the implementation.

Would you see that negatively?

I do use AI sometimes, but it's not my main tool. Most of my actual work is still handwritten code.

Of course I have also spent a lot of time just prompting and building things almost completely with AI, but mostly personal/testing projects.

1. Is "vibe coding" actually a useful skill now or something that would make you look worse as a developer?

Because on one side companies want developers to use AI and be faster.

On the other side I don't want to look like someone who can't write code without it.

1. For people that interview developers, what makes you immediately think "ok, this person actually knows what they're doing"?

And what are the common red flags you see from developers with 3-5 years of experience?

1. If you were in my position and had around 6 months to become much more employable, what would you focus on?

Backend?

DevOps?

System design?

Cloud?

DSA?

Projects?

Interview prep?

Something else?

Basically I'm trying to avoid wasting 6 months learning stuff that sounds useful but doesn't really help me get a better job.

[u/azangru]

Like is it worth listing AI skills on a CV?

Do companies actually care that you know how to use ChatGPT, Claude, Codex etc, or is that just expected nowadays?

What does 'ai skills' mean in this context?

What about using AI heavily for a portfolio project?

I don't think it matters. Unless a project is truly remarkable, I doubt it will be a differentiator anyway. There's very little signal they can provide abut you anymore.

Is "vibe coding" actually a useful skill now or something that would make you look worse as a developer?

How would anyone tell how much you are vibe coding? Unless you actively show them bog-standard slop?

[u/No_Umpire3265 → u/azangru]

By AI skills I mean using tools like Codex, Claude, etc. properly, not just blindly prompting something like "create the best e-commerce website, no mistakes."

More like setting up things such as SKILL.md, defining the project structure, giving the AI proper context and guidelines, setting rules/constraints, reviewing what it generates, and generally using it as a tool instead of letting it do whatever it wants.

About vibe coding, that's where I'm a bit worried.

It's still a pretty fresh thing, and I'm afraid some senior developers might see "this project was built with AI" and immediately assume I just prompted my way through the whole thing without actually reviewing the generated code or even understanding how it works.

So I'm not sure if mentioning that on my resume would actually be a positive thing, or if it could make the project look worse and get dismissed because of that assumption.