Basically we have four different trump suits for you, namely:
Diamonds: For Yourself
Clubs: For Co-Tester you work with
Hearts: For New Tester
Spades: For QA Manager

(Each of the four suits is a different theme, and the software testing ideas get harder as you get towards the Ace)

You can select any trump suit applicable to you. Then read software testing tips from each card and ask yourself if you posses that skill or do you follow that software testing practice. If you have acquired that skill or follow the mentioned testing process then it’s your trump card. Count the number of trump cards from each suit you select. The more number of trump cards you have, the more advance you are in software testing field. You should have at least 10 trump cards from the suit you select to be considered advanced level tester.

You are free to select other trump suits as well. If you are a new tester, obviously you will select suit named “Hearts: For New Tester”. But go on exploring other suits as well and you will get idea what other software testing skills you have, which software testing practices you follow and which skills you have to learn yet.

From each suit you will get 13 valuable software testing tips that you should apply in your daily testing activities.

Here is the ranking of the cards
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A

Starting of the cards will have obviously simple testing skills/practices which gets harder as you get towards the Ace.

Click on your trump suit to get started:
Diamonds: For Yourself
Clubs: For Co-Tester you work with
Hearts: For New Tester
Spades: For QA Manager

So, what’s your score?

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
Software Testing Tips from the Game of Cards

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

Interviews have always been a nerve racking experience. A situation where you are judged on your performance for a job. Everybody gets the jitters when it comes to interviews. Relax! Don’t panic. You need to overcome the nervousness.

Job Interview Tips and advice Applicable for Any Job Seeker Looking for a Dream Job.

No matter which career path you want to choose below are the best tips to help you land your dream job.

1. Always do your homework well before walking into an interview. Make sure you have complete knowledge about the company and the role.

2. Know yourself. Remember first impression is the last impression. Demonstrate your capabilities and qualities and how well you can serve them. Don’t be overconfident and aggressive.

3. You should know your competency and transferable skills. Competency skills are the skills matching your job profile and transferable skills which you acquired through other jobs, personal activities.

4. Social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut, Linkedin can be used for work opportunities and conversing with other people improving your interpersonal skills.

5. Be clear about what you want to achieve in life and about your career objective. It will keep you focused. You don’t have to do anything for the heck of it.

6. Your CV is vital for a successful interview. Never bluff, include all your skills and experience to give you a competitive edge.

7. Prepare well for an interview. You can make notes of interview questions which are most likely to be asked. Practice your answers. This will boost your confidence.

8. Work on your communication skills. Remember having a good technical knowledge without effective interpersonal skills will not take you anywhere. Be expressive and a good conversationalist. Dazzle the interviewers with eloquent speech.

9. Make sure you can support your strengths by giving examples. You can prepare before but don’t falter while talking. It will not create a good impression.

10. When asked about your weaknesses acknowledge them. If you are not able to describe, it signifies that you lack self awareness. You can’t be perfect in everything.

11. Always be presentable while dressing for the interview. Your attire should be according to the role, culture and yourself. Please no tacky and brash clothing and accessories. You don’t need to be glammed up.

12. Spend time on personal grooming. This will keep you calm. You don’t have to present yourself as a person full of nervous energy and fidgets.

13. On the D day, relax. Be comfortable and wear a smile. And Voila! You will definitely crack the interview.

14. Your body language is very important. Your facial expressions, hand movements, posture, voice and pace should send the same message.

15. Don’t forget to make an eye contact. Your voice should be enthusiastic and do not stammer. Lack of enthusiasm will put off the interviewers.

16. Keep all your documents well organized in a folder. Also be on time, preferably 15 minutes before so you get time to settle down and calm your nerves.

17. Interview manners are very important. Bad manners will definitely be a turn off. Don’t bang the door, shake handily firmly, ask if you can take a seat, sit up straight and do not slouch.

18. When asked about remuneration. You don’t have to be blunt. Instead you can say that you expect a fair raise in terms of qualifications and experience proportionate with peers.
Now that you have some good interview tips. Be confident, gear up and don’t let yourself down. Remember this is not the end of life if you don’t get through to the process. It’s just an interview. Good Luck!

