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What life hacks employers pay attention to
The IT market is becoming increasingly competitive and it takes a lot of hard work to get a great job. And even if you are a talented QA specialist, but you don't know how to present yourself properly, the employer will not be interested in your candidature, and your CV will most likely go to the trash along with hundreds of other irrelevant reviews for the vacancy. And the interview will go to someone who has been lazy and put together a successful CV for QA.
A properly written CV is the first step to standing out from the crowd. There simply isn't enough time to read the whole CV carefully, so recruiters look at the key points. To be read to the end, a CV must be attractive, organized and written without errors.
Tips and tricks from software testing experts
Olga Sokolova, QA Engineer Manual, 6 years of experience
How to get a job as a tester with no experience?
Testers with no experience should definitely get it, as there is a lot of competition now. The easiest way to do this I think is to go to all IT events in the city and get to know programmers, sales managers, and if you're lucky - even CEOs.
Find out if they have some project, maybe even a personal one, or a small startup where they need enthusiastic testers without pay or symbolic pay, as the main task of a beginner is to write something relevant on their CV. Of course, you may have to work another job at the same time to pay your bills, but that's just a temporary transitional phase.
Also, despite your lack of experience, you should be sure to put together a CV so that you can send it to people on first request without delay, as at this stage the one who was quicker often wins.
Tips for experienced testers
I would advise:
1. Tidy up your CV. Update your contacts if they have changed. Add technologies learnt recently, update the level of English if it has improved, remember some of your achievements that can be added to it (certificates, courses, awards).
2. Upgrade your LinkedIn profile. There are special mini courses that are easy to google, as well as articles on setting up your profile. Linkedin's algorithms are so designed that they respond to certain keywords and structure. A premium account, too, increases the profile's reach to potential employers. With a well set up profile, the likelihood of being found increases.
3. Don't hesitate to go to any interviews to which you are invited, even if your set of skills doesn't match your skills or you have no desire to work in that company. Passing an interview is a separate skill, and such training removes fear and stiffness. And also you understand what information is interesting to employers, it becomes clear that it makes sense to study additionally. After 10-15 interviews, you will already have a list of the 20 most popular hot topics to talk about with the interviewer.
4. If the goal is a direct contract outside Moldova - google the methods of promoting yourself on the international market, there is a lot of information about it. The format of CVs and interviews differs from country to country (there can be up to 5 stages), and there is also a difference in mentality, you should take this into account and gather information in advance.
5. After reading the vacancy and seeing something unfamiliar, before the interview, gather as much information on the unknown technology or direction as possible. This way the employer will immediately realize that he is dealing with a person who understands something about the product with which the company works.
6. Prepare a list of your questions. A job candidate is evaluated not only on their answers to questions, but also on their own questions. Examples: what is the product, what is the technology? What is the team structure, which side is management on? What is the speed of processes and stages of making important decisions within the company? What does the interviewer like most about this company? What is the schedule, is there any overtime? What system is used to record the working hours of employees - electronic cards at the entrance/self-completion of working hours/special programs to record working hours?
7. Don't forget that every company is about people. If you find the atmosphere of the interview or several stages of the interview tense, toxic, there were some embarrassing, uncomfortable questions - remember that this is the atmosphere you will be working in for the next few years and make decisions in a balanced way, depending on your personal life situation. If you have the opportunity to ask to speak to the prospective team before receiving an offer, do so, it can be a casual conversation, how the working day goes, what the team members are into, the point of the conversation is to catch the general atmosphere and understand if it suits you.
Good luck!
Ekaterina Artemyev, Application Consultant/QA Engineer at Stefanini EMEA, 4 years of experience
What to look for when choosing a company?
- When choosing a company, you need to define your career goals. If you want to understand and work in teams that adhere to Agile and Scrum methodologies and gain experience, look for large outsourcing companies,
where all the processes have been built and established for a long time, and you will become part of an already played team.
If you are interested in working on creating testing processes yourself, look for startups or young companies where you will be the only tester, but this is suitable for specialists with middle level and above.
It is also important to consider the company culture and various "perks" such as free language courses, extra days off and other bonuses. Go to different IT events to meet people from different companies or write directly to people who work at the company you are interested in, maybe the company has a referral system and they will tell you about bonuses. Also look for reviews on platforms like Glassdoor, where you can also find out useful information from current and former employees.
How do you find a high-paying job?
In the last few years, the IT market in Moldova has changed dramatically and has become an employer's market rather than a candidate's market. If 3-4 years ago companies were actively looking for specialists, now the number of vacancies has significantly decreased and is limited to recruiting specialists for specific projects or clients. Unfortunately, many of those who were on the "benches" have been made redundant.
- Study and monitor the market
Study current offers on job sites and pay attention to the requirements for candidates and the conditions offered. Also study the average salary level of testers in Moldova to understand what is considered a high-paying job.
- Networking
Join local communities of IT specialists and testers, attend profile events and conferences. This will help you increase your circle of acquaintances who may be useful in your job search and, at the very least, share your "Open to work" post on LinkedIn.
Subscribe on this social network to all the companies you are interested in as a potential employer and monitor their vacancies on the platform, as many may not duplicate them on job sites.
- Be proactive
Send your CV directly to companies you are interested in, even if they don't have any open positions. This way, if your CV is liked, recruiters can add you to the waiting list and contact you when a position opens up.
Lifehacks for writing a CV
- Structure
Most recruiters don't read CVs, they scan them to determine whether or not to communicate further with a candidate. Compose your CV in such a way that it is immediately obvious what position you are applying for, your contact details, experience and relevant skills.
- Get away from patterns
Of course, it is much easier to make one standard CV and send it to all vacancies, but this approach may not play in your favor. Study the job description carefully, pay attention to what skills candidates are looking for and, if you have them, list them first. Remove information and experience that is not relevant to the current position. If you're looking for a QA job, recruiters aren't interested if you've worked as a sales manager in the past. Also be sure to mention if you have experience in the niche of the project for which the job is open.
- Describe specific achievements
Long and detailed descriptions can tell a lot about you, but it would be better to turn the results of your work into concrete achievements. For example, "Identified and fixed X critical bugs, which reduced the number of application crashes by Y%". Or, "Test coverage increased by X% compared to the start of the project."
- Certificates
If you have relevant certifications such as ISTQB or Certified Agile Tester, mention them in your CV. They can be an advantage over other candidates.
Additional tips when writing a CV
It is better to send your CV in PDF format - it will open in any OS without problems in the form you created it. However, different versions of Word may open the document differently.
Regarding the length of the CV, it is optimal that it should fit on two pages (11 pins would be optimal for writing CVs, and for headings, font size +2 pins from the main font).
And lastly, be honest and don't forget to update your CV periodically.
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