Spring is in the air, and plants aren’t the only thing growing. Mabl is hiring in engineering, sales, UX design, customer support, and more! While this is an exciting time for the entire team, I’m particularly excited to be hiring a Software Quality Engineer that will work directly with me to ensure that mabl is the highest quality test automation solution on the market.
Having worked in a variety of quality roles, from QA engineer to Director of Quality, I’ve had my fair share of job interviews in this rapidly changing industry, so I recognize the challenges that the hiring process brings for applicants. Today, I want to dive into what I look for in QA engineering candidates and share some useful tips for helping your resume stand out among the pack.
Mabl recently covered the most in-demand skills for quality professionals in 2021, which were based on the evolving role of QA teams and Ziprecruiter data from actual applications and job postings. They were a wide range that spanned soft skills like critical thinking and communication as well as technical capabilities such as Jira and regression testing. Developing these skills is certainly a challenge for anyone looking to build their career in quality engineering, but the second critical step is demonstrating those abilities in job interviews.
There’s a reason that drive and insight are two of mabl’s core values: these qualities are the foundation for anyone looking to succeed in the fast-changing world of software quality. For QA, building the range of in-demand skills starts with the drive to learn as well as the ability to transform that knowledge into insights that improve the user experience.
Quality teams are part of the foundation for every aspect of the digital world, so it’s no wonder that our field includes an incredibly diverse set of people, experiences, technologies, and areas of expertise. Every quality professional, no matter their level of experience, needs that natural curiosity to continue learning and continuously hone their skills. When I speak to candidates, one of the best ways they can highlight their drive and demonstrate their skills is to share how they keep their QA knowledge up-to-date. Personally, I look for candidates that contribute to open source projects, attend conferences and meetups, read books or listen to QA podcasts, and take advantage of the numerous courses that can be found online through resources like the Ministry of Testing. These experiences not only show hiring managers that candidates have the range of skills needed to succeed in QA, but also have the drive to keep learning.
An additional benefit to the plethora of QA resources available online - our industry is more accessible than ever before. Non-traditional candidates are recognizing the opportunities presented by careers in quality and looking to translate their life experiences into quality leadership roles. Candidates with natural curiosity and the drive to learn will always stand out, no matter how they get their start in QA.
As a customer-centered company, mabl’s next Software Quality Engineer will be extremely collaborative and empathetic, willing to work closely with the Friends of mabl community as well as our engineering, customer support, and sales teams to contribute to quality strategy throughout the development lifecycle. This aligns with the growing industry trend of quality teams becoming the voice of the customer, acting as advocates for a quality user experience and ensuring the product evolves with customer needs.
To shine in a QA job interview, candidates should not only share their knowledge of technical topics like exploratory and regression testing, but also find ways to discuss how they collaborate with quality team members, developers, quality stakeholders, and even customers. These applicants are able to adapt QA knowledge and, with the help of data and cross-functional inputs, transform it into meaningful insights about user behavior and how the entire organization can continuously improve. They’re open, communicative, and adaptable, willing to tackle problems outside the traditional QA role and work with customer support teams to respond to user feedback, engage with sales teams to identify areas for product growth, and collaborate with engineering to integrate quality engineering into the development pipeline. These soft skills are crucial to building an effective quality team, and any QA manager is likely looking for them in a job interview.
But of course, the critical step to securing the interview is preparing a resume that showcases your skills, demonstrates your drive to learn, and communicates the insights you can share with the team. Capturing your abilities and how they translate to a particular job can be challenging, especially in a field as challenging and wide-ranging as QA. To stand out, clearly communicate your role on particular projects, especially if you owned or led them. If you have relevant experiences outside a traditional work environment, such as volunteering, co-ops, or side projects, include those as well to give a full sense of your experience. Remember, it’s not about fitting into a box, but showing that you can learn, collaborate, and lead on behalf of the quality team and your customers.
Sound like you? Apply for mabl’s Software Quality Engineer role today!