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
18 Tips to Handle Any Job Interview Successfully

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

Your resume is the very first step in any job application process. It’s an opportunity to advertise yourself and demonstrate that you are the best person for the available position. Getting an interview call depends on how you present your skills in resume or CV.

How Much Time Do You Get to Impress Employer?

Software testing market is becoming very competitive and getting the job is even more difficult. For a single QA job positions recruiters are getting hundreds of quality assurance tester resumes.

You must stand out from the crowd and writing a good resume is the very first opportunity to do so. Recruiters don’t have time to read all the resumes througly. Your resume will be quickly scanned within 20 to 30 seconds. Yes, you get hardly 20 to 30 seconds to persuade your employer to take the decision if to call you for an interview.

Does that make sense? To make a first good impression on prospective employer you must represent yourself effectively on first page of your resume, rather the first half page of your resume is very important to make or break it.

I see so many candidates pay very little or no attention to write a good resume. They just copy and paste others resume without even bothering to change the interests and hobbies. Remember, no matter how talented you are, if you don’t present your skills properly in resume, no one is going to see your talent.

How to Make a Great First Impression From Your Resume or CV?

Many candidates write whole story about themselves without thinking what employer’s want. First focus on employer’s need. Read the job openings carefully. Note down all the job requirements. Judge yourself based on these requirements. Prepare list of your skills matching with job requirement and highlight these skill on first page of your resume.

How to Maximize Your Chances of Getting an Interview Call?

Make sure you have a clearly stated job objective mentioned on top of your resume. Keep it short one or two lines and avoid writing irrelevant cliches. Freshers always needs to keep different versions for different jobs. E.g.: If you are applying for software testing position highlight software testing skills at prominent place in your CV.

Writing a Killer Software Testing Resume or CV:

Here I’ll answer most commonly asked questions while preparing software testing fresher resume/experienced testing resume.

What if you don’t have software testing experience?
If you are a experienced software tester then you shouldn’t have any problem writing your project details.

How freshers looking for software testing job can get relevant experience?
1) The answer is simple. Get some experience by working on dummy projects available on internet. Search for online dummy projects (e.g. Inventory management software) and download test software and all available documents. Follow complete testing process like:

• requirement analysis,
• writing test cases,
• executing test cases,
• logging defects and,
• preparing test reports

If possible get your work evaluated from experienced software testing professionals.

2) By adding dummy projects learned from software testing courses:
If you have joined any software testing course to learn manual testing and automation tools then you can put this dummy project experience in your resume, which may range from 1 to 6 months. This way you will have at least some experience to put in your resume rather than keeping the experience section entirely blank. This will be an added advantage from other freshers resumes.

How to write project details in tester/QA resume?

In job experience section write details of projects you worked on. Write project details with following headings:

• Project name:
• (Optional) Client name:
• Project description: (Brief project overview in 2-3 sentences)
• Environment: (mention software coding language, testing tools etc.)
• Team size:
• On job accomplishments: (mention all key responsibilities)

Many candidates ask “What should I put in resumes if I’ve gap in my career?”

Don’t hesitate to put the valid reason for any gap in your career. Also you shouldn’t have any problem getting job after gap in your career. There could be thousands of reasons for career gap like – enjoying holiday, relocation, handling family business, skill upgrade, maternity etc. Be honest and I’m sure you will easily convince interviewer about your career gap.

On-the-job-accomplishments on first page of your resume:

Convince employer that you have problem solving skill by giving some real time examples from your work experience. Clearly state what was the problem and how you solved that problem at workplace. Prepare some solid examples to support your claims. You can put these examples in your resume also. Also be ready to answer all relevant questions asked by interviewer for your accomplishments. E.g: “When I joined so and so project in my company I saw the work was ad-hock and there wasn’t any standard software testing process. I took initiative building a standard software testing process that fits our project needs. By this streamlined process we managed our time effectively and started concentrating more on main software testing tasks”.

Mention relevant modules/subjects you studied

This will matter most for freshers. For software testing positions candidates having computer networking and system administration skills are preferred. If you studied any subject or completed any course related to computer networking and system administration then add it in you resume. If you have Linux/Unix operating system knowledge then put it in relevant-skills section of your resume.

