Submitted by _Ryan_ on
in
Forums
We're hiring a new Software Quality Assurance engineer and are hoping to find a solution to make the initial screening more productive. More than any other position, we've found that resumes for QA are extremely similar. Almost every resume lists the same bullet points of what they do, the same tools that they use, and very little differentiation other than the companies they work for.
Is there anything we can reasonably do in the position announcement or process to address this?
Thanks,
Ryan
all resumes look the same
Ryan,
I am a QC Manager though not in software. I suggest you contact American Society for Quality (ASQ) they may be able to give you some ideas where to look. They have a software branch and local groups. They also have a certification program in software quality control which may help differentiate your applicants.
Ken
Technical Resumes
Hi Ryan,
I suggest they look the same if applicants are just bullet pointing their tasks or responsibilities. I would look instead for those who list outcomes and results; specifically have they just maintained the status quo or created change in their roles. If I'm looking for someone for a role that leads to management I always look for how they've made a difference for others. And finally, especially in technical roles, what is the size of the organisations they have worked in. A QA technician who has always worked in big corporations surrounded by systems and process may not have the flexibility to operate in the ambiguous environment of a small firm.
Good luck with your challenge
Stephen
Technical Resumes
Hi Ryan,
I suggest they look the same if applicants are just bullet pointing their tasks or responsibilities. I would look instead for those who list outcomes and results; specifically have they just maintained the status quo or created change in their roles. If I'm looking for someone for a role that leads to management I always look for how they've made a difference for others. And finally, especially in technical roles, what is the size of the organisations they have worked in. A QA technician who has always worked in big corporations surrounded by systems and process may not have the flexibility to operate in the ambiguous environment of a small firm.
Good luck with your challenge
Stephen
Look to the stakeholder needs to spread the field
I find the field for software QA – both the department and the professionals – is spread as follows:
Group 1: execute QA scripts in a repeatable manner, documenting well. Can create good test cases, report bugs, track them.
Group 2: can do everything that group 1 does, but also understands the entire spectrum of QA, from developer testing to multi-device automated testing to interfacing with the usability testing team; works hard to automate most QA test scripts [1] so that they can spend more time on integrated testing. They work to understand what quality actually means to the end customer, and improve the system on those measures.
Strong teams are mostly group 2. Strong teams work with the development team as partners not a low-bar gatekeeper. Strong teams actually help the organization deliver better quality.
I'm speaking as a partner/key stakeholder of development organizations, not at a QA professional.
Barbara
[1] http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/feature/QA-skills-gap-Testin...
Thanks for input everyone.
Thanks for input everyone. We've posted the positions, hope they go well.