Looking to boost your career opportunities as a QA tester? Learn how to create a resume that showcases your skills and stands out to hiring managers.
Quality assurance testers work closely with product development teams to ensure products meet specific standards before market release. As a QA tester, you’ll determine if a product is ready to be distributed. When you are up for a job, hiring managers must be confident that you have the necessary skills to complete the job responsibilities.
If you have the background to enter a QA tester role and believe this is the proper position, the next step is to develop a resume showcasing your skills. Learn tips on tailoring your resume to QA tester positions, choosing the proper layout, and enhancing your credentials to stand out.
Hiring managers often look at resumes briefly or use a digital scanning system to review candidates. When you build your resume, you’ll want to highlight your skills in a way that grabs the reader’s attention quickly. While relevant skills and experience are essential, how you design your resume and describe your strengths will significantly impact your advancement to the interview stage. Discover some tips to help you land a position below.
When building your resume, you want the hiring manager to feel you’re an exceptional candidate. Show the employer you have the technical and workplace skills to be a QA tester. Tailoring your resume to the job description and industry shows you have spent time considering whether this is the right area for you and that you’re willing to put effort into the position.
Keywords refer to the terms and phrases relevant to the job description you’re applying for. Incorporating them in your resume helps show that you’re qualified for the position. For example, if a job posting mentions a software you’re familiar with, including the name of the software in your resume will draw attention to your application. The same goes for skills and attributes. If the job requires high-level communication skills, mentioning communication in your resume can benefit your candidacy.
If you notice that the jobs you’re considering repeatedly ask for a skill or qualification you don’t have, completing a course or certification to develop that skill can help refine your resume and prepare you for QA tester positions. One good option for gaining certification includes the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) by the International Software Testing Qualification Board (ISTQB). This or similar accreditations can help you build up the skills section of your resume.
Another important reason to include relevant keywords on your resume is that many companies use applicant tracking software (ATS) to scan resumes before hiring managers see them. Including relevant keywords that match the job description will help your resume reach the next stage. Ensure you only include keywords related to skill and experience that you can back up once you're in the interview.
Using action verbs emphasises your contributions to previous roles. Instead of saying, “I was involved in a quality assurance project,” try using action verbs to elaborate on your specific tasks. Using phrases such as “improved the user satisfaction rating by 10 percent on the product by implementing [...]” or “collaborated with a team of 15 engineers to improve [...]” will leave a more favourable impression and give hiring managers a clearer idea of your previous experiences.
Choosing the correct margin size for your resume helps create a clean and professional look. A cramped resume with tiny margins can be overwhelming, while a resume with too large margins can make it look like you have less experience than you do. A standard one-inch margin will help your qualifications stand out, creating a positive impression on potential employers.
For example, setting the proper margins and picking a professional-looking font will help make a favourable impression on employers. Fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, and Calibri in 12-point are good choices if you’re unsure what font to pick.
Hiring managers typically read large resumes, so a stand-out header can help grab their attention. When creating a header, include your name, contact information, and job title.
After choosing your layout and format, the next step is to decide how to organise your experiences. Generally, two main styles exist for QA tester resumes: reverse chronological order or functional (skills-based ordering).
In reverse chronological order, you’ll list your most recent professional experience first, the second-most recent, and so on. This may be a good layout option if you have relevant professional experience that shows a progression towards a QA tester role.
However, a skills-based resume layout could be better if you want to highlight your QA skills or don’t have relevant recent professional experience. This type of layout focuses on your relevant skills. For this, you will have a section labelled “Relevant Skills,” "Summary of Skills," or something similar. In this section, you’ll list achievements or work experiences that demonstrate how you used your skills.
For a QA tester position, make sure to read the job description. Note what the company seeks regarding skills, qualifications, and values. Consider how your experiences align with and exemplify the values and skills the employer outlined in the listing. Describe your experiences that highlight what the hiring manager is seeking.
While not strictly necessary, coursework or certification can be advantageous when applying for QA tester roles. Adding an education section to your resume can showcase your commitment to building essential quality assurance skills. For this section, you may want to list any:
Institutions attended and degrees earned
Relevant coursework
Strong GPAs
Academic achievements
Extracurricular activities
Certifications or online courses
List the material that best represents you. If you notice gaps, such as coursework related to quality assurance, earning a credential or taking additional coursework may be beneficial.