Software testing certifications and training:

Software testing certification is an added advantage for all testing and QA positions. Rather, testing certifications like ISTQB, CSTE etc. are mandatory criteria for most of the companies. Always keep learning and equip yourself  with necessary tools and skills so that you will never face any job problem in future. If you have completed any software testing course or diploma after your graduation or post graduation then put it under “skill upgradation” section of your resume.

How to learn software testing skills to put in resume?

IF you don’t have necessary relevant skills to add in your resume then learn those skills online. Like for software testing jobs learn defect tracking and test management tools. You can get all open source software testing tools online. Download widely used open source tools and start practicing at home.

E.g:
1) Learn TestLink test management tool online: TestLink online
You can practice everything on above demo TestLink page. Once you get good hands on experience on TestLink tool you can put this skill in your resume.

2) Search for online version of Bugzilla defect management tool or download and install Bugzilla defect management tool on your home PC. Learn how to add and manage defects in Bugzilla. Once you get basic knowledge of this tool you can add this tool under “Defect management tools” skill section.

This way you can learn many automation tools online.

Sample Software Testing Resume Essential Parts:

- Personal details (Name, email and contact) at the top
- Career objective – not more than two lines
- Educational qualification – in reverse chronological order (Latest education first)
- Skill upgrade details – like testing certifications, training, computer networking and System administration skills
- Work experience – in detail for each employer and project
- Interests and significant achievements
- Additional personal information like marital status, Passport details etc not more than 3 details.

Tips for Writing Effective Software Testing Resume:

Software testing resume format tips

1) Keep CV brief but comprehensive in expression
2) Keep in mind – Single spelling error is sufficient to reject your resume. Spell check for twice.
3) CV should be easily readable
4) Make a clear job objective
5) Highlight relevant skills
6) Do not put fake experience or skills
7) Focus on what employer’s need and prepare your resume with relevant skills you posses.
8 ) Always think from employer’s perspective. Think what recruiter will expect from the job position.
9) Avoid table structure. Use tables to mention your qualification and skills only.
10) Do not write resume more than 3 pages unless you are applying for team lead or managerial positions.
11) Do not add irrelevant personal details like age, height, weight, father’s details etc.
12) No need to write ‘Curriculum Vitae’ or ‘Resume’ word at the top of your resume.
13) Do not use word “I” while describing project responsibilities. E.g: Instead of “I wrote test cases..” use “Wrote test cases…)
14) Make sure you write your name, email address and phone number on top of the resume.
15) While writing education always start with recent education first.
16) Write qualification details with columns – Education/Qualification, School/College, Year, Percentage/Grade, Class
17) Write relevant skills and on-job-accomplishments on first page of your resume and work experience, educational details on second page.

Most important – Be ready to explain everything you put in your resume. On request you must present necessary examples to interviewer.

Only writing a good resume is not sufficient. Before applying for software testing jobs you need to write an effective software testing job cover letter as well. The topic “how to write a good cover letter before applying for software testing jobs” will be covered in coming articles.

Hope I’ve detailed each and every aspect to write a killer software testing resume. Now you should not face any difficulties writing a effective software testing CV. If you need help, please put your queries in comments.

If you like this article please share with friends. Subscribe to email newsletter to get Software Testing Tips.

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
How to Write a Killer Software Testing QA Resume That Will Turn Into an Interview Call

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

If you want to ask a question, just write a comment below.

Abhishek Asks:
“I want to do a software testing course so I need your guidance which institute I join? I am preferring the institute offering placement after completion of course”

Selecting a good software testing institute is always a tough task. Many institutes fake about their staff skills, education and experience. Also they make false commitments of 100% placement. Beware of such institutes which gives you 100% job guarantee after course completion. If any institute claiming this then get detail info of such institutes before joining. And even don’t expect 100% placement guarantee from any institute. Focus on the course content and quality of teaching. Institutes can only assist you getting the job interview calls. It’s up to you, how to convert those opportunities into job offers by presenting your skill at the time of interview.

I will advise some criteria by which you can select the institute.

