With leaps in technological advancements, software is becoming integral to daily human life resulting in the demand for heightened application functionality, services, and user experiences.
The once tedious task of visiting the market multiple times to compare various brands, quality, and prices before buying an appliance like an Air Conditioner is now replaced by the convenience of making informed decisions from the comfort of your own home, all while sipping on a cup of coffee.
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A mere few clicks are sufficient for comparing and evaluating all the available market choices; perusing user reviews and recommendations; and ordering the Air Conditioner that will be delivered straight to your doorstep within a span of a day.
Given these transformations, isn’t it time to reform the interview and candidate evaluation processes as well?
Let’s take a look at an instance:
Suppose security is a priority, and you are hiring an armed security guard. It’s essential to ensure that they are proficient in handling their security weapons.
So how do you ascertain this?
By trying to gauge their capabilities in a time-bound interview of 20-30 minutes?
With finite time to assess and select a candidate, it becomes crucial to devise an interview process and formulate questions that will elicit the most meaningful responses.
And obviously, the proper process should encompass the correct questions.
Let’s delve into some cases:
An interview for a beginner-level Software QA role is underway:
Q: Can you explain STLC?
A: Responded …
Q: What is the Bug life cycle?
A: Responded …
Q: Describe the test cases for the login page?
A: Responded …
Q: How would you do Facebook testing?
A: Responded …
Outcome? The candidate gets hired.
Now, another interview for a beginner-level Software QA role is in progress:
Q: Why have you chosen a career in software testing?
A: Ahh… Actually, I find testing interesting (Nice to hear)
Q: How would you feel about having a pizza served in a triangular shape?
A: The taste matters more than the shape when it comes to pizza. I would still savor every bite
Q: How do you hone your testing skills?
A: By continued practice tests.
Q: Are you able to observe your surroundings and identify possible issues?
A: Ahh… (Pondering and scowling)… ahh… ahh… no response yet
The Verdict? The candidate has been politely asked to exit.
Did you discern the divergence in these distinct interview settings? Point noted.
Throughout my professional journey, I have conducted countless interviews and based on this experience, I can undoubtedly affirm that:
- The majority of candidates are well-prepared for theoretical queries.
- While communication skills are pivotal, relying exclusively on this competency to judge a candidate is not adequate.
- An exhibition of real-time testing/QA skillsets is an essential pre-selection step.
- If a person displays apathy and lack of interest, the interview will be fruitless.
- More value should be accorded to problem-solving capabilities over answering theoretical questions.
- The swift and creative production of test concepts is of utmost significance.
- QA reporting skills are equally important and should not be overlooked.
Every role has distinct necessities, but there exists a shared need across all disciplines, which needs to be validated, irrespective of the position for which the interview is being conducted.
Concerning software testing, I would propose the following queries to be incorporated, in no particular sequence of priority:
Ask these 6 queries to gauge a candidate’s suitability for the QA role:
Query #1 Pertaining to Curiosity and passion:
Being a software tester demands an insatiable curiosity. The probing curiosity exhibited by a child exploring the world and trying to grasp its functioning should be emulated. This becomes a critical consideration.
My queries revolving around this topic are:
- Why have you chosen testing as a career?
- Why does a chair necessitate four legs?
- Why do we resort to umbrellas for protection against rainfall?
Query #2 Related to Understanding priorities:
A tester typically deals with multiple assignments and if they fail to establish priority, it may lead to disarray. Instead of simultaneously delving into everything and accomplishing nothing, it’s preferable to leave a task successfully accomplished