The software testing interview

Good testing training includes going through the main aspects of actually getting hired. PASV courses cover not only the theory of finding work afterwards but a real internship. Practice at a genuine company shows what employers actually value in testers, which skills and knowledge they expect, how they communicate with their staff and so on. That makes it easier for our students to get through a testing interview. Every case is individual, though, so it pays to prepare thoroughly.

A testing interview does not always end in an offer. You can be technically well prepared and yet not ready psychologically. We teach our students to write a resume and to interview, so as to improve their chances of being hired into a role with room for career and financial growth.

What you need to know about a testing interview

To know how to get through one, you need to understand:

1. Which stages a QA tester interview involves.
2. Which questions get asked and how to answer them.
3. What kind of exercise you may be given.
4. How to avoid the common mistakes.

Note: even very thorough preparation does not guarantee success first time. As a rule it takes five to ten interviews at different companies before you find your own way through. Some people need to strengthen the theory, others to practise the logic problems, others still to build up their psychological preparation. Sitting your first interviews will tell you what you personally need to work on, and you can then improve it. Do not stop and keep trying.

Preparing for a testing interview

So what preparation does it take? We recommend the following to our students:

• Write a resume and a cover letter. Templates are easy to find online, and forums offer ideas for making them distinctive and standing out from the competition. Do not copy them word for word, though — they are examples to draw on.
• Check your knowledge with online tests. During a PASV course your instructors check it, but afterwards things can fade. It is normal to need to refresh your memory, and such tests show you exactly what to go over.
• Prepare your questions and answers, particularly for the part where you talk about yourself. That keeps the nerves down and helps you get calmly through this stage.
• Solve a great many logic problems. Practical preparation matters enormously. Every company sets its own problems, but there are patterns in the types. Work through different formats so that during the interview you find your footing faster and answer correctly.
• Improve your English. The better you know it, the better the offer will be. Employees fluent in English are valued more highly.
• Prepare psychologically. Rehearse with friends or family a few times. That builds confidence and lowers the stress when you come to the real interview.

The stages of a testing interview

There is a customary order to how these interviews go. Traditionally there are three stages:

1. The HR interview. This person gets to know you as a person, checks your soft skills, assesses your English, and asks about your experience and the salary you want. HR sometimes runs a psychological assessment. You can raise any questions you have about the role with them.
2. The technical interview. Longer and harder. This is where questions about your previous projects come. An internship at a real US company during your studies at PASV is valuable experience worth talking about. This stage also brings professional questions and logic problems.
3. The interview with the client — the person actually hiring the QA specialist. They may ask all sorts of questions, technical as well as psychological.

The main questions asked at a testing interview

We have put together a list of the questions testers get asked, grouped by subject:

• Testing theory.
• Documentation and test design methods.
• Defect reports.
• Testing web applications.
• The software life cycle, and the methods and models by which it is built.
• Other questions.

The questions differ from company to company, depending on what is expected of the person and the specialist in each case. We go through the main ones on our courses.

What exercises are set at a testing interview?

Almost every company sets logic problems, and they are a fixture at Google, Apple, Meta and other large tech corporations. The problems vary widely and no universal examples cover every interview. The only answer is to practise as much as possible.

Note: an employer may also set a task such as finding defects in a beta version of an application.

The sticking points

Interview questions can occasionally back you into a corner. They may touch on:

• A technology you have not studied, though you use a similar one — be honest about the alternative experience.
• Difficulty understanding what a question means — better to ask for it to be rephrased.
• Your own assessment of your knowledge — answer honestly, since every specialist has room to grow.
• Personal questions unrelated to the work — answer only when you do not consider the question out of place. Otherwise steer the conversation gently back.

A testing interview is demanding and interesting at once. It is valuable experience that will help you build yourself up further as a specialist and earn a place at the company you want.