Ask these questions to institute counselor:

1) What is the course syllabus?
2) Who is your mentor and what is his/her qualification?
3) Are you covering manual and/or automation testing in this course?
4) Which tools covered in Automation testing course?
5) Are you going to provide automation tools for practice while in class?
6) Which projects do you use for automation testing course? Live or dummy projects?
7) And ask if you have any specific requirement to join the course.

If you get answers to these questions then it’s not difficult to select any institute to learn software testing.

Readers, Please comment below if you know good software testing institutes from your area/city.

Mahi Asks:
“Hi, this is Mahi. I am recently joined in a company as software tester on a maintenance intranet project. I am the only one tester on my team and there are no standard testing processes defined in my project. How can I initiate the testing processes on my project and is there any method to test maintenance product?”

In my experience, making your own working process is always a better solution. Do not follow any process as it is said to be standard, follow the process which works best for you, your environment and your project. If you Google a little more, you will find hundreds of different software testing processes but these are all depend on project environment.

So I suggest to take your own route. You have chance to build it from scratch. Select the process which works best for you.

Still, to get started here is the general process followed in software testing environment:
“What is actual testing process in practical or company environment”

I am assuming you get requirement documents before starting to test any application. You can start preparing test documents (use Testing Templates) like Test Plan, Test Strategy, Test cases from requirements and get these documents approved from your project manager.

Maintenance projects are generally agile in nature. In such cases you don’t get time for writing test cases. You first identify some crucial tasks from your project. Write BVT cases for these tasks. So when you get new build you can perform smoke testing on new build with these BVT cases. If possible try to automate BVT process. This way for each new build you can perform BVT quickly and can start doing the detail build verification if BVT pass. You can write test scenarios from software requirements while development is under progress. After BVT, verify these test scenarios for build under test and generate the test report.

Hope this is helpful for you to get started!

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
Which Software Testing Institute Should I join? – Testing ‘Q’ & ‘A’ Series

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

This is a guest article written by a Game Testing Expert “Malini”.

Game Testing Industry Introduction:

The video game testing industry is set to become the largest industry. In spite of the recession, there was no dearth in the sales of the game titles, although the game console sales were hit and the game testing companies had to revamp their strategies.

Gaming had its ups and downs over the years but it continues to grow leaps and bounds. Facebook application games are really path breaking with budding developers experimenting their knowledge. Episodic games are the new thing. Games for the iPhone are the new frontier.

So, no one in the game industry knows where games will be even two or three years from now. The only thing they know is that everything is changing and that the games that are released in a few years will be different from what we have now.

Following Jobs are made available by Gaming Industry:

• Video game programming Jobs (designing video games)
• Video game testing jobs

Designing Video games requires skilled and experienced video game designers. Testing video games is equally challenging as game tester needs to have a solid writing skill, very good communication skill and habit to keep attention for details.

Video game testers play critical role in game development industry. As video game programmers spend years deigning video games and video game tester needs to make sure it’s ready for release in very short time span.

What is a typical Game Testing Process?

Computer games take from one to three years to develop (depending on scale). Testing begins late in the development process, sometimes from halfway to 75% into development (it starts so late because, until then, there is little to play or test).

Once the testers get a version, they begin playing the game. Testers must carefully note any errors they uncover. These may range from bugs to art issues to logic errors. Some bugs are easy to document but many are hard to describe and may take several steps to describe so a developer can replicate or find the bug. On a large-scale game with numerous testers, a tester must first determine whether the bug has already been reported before they can log the bugs themselves. Once a bug has been reported as fixed, the tester has to go back and verify that the fix works – and occasionally return to verify that is has not reappeared.

Game Testing Strategy:

Evaluation of game rules:
Game rules adequately explain operation of all components of the game including features, free games etc. Game functions as defined by rules.

UI, Functional, Performance and Compatibility test:
Verify Games outcome and data are correctly shown when games are played. Verify Game Functionality such as Game Progress, game outcomes, handling of incomplete and re-started games, multi player games.

Verification the Integration points:
Check if game win determination aligns with game rules.

Reviewing gaming procedures:
Procedures will be reviewed by System management, player account management, tournaments and promotions.

Infrastructure and security review:
Require to verify all equipment and network implementation. Secure and reliable operation for example time synchronization, OS reliability and security.

How to Test Games?

This process is almost similar to product or web application testing. Here is the typical game testing process:

Identification: First analyze and identify the game rules and behavior

Functional Testing: Ensure game works as intended. This also includes integration testing with third party tools used if any.

OS and Browser compatibility: Most critical game testing part is to ensure game works on required Operating systems. For online games check functionality on all intended browsers.

Performance testing: This becomes critical for online games if gaming site handles betting on game. Game testers must verify if Game Testing site smoothly handles customer load.

Multi player Testing: For multi player games you need to verify the game functionality to handle all players and functionality with fair distribution of game resources to all players.

Reporting: Bug reporting to developers. Bug evidence need to produced and submitted through bug reporting system.

Analysis: Developers hold the responsibility to fix the bugs.

Verification: After the fix, bug need to be verified by the testers to confirm that it shouldn’t reappear.

Game Testing Tips:

1) Understand Random Number Generator evaluation (RNG): This is very important to add unpredictability in game. In most games this RNG system is used to map game outcomes.
2) First identify the “game algorithm” from Source code to identify issues in game application.
3) Verify the source code for appropriate use of random numbers and error handling. (Only if you know the source code)
4) Validate and evaluate the game predefined rules.
5) Verify consistency of game rules.
6) Make sure offensive content or material is never displayed.
7) Regularly Check Game history and system event logs.
8 ) Make sure Games outcome are displayed for a reasonable time.
9) Irrespective of Single/Multi player games we need to validate bandwidth and client software.
10) Verify Minimum/maximum limits of bets, deposits and other critical game symbols.
11) Verify correct game and system operation after game fail over and recovery.
12) Always verify all reports for data accuracy. Verify reports for date, time, number of wins, money etc.
13) Test System requirements. This is very important in game testing. Verify all the infrastructure and security requirements, Game equipments, network and game synchronization with OS.
14) Make sure sufficient information is always available to users to protect game players.

Game Testing Jobs:

Gaming field is getting much better day by day and Game Career as a Game designer or tester is very bright. There are many game testing professionals making decent amount of money as a video game testers, working from home. Present Internet generation bringing massive innovations and scope to grow. IT and Non-IT people are willing to spend their free time to play online and video games. “Game testing from home” is now a new trend to earn money. We can clearly see that it’s getting into our daily activities.

If anyone of you is trying hard getting into gaming industry then you need to have interest and passion that drives you to success. Due to addition of vast and complex new games, Game QA is no longer less technical than general software QA. Game testing was widely considered as a “stepping stone” position but now it’s becoming full-time job opportunities for experienced testers.

If you have passion for games and good understanding of testing methodologies, becoming a successful game tester is not difficult for you!

About the Author
Malini has over 10 years of experience in IT including development, testing and project management and her passion is in advancing the profession of software testing. Her technical articles and white papers have been published in many leading websites. She holds an MBA in IT and a GNIIT diploma. Read more about Malini on her blog. 

If you are in Game Testing Industry, your valuable inputs will help our readers to know more about Game Testing. So please share your thoughts and tips on Game Testing in comments below.

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
Want to Get Paid to Play Games? Become a Game Tester!

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

Be honest and think on below mentioned points. What you did wrong until now? Probably you might get the answer – Why you couldn’t crack any software testing interview yet!!

What are these reasons?

1) You have a bad formatted resume. No one cares to read it. You don’t even think to change it.

2) You don’t have passion for testing. You just run behind software testing job as others do. You look for software testing job just for the sake of being somewhere employed.

3) You don’t see the job details before applying, whether it suits your profile or not.

4) You don’t have strong and VALID reason for the question – Why do you want to join/switch to software testing?

5) You have not spent time doing some homework on job openings – about the company, required skills, experience etc.

6) You are faking the software testing experience.

7) You pretend to have all the testing skills.

8 ) You think “Testing is easy-to-do task” and “Anyone can do testing”.

9) You think no training is needed to work in software testing field and you will learn when you are on board.

10) You don’t have practical examples to explain and support your answers.

Plus one more reason why you are still away from making career in software testing
- You are from non-IT background and now want to switch to software testing, but you don’t have the skills required for software testing jobs and even you don’t care to know what is STLC and SDLC.

