Do You Love Quality?

Software jobs are in high demand currently and that demand is projected to increase in the near future. If you enjoy working with computers, math, and have a good understanding of what users of software need you might find work as a software tester enjoyable. There are many ways to get started finding work as a software tester or QA. Some of them you have it by default and learning some others can help make your job search a success. Here are a few practical tips for you to start your career as a Tester:

QA Skills Required

In the field of Software Testing – technical as well as non technical person can apply. Here are some QA skills that are a must for every Software Tester.

• Analytical and Logical Thinking: One who could be analyse the software. He/She should have Logical Thinking capability. Tester must discover not only bug but he/she could be regenerate it to identify the scenario of the bug. Sometimes tester need to do root cause analysis for finding the root of the defect.
• Intellectual curiosity and Creativity: A tester should be Intellectually curious and creative. Intellectually curious means should have the ability to ask the question and do not get discomfort if it is silly questions. Creativity meaning he/she should be willing to learn and process improvement.
• Think from Customer Point of view : Tester must have ability to think as per Customer’s point of view. Figure out what customer’s need is and what are customer’s requirement for developing the product. Customer should be satisfied with software when get released.
• Domain Knowledge : Tester should have domain knowledge. Testers should have the detailed knowledge about the software or application, whether they are not domain experts and this knowledge will help them to find such errors which a user can face while using the application. After testing the application/software, the tester should keep the domain in his/her mind while arranging the errors in order according to their priority.
• Technical knowhow: Tech skills will be advantage for tester. Tester must have basic knowledge of software programming.It is beneficial to have hands on experience on different tool for software testing. Knowing a Automation or Performance enhances the value a Tester.

Test Your Passion for Quality

Before you decide to take up Software Testing career, test your passion for quality by having a clear answer to below questions:

• Why do you want to become a Software Tester or Quality Analyst?
• If you are a computer engineer, why did not you choose software development?
• If you are from some other stream, why don’t you look for a job in your field of specialisation?

Only those candidates who are passionate about this field and want to grow as a quality tester end up getting the best jobs available in the market. You will be able to survive in your software testing job only when you have real interest and passion about it. Else, you will start finding testing as a burden and finally end up in losing your performance and efficiency. Remember anyone can be trained but only the person with real interest and passion can succeed.

Do You Have – What It Takes

As a tester, not only you should have an aptitude and analytical skills but also the knowledge of testing methodologies and tools to perform your job successfully. You can acquire the skillset or upgrade yourself to current and future Testing Market by having significant exposure to Software Testing, via;

• Training
• Tutorials 
• Certifications
• Freelancing Testing 
• Crowdsourced Testing 

Choose Your Specialization

I can see a very common trend these days, especially in Software Testing field, you need to “specialize and not generalize“. A specialist is always preferred over a generalist by most companies (even though personally I don’t admire this idea to choose specialists as they have limited scope, but most of the recruiters find the easy way out to fill up the position fast).

Some of the popular testing specialization you can choose are as below:

Manual Testing

In this process, a tester has to use all of the software features manually, just like an end user, who is the one going to actually use the software product. and find the bugs or issues.

Automated Testing 

In this process, a tester has to validate the features of the software by writing scripts that automate the test activities.

Performance Testing 

In this method of testing, software is tested against a specific workload and results are evaluated are based upon system responsiveness, maximum load capacity, etc.

Research Where You Wish To Join

Not just freshers, but even experienced folks walk into an interview without making an effort to read up on what the company does – Never do that!

Imagine if you walk into the interview stating ‘I read about the latest product update you had, and I am keen on working with your company because I am keen on such Domain or such and such Technology.’ That immediately tells the interviewer that you are aware of the work the firm does and they have something to start discussions on.

Get details about the company and products during the research. No one expects that you know the latest quarterly reports in mind, but you should know enough for the interviewer to feel you’ve not made a superficial statement. Also it helps you a lot to figure out few other very important interview questions:

• How can you add value to our organisation/team?
• Why should we hire you? What can you do for us and our organisation?
• Where do you see yourself fitting in our organisation?
• How can you contribute to our Company’s goal or product/services?

Work on Your Online Presence

Once the company decides that you make the shortlist, many also search for you online to see if there’s anything else they find. Social media can be a very powerful tool to land your dream job, but then you need to be willing to expand your presence online beyond just the basics.

• Recruiters from almost every field and industry use advanced search techniques that can help them find and screen talent.
• Recruiters rely on the cheapest and fastest ways of getting a stack of résumés, which often means leveraging their employees’ referral network, LinkedIn, and maybe even Twitter.
•  Generic-looking résumés are strict no-no forRecruiters. When candidates send out general applications without researching the job, they can even get blacklisted or mostly end up getting no replies or rejection at application level itself.

Instead, spend time building your professional network on various social media sites, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Caution: Don’t Fall In Traps 

Sadly, I hear a lot of misconceptions about Software Testing jobs.

• Software Testing is a simple verification job which any one can do.
• Software Testing is not technically challenging as development.
• Software Testing is a second tier job compared to development.
• Software Testers don’t get paid as compared to developers.
• Software Testing is monotonous and boring.
• Software Tester has value only if he/she is a Automation Tester.

My advice – Don’t fall in traps of such Myths… 

Get in touch with me via my Website , Channel, Twitter or Linkedin and I can help you busting these myths. What’s your experience with job search in Software Testing Industry? Please share your thoughts/experiences in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.