Today I am presenting you with another great and informative interview with Vivek Shringi, a Director for Product Engineering at SinnerSchrader in Germany. Vivek worked as Software Tester and QA Lead in multiple companies in multiple countries. That is why he is a perfect candidate to tell us first hand what kind of people can succeed in the career of a QA Engineer/Software Tester.
Hello Vivek, thank you for accepting my interview! I believe that it will help a lot of people to understand the in and outs of getting a Software Tester/QA Engineer job.
As I saw in your LinkedIn, you have a tech background so it probably was not hard for you to get a QA Engineer job, right?
I never thought that I would become a Software Tester or be part of a software development company. I completed my bachelor of engineering with the Electronics & Communication branch and was looking for an entry job. After applying for multiple software jobs finally I got an offer from an independent software testing company.
Working in an independent software testing company is different from how we work as QA in development teams where Devs and QAs work in the same team. It was completely different. QAs have to follow all standard processes including writing tests. All tests are to be mapped with requirements. QA Team has to prove that they are following 100% test coverage.
You worked as QA Lead and participated in hiring new QA talents in Germany, Sweden, and India. Have you seen any differences in QA Engineers/Software Testers in these three countries?
As such there is no major difference, the basic QA work remains the same but culture and work habits are. What differs is what kind of product you are developing. If a QA is testing a product related to the health, aviation, and financial sector, the processes are more aligned with standards.
Nowadays most teams are following agile and this is a drastic change for a QA. QA is not writing lengthy test cases and test data. Testing cycles are short (max 1-2 days) compare to what was before (e.g. 3-4 weeks only for test case execution). QA is no longer a quality gatekeeper. His main goal is to educate and mentor the whole team about quality and its processes.
Automation testing is no more optional, it is common to write automation tests to cover regression tests. Nonfunctional testing is crucial to a product’s success.
Now you participate in hiring QA talents in Germany. Is it hard to find good quality Software Testers there? And if so why?
The German market is different from other markets. The interview process is lengthy and sometimes it takes 6 months from screening candidate to joining candidate. QAs are not easily available and if there are any QA profiles available, the skill set does not match.
I do interviews regularly almost every month and put good candidates in QA pools so that they can be contacted once there are some openings. The second way is to join meetups regularly and build up good networking to find the best talent.
What kind of personality are you looking for in a QA Engineer/Software Tester usually? What personality types make a good QA Engineer/Software Tester in your opinion?
A QA job is tough if you are doing it right! I hear a lot of discussions about QA work. “He has to just do monkey testing, hire a student”. In my opinion, QA put their feet in multiple shoes. One day they are Developers, the next day Business Analysts or Product Owners, and sometimes even Scrum Masters or Product managers.
A successful QA personality would be who has following traits
- Problem solving attitude
- A good communicator
- Willingness to learn new skills
- Open for challenges
- Positive attitude
Do you have a good experience with QA Engineers/Software Tester applicants with non-technical background? Are there any pros and cons to having a more versatile work experience in your opinion?
Yes, QA should not be necessarily from a technical background. However, there would be some advantage to having a good technical knowledge of the product.
Sometimes only testing product functionality is not enough as you are working with developers (technical mindset) as well in your team. So I am in favor of being a technical tester rather than only a manual tester. Here are the advantages:
- You can explain more complex bugs in the good technical language (sometimes functional language is not enough);
- Being a technical QA, the Developer’s time can be saved significantly.
Sometimes only having technical knowledge is also not enough as you are working with the client and Product Owners as well. If you are a functional QA, you will able to communicate functional problems more easily to the client or PO. An Experienced QA can also catch high-priority business-critical bugs easily.
In conclusion, more versatile work experience will always help you to become a successful QA.
Is there a big difference in technical skills between QA Engineer/Software Tester with a technical and non-technical background?
Nowadays technical skills are vast on their own. Even a Front-end Developer does not know all front-end technologies. And it is true in every profession whether they are QA, Dev, DevOps, or Linux Administrator.
So positive mindset, adaptability, and willingness to learn something new are necessary. We should stop thinking about having technical or non-technical backgrounds and adapt the approach that the teams need to build quality products.
Trying to develop skills while doing the job is the best you can get from a job. It will not be the same 9 – 5 monotonous daily work and you will love it and will learn more.
Is there a way to recognize whether a person without a tech background will have a hard time to learn technical skills? Could you check that in the interview?
Yes, I always try to get a detailed job description about the QA opening from the team, and later we decide the interview process. If there is some technical knowledge required for QA, I always include a similar assignment in the interview process. For example, if automation skill is required, I include an automation assignment in the interview process.
Do you feel like having a testing certification helps to become a successful QA Engineer/Software Tester when not having a tech background? If so which one?
I really would like to see certifications in candidates’ resumes. It gives you a structured approach to the QA process. QA software testing is a unique skill we develop over time and certification helps a lot with that, irrespective of your (non)technical background. I too cleared the following ISTQB certification:
- Foundation Level
- Advanced Level Test Manager
- Agile Tester
I was impressed by the content of the ISTQB syllabus. It was well structured and related to our QA day to day work.
What is the one thing (if there is one) that the QA Engineer/Software Tester candidate should not mention in the interview? For example, I heard that some candidates said that they just wanted to try testing or they wanted to do testing only to become developers etc. Would that make an influence on how you decide about such a candidate?
Yes, even I had candidates like that and I respect their choices but for me, QA software testing is a special profession and QA knowledge and expertise cannot be achieved without a deliberate effort to learn QA hard & soft skills.
Is there anything else you would like to add that could help prospective QA candidates without tech background when looking for a software testing job?
If you are not a technical person you can still get through and find a software testing job. To achieve that:
- Be open to learning new skills;
- Have a sound knowledge of QA processes;
- Get detailed product knowledge;
- Be a good communicator as good communication is a must; and
- Keep a positive mindset.
If you would like to know more about core skills of a QA check out this article.
Thank you so much for making time to answer these questions. I believe that your input will help a lot of people!!!
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