Oh! Too many “You’s” here. Why? because you are the only person responsible for your career. No one can deny you the job in software testing without any reason. Find out what that reason is? After all, employer will always select the best fit for their positions. You just think – how you can be that best fit for them!

Remember, you won’t get any job without doing hard work.

If you can think of some other reasons for not getting job in software testing and quality assurance, then please share it with us. We will be happy to discuss.

If you like this article, consider subscribing to get all Testing  Updates in your Inbox for FREE. To get testing tips Click Here.  

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
10 reasons why you are not getting job in software testing

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

In the recruitment advertisement employer mentioned following benefits for new joiners:

“You can expect great technical training (including support for the ISTQB Certified Tester Advanced Level) and we have an in-house training division who will look after your personal development too. As well as unrivalled opportunities for career development, Our company offers a bonus scheme, pension, private medical care, permanent health insurance, life assurance, share scheme, discounted childcare vouchers, flexible working options and 25 days holiday with an optional extra holiday purchase scheme. We strive to reflect our core values by providing a great working environment, and our active sports & social team hosts a wide variety of events such as a summer party, fireworks display, quiz nights and a wide range of sporting events”

Ah, that’s the complete wish list any employee have thought of.

(Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/people/absoblogginlutely/) 

So what’s the conclusion here?

Are glory days coming again? 

Some employers took benefit of economic slowdown, thinking that they are already paying enough money to do the job, then why to offer more benefits. On the other hand, employees were in need of jobs so they accepted any offer received, without thinking much about benefits.

Things are changing now. As the globe is slowly coming out of this worst economic crisis, there are many job openings available in the market. Now employers will have to rethink their recruitment plans to offer good benefits to attract best talent.

However, this employee benefit program is not same for all companies. Some small companies simply can’t afford to provide all such benefits. To remain competitive in this cutting edge technology, I think companies should be creative in selecting the benefits for their employees. Basic perks plus some necessary benefits depending on job type and location can attract good talent even for small companies as well.

Let’s hope that worst days are behind now and software industry will boom again.

What’s your case?
Have you received the benefits you were looking for?
What benefits does your company offering to new employees?

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
Job Benefits for Software Testers – What’s on your Wish List?

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

Is it just an AD in changing the health and mind-set of people or an AD to increase the mobile connection sales?
I’m not even sure whether you would call it just another AD or maybe a hidden message for doctors or traditional seasoned managers, whom I have correlated it after seeing this AD. The context of roles is different but the consciousness prescription is the same ‘Practice what you preach’ – ‘Walk when you talk’

So, would I like to be classified under ‘walk and talk’ or ‘talk and talk’?

I certainly do not want to die yet another ‘talk and talk’ – preach and preach supervisor under at any context.

I have realized this time in Germany that I do not want to be a great tester, best supervisor, best test analyst but I do wish eagerly to be a ‘team-defender’, so that I can preach the team members what I have learnt from my mistakes for several years being a tester and on the deeper domain.

I also do not want to create and possess the best method of personal growth and make my profile very impressive in LinkedIn – yet I do want to keep my passion for testing skills’ alive in my profile. I don’t want to be treated just another resource for billable, but more to do with how valued I will be for the team.

I don’t like to create a bit of suspicious of skip level meeting amongst the team members, but I would like to be fairly judged by the team in written and having no known name or identity of the team members.

I don’t want to prove myself as an accomplished supervisor by showing sizeable numbers of direct-reports under my belt, but I’ll like to be the single point of contact for my team’s fear. I don’t want to be called as excel expert manager, who worries for numbers or percentages of work done, but I’ll like to be part of a self-management team.

I don’t want to be a clever supervisor, but I would like to be a fair and clear ‘team-defender’.

Now, please don’t think of this as a highly intellectual statement, I belong to the same class of individuals classified as tester, test lead, or test manager and know the importance and having the knowledge of the test operation, test management and as well as the painstaking, backbreaking, mind numbing effort that goes into making those pretty-looking presentations in PPT and every minute updating the spreadsheets. However, it is like one of those moments when some severity 1 and priority 1 defects falls in place from production and creates a panic at all level of management and you have to celebrate it by announcing it to the management that ‘We have verified the defect on-time’ and my boss consciousness would have said “Hooo…the team has saved my butt, lucky by chance” and hence, here I’m a step closer to the blessed state of knowingly doing what I’m suppose to do along with my team members – ‘walk when you talk’

Well said by great Sir Ji, chief architect of India (CAI):

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching“

You must be thinking, who the heck is great Sir Ji, CAI? Yes, you’re right!

About Author:
This is a guest article by “Kajal Das“.
Kajal Das is a tester, working for LHS Ericsson, Germany as senior test expert and having practical telecoms CRM domain testing knowledge. He act as a point of contact between various telecoms service provider customers in determining all aspect of CRM testing being done in a practical and useful way.

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
How To Be a Good Team Mentor, Coach and a True Team-Defender in an Agile Testing World? – The Inspiration

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

As Software testers, we keep performing testing activities in various phases of a project. When it comes to testing our own skills, we may not end up choosing an appropriate approach. I am talking about how the interview rounds go and how to face them. The whole article is a very general discussion about the challenges that a tester has to face in an interview.

Let’s start with preparing a CV for software testing job profile.

How to prepare a good CV?
By the term ‘Good’ I mean a CV that describes best about your skills, your expertise, your strengths etc. It’s better not to use a same CV for different types of job profiles. Making slight changes will help to get a call. For e.g. you can highlight the skill set that you posses for the required job like any automation tool or experience in other related automation tools. You can also add about the basic knowledge of any technologies that you posses. This may be an added advantage.

Preparation before the job interview:

Before attending the interview, check the job profile in detail. Understand if the requirement is purely in manual testing, Automation testing or on both. Check if your job profile experience match with what is expected.
The interviewer will mostly stick to questions around the given job profile and what you have mentioned in your CV.  Make sure you can answer questions confidently which are based on your CV. It depends on how the discussion goes between the candidate and the interviewer, which leads to discussion in other areas.

Appear confidently at the time of interview:

In most cases, the interview starts with a brief up about the candidate. One can answer to this question by following a sequence like starting with your Name, what qualifications do you posses, how you started your career as a software tester etc. Some interviewers do not like to hear about personal details like family. So do not proceed with these details unless the interviewer asks for it.

While answering any question tell what you know. Do not try to explain about ideal cases. Interviewers are interested in practical approach, rather than ideal cases. Tell the interviewer how you will go about solving the problems or about your way of tackling things. Do not talk anything negative about any person especially about developers/programmers. If you do so, then it shows that you are not mature enough. Now a days in most of the interviews, scenarios are cited rather than direct question and answer. If the scenario is new to you, take few seconds to think on it and then answer. Do not hurry up things.

The way you present in interviews is very important. Right attitude is very important too. Many managers can judge it easily, if you have really worked on projects or it’s just a fake experience. The confidence level with which you answer makes a strong impression. For any question if you are not sure about the correct answer, just make an attempt. Do not just give up. You can also talk about things that you explored in free time or with your interest. This shows that you take initiative and are a continuous learner as well.

As many of us must have experienced that the interviewers keep asking about the processes that you have followed or are familiar with. One does not need to worry if they have never followed any processes. Following the processes is up to the company and a tester cannot do much regarding that. But of course one can follow some processes for his/her own task (I mean the modules that you own or are in charge of etc). This will not only help to manage things but also inspires other to follow some processes. Any process, which has proven some good results, can be followed. So, instead of blaming others for not following any processes, one can take an initiative to do it. Do not forget that Initiative is one of the qualities that a tester should possess.

One more important point: It’s not necessary that the person who is taking your interview is a person from QA background. A person from developing background can also take software testing job interviews. What I mean to say is the person need not have actually worked on the QA processes. In such case it becomes very important to answer the questions very carefully. It may sound illogical when a person from non-QA background interviews a tester but remember it will be a very good experience as you will get to know how testing is perceived by others.

Over to You:
What’s your experience about software testing interviews? If you want to share some do’s and don’ts please make comments below so that other testers can get benefit from your experience. And finally ‘all the best’ for your testing career!

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
Preparing For Software Testing Interview – Simple Tips To Follow Prior And at The Time of Interview

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.

Many thousands of software testers I came across had the notion that they are into testing and are solely responsible for quality. Some of them even think that being a tester also empowers them as a God of Quality for the product.