If you are new to the field and have limited professional experience, you can include volunteer work, informal work experience, community engagement, and internships on your resume to help demonstrate your relevant job skills.
QA testers draw on a wide array of technical and workplace skills. While many of these skills may be mentioned in your previous work experience descriptions, having a dedicated skills section can provide a glimpse of your strengths. Scanning the job posting and its required qualities and skills may help you decide which skills to include.
If you’re still developing a skill, you can put your experience level alongside it. For example, you could put “beginner-level C++ programming” or “intermediate-level Excel.” If you don’t have many technical skills, emphasise your workplace skills. Employers want to hire someone pleasant to work with and able to represent the company well. Showcasing that you’re adaptable, collaborative, organised, and have strong communication skills may also grab the attention of employers.
To describe your skills and work experience, use bullet points to break up the sections, making them easier to read and scan. This will leave a more favourable impression on hiring managers.
Quality assurance testers must be detail-oriented and meticulous to avoid releasing a product that doesn’t meet the required standards. Hiring managers often look for evidence of these skills; a resume with grammar and spelling mistakes will show them otherwise. Diligently proofreading your resume and investing time in its refinement can significantly boost your chances of landing an interview. You want to convince employers that you produce high-quality work and will be an asset to the team.
While you may have already provided your contact information in the application, you want to make it as easy for hiring managers to reach out to you. Include your full name, phone number, and email address on your resume. If you have a portfolio website or professional page, you can also include that URL.
Hiring managers want to see that you have the right educational background, skills, and experience for the job. Consider the following QA-specific skills and qualifications for your resume.
While work experience can sometimes compensate for formal education, having relevant education can assure employers that you have the training necessary to produce high-quality work.
Typically, employers will look for a bachelor’s degree in a technical field, such as software engineering, information systems, or computer science. Sometimes, employers may prefer you have a master’s degree to qualify for a lead role.
If you lack educational experience in this area but see QA testing as an excellent role, taking a QA engineering boot camp or earning a professional certification in a related field can help you build the necessary skills.
Earning a certification is also a great way to make your resume stand out. Not only this, but it sets you up for promotions and growth within your current position. Certifications recommended for QA tester positions include:
Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE)
Certified Software Quality Analyst (CSQA)
Certified Associate in Software Testing (CAST)
International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) certifications
Certified Manager of Software Quality (CMSQ)
The job description should give you a good idea of what to include. Employers hiring for QA tester positions will look for the following skills:
In general, you want to show a strong basis in coding skills and knowledge of commonly used quality assurance software and programs. On your resume, you might highlight:
Database knowledge
Automation software skills
Programming languages (Java, JavaScript, Python, etc.) skills
Agile methodologies
Mobile and web technologies
Software development lifecycle
Software testing tools (Selenium, WinSCP, Firebug, OpenSTA, etc.)
As a QA tester, you’ll likely collaborate with other employees and partner organisations. You want your resume to show hiring managers that you can work with teams effectively, clearly communicate ideas, handle difficult situations, and take charge of your job responsibilities. Highlighting the following skills can help you stand out.
Adaptability
Analytical skills
Compassion
Decision-making
Interpersonal skills
Leadership
Organisational skills
Problem-solving
Stress management
Teamwork
Time management
Written and verbal communication
Now that you know how to build a resume, consider the strengths and qualifications that set you apart. As a QA tester, you’ll assess software quality with automated and manual tests. The role also requires pinpointing bugs or glitches that can impede end-user experience. Writing a resume that uses keywords specific to the role and highlights your ability to work well on a team and your technical skills can help you stand out to hiring managers.
One way to expand your skills and opportunities is to complete a Professional Certificate or course. Beginner course options such as Foundations of Software Testing and Validation by the University of Leeds, Information Systems Auditing, Controls, and Assurance by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Agile with Atlassian Jira by Atlassian University can help you build your skills and grow your professional opportunities in the QA tester field, and they’re all available on Coursera.
Editorial Team
Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact...
This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.