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Automation Tester's CV

Automation Tester Resume: Essential Skills and Tips

Automation testers are crucial to cross-functional software teams. They design and write automation scripts, debug test cases, use automation frameworks, probe into problems that arise post-testing, interact with clients, undertake Selenium Environment setup, and a lot more. However, there are tons of automation testers staking a claim to the job you’re after and, to top it all, recruiters often spend just 30 seconds with each CV. 

In other words, your CV needs to show how you fit the bill perfectly or you may simply miss the bus. This is easier said than done, of course, but you can take advantage of the fact that when recruiters rapidly skim through CVs, they are looking for certain keywords that match your profile to their job description. Ensuring that these keywords, which highlight the skills you possess, enjoy a strategic place in your CV is a good way to get noticed.

Here are 7 skills that you as an automation tester must highlight in your CV.

Proficiency in programming languages

Good recruiters know that coding is part and parcel of a successful software testing career path. For sure, not every QA job demands coding skills. But, coding is important to automation testers if they are to design automation frameworks and write and execute automated tests. Coding is integral to the SDET or Software Developer in Test role, introduced by the likes of Yahoo and Microsoft as well. 

If you are applying for a Selenium automation tester job, your employer would want you to have ‘developer traits’ and so, proficiency in languages like C/ C++, Python, Java, Perl, HTML, CSS, and XML are what you want to highlight. Should you know every language? Not so. For instance, when using Selenium, you can use a range of languages to script tests. 

Nonetheless, knowing coding basics like program design and data structures is key. This is more so when the industry seems to tilt towards testers who can create automation tests and develop testing tools, and double up and write production code as well. If you know which coding language the organization uses for its projects, highlighting that makes for additional brownie points!

Mastery of leading automation testing tools (codeless ones too)

A carpenter is only as good as his tools, right? Some organizations may give you the luxury of navigating the learning curve in terms of exploring a new testing tool. Others simply can’t afford the time. Clients need bug-free applications fast and, for that, you need to have the tools in the bag already. 

Automation testing tools you should highlight
1. Selenium
2. SoapUI
3. HP – UFT (QTP)
4. RFT
5. Appium
6. Apache JMeter

Popular codeless testing tools to highlight
1. Katalon Studio
2. TestCraft
3. Perfecto
4. CloudQA
5. Sikuli

Experience in manual testing

Putting the spotlight on the time you’ve spent in manual testing is something that will go a long way in proving your mettle. Why? Because automation testing does not, in fact, cover all bases. There are some cases that only manual testing can cover well. Ad-hoc testing, in which the testing approach is not set in stone, is one example. Similarly, when testing for user-friendliness and customer UX, automation testing falls short. Manual testing is better, even faster, here.

On another level, automation test scripts are still code – code that can contain bugs. Having a background of manual testing can help you weed out false positives and negatives, should they crop up. All in all, you are a more fool-proof tester if you have expertise in both manual and automation testing. In fact, some say that automation testing is only for those who have excelled at manual testing.  

Familiarity with Agile & DevOps methodologies

While the Waterfall model is good for small-size projects, ensuring quick delivery, when things scale up, you’re likely to work in a setup that functions off an Agile or DevOps model. The goal of Agile and DevOps is to develop better code in a shorter time frame. Unlike in the case of the Waterfall model, where it is possible to draw neat lines between testing and development teams, Agile and DevOps focus on intense synchronization, collaboration, and the use of cross-functional teams. 

The advantage of being part of a DevOps team, where one is to handle development, testing, and release, is that you know how automation tools and frameworks work within the software development and deployment pipeline. These methodologies mean a change of culture, for sure, but they also require additional skills. Amir Ghahrai, founder of DevQA, indicates that, today, testers are expected to possess skills such as:

  • Basics of networking 
  • Basics of UNIX/ Shell scripting
  • CI/ CD pipelines with tools like Jenkins
  • Performance testing tools like Gatling and JMeter
  • Resilience testing
  • Grasp of containers, Kubernetes, Docker
  • Query monitoring tools such as Splunk
  • Cloud services like MS Azure and AWS

So, the fact that you have been involved in an Agile, DevOps, CI/ CD pipeline could speak volumes for your ability to integrate with the organization’s teams without a snag. 

Excellent reporting, time management, analytical & communication capabilities

Automation testers work in fast-paced software delivery environments and this demands a great deal of time management. This ensures that the team meets and beats deadlines consistently. Moreover, automation testers are expected to liaison with not just developers but with stakeholders, engineers, business analysts, and so on. All of this demands:

  • Good reporting skills
  • Excellent communication skills

An analytical mind is also vital to look at the development and delivery pipeline from and an automation perspective. So, it’s smart to pepper your CV with soft skills such as these. Why? Because even as testing methodologies change and demand different hard skills, soft skills like communication and reporting are transferable and remain ever relevant.

Knowledge of test management tools

Test management and bug tracking tools help streamline testing, address errors as per priority, keep track of testing, gain real-time reports, ward off security issues. When used smartly, test management tools help eliminate time wastage and faster testing makes for a better cycle. Test management tools also help in regulatory compliance, where particular details regarding the test need to be stored.

Test management tools to highlight in your CV
1. qTest
2. Zephyr
3. PractiTest
4. Testpad
5. Xray
6. JIRA
7. Bugzilla

Understanding of hands-on business requirements

Some organizations prefer hiring those with a clear grasp of specific business requirements. For this reason, automation tester CVs often contain lines such as:

  • Executed detailed test cases with HP ALM according to the business requirements
  • Collaborated with business analyst and developers for functional requirements
  • Created test plans and automation scripts from scratch as per the business requirements

While you may not be able to include everything you’ve done in your CV, you can reverse engineer it to suit the particular job you’re aiming for. That’s one way of going about the job hunt – you handpick jobs you’d like to apply for and tailor your CV for each of them differently.

The other way is to register with Talent500. We represent Fortune 500 companies looking for India’s top tech talent. Once you sign up, our dynamic skills assessment and ML algorithms help match your skills to the best opportunities at Fortune 500 companies. This way you give yourself a chance at all the top automation tester jobs that are up for grabs.
So, as you pen down your next CV, get on board with Talent500 and accelerate your career.

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Girish

Girish

Girish is Talent500’s architect for systems software. His experience in backend development has helped him convert visions of many a product into reality. From his days at BITS-Pilani, he has always dreamt about beating AplhaZero at chess.

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