The questions I ask you is: Is this for good?

Here is what I think and would like to see you considering these ideas.

Quality is everyone’s responsibility and not just a tester out there or thousands of them out there. If your family has to be happy, you can’t assign a person in your family as ensurer of happiness and catch the ensurer responsible if something goes wrong. If a family has to be happy forever, it has to happen with everyone participating and facilitating it.

Similarly, if a product must have quality, every stakeholder from customer, requirements, design, development, testing and support must have equal responsibility towards it.

However, some organizations who are not serious about testing or fake their seriousness about testing hire a tester for every project to make a tester scapegoat when any of their customers find a bug. These testers who are made to feel themselves as Quality God’s start feeling guilty about the idea of missing a bug and take responsibility for missing a bug.

This happens because most testers have a screwed up understanding of what testing is. They carry an idea of testing as improving quality while it is not improving quality but finding information about quality.

By reporting bugs – the quality by itself isn’t improving unless someone cares to fix it. Now, if you have been working as testers you would know that many times by trying to fix a bug, 2 or more new bugs are introduced. So, probably, each bug a tester reports and each bug being fixed and new springing up, the quality might be decreasing.

I must also admit that lesser bugs doesn’t necessarily mean good quality. Jerry Weinberg, a living legend of software testing who was the first person to start a testing team way back in 1960’s defines “Quality is value to some person who matters” and then Michael Bolton expanded it to “It is a testers responsibility to find out who matters and what matters to them”. So fantastic.

Here are some of the problems that happen if testers continue to think of themselves as Quality God’s

Issues with developers: Testers start seeing developers as demons who are spoiling quality and get into issues with them. This impacts the performance of the whole team and developers start disrespecting the testing community itself. So, testers who cause this problem, not only spoil their name but all our names as well.

Its like batsmen accusing of bowlers to have given a lot of runs. If a cricket team has to function well then bowlers and batsmen have to work together to make the team win. Sometimes batsmen fail to perform and other times bowlers. You may want to think of yourselves as humans just as developers and both of you are equally capable of making mistakes. However, focusing on your skills of thinking can help the team’s success.

Guilty of missing a bug: When a bug is missed, the tester feels all alone responsible for missing it. Such testers don’t think they are a part of the entire team, which missed it. I am talking about all stakeholders responsible for missing it.

If 4 runs is needed of the last ball and a batsman fails to score, is the batsman responsible for the loss of the team?

Failing to learn: A pattern among all those testers who assume themselves as God’s of quality fail to learn. The feeling of being THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE makes their mind to think they have learned almost everything and everything they have learned is right.

Let me take this open bet: 90% of the testers I have met by traveling to all places in India haven’t read a testing book yet despite several years of experience. You would hardly find a developer who has not read a development related book but testers think everything about testing online is good and fine.

This surprises me – testers don’t test their own learning. How can I believe that they can test even half as good as they claim?

The change

Now, I am not forcing you to change but let me tell you that none of the respected testers of the world have an idea about themselves as God’s of quality or being the only person responsible for quality. You may want to take a clue from it and change but it is you who is causing the change and not me.

If you are willing to change a little further, you may want to consider thinking:

- Testing as providing information about quality
- Developers as sources of information
- Test Coverage as a key factor for success of a test team
- Success of the entire team is the success of a test team
- Missing bugs is not always a tester’s fault
- Testers are humans and humans are fallible ( they fail )
- Testers are as imperfect as developers
- Helping other testers to get the ideas right after you have got it

About Author:
Pradeep is a renowned tester, thinker and thought leader and an international speaker in software testing and problem solving. He writes a popular blog Tester Tested! and tests, coaches, consults, manages testing and testers.

---------------------
I just wanted to thank you for subscribing to SoftwareTestingHelp.com. This blog is a success because of you and your support. Here's to your success!

As always, I appreciate your valuable comments. Visit below link to post your comment:
Fake God of Quality versus True Humans – Who is responsible for Software Quality?

Thank you so much! ---------------------
Recommended: TestLodge - Online test case management tool - Web based test case management software allowing you to manage your test plans, requirements, test cases and test runs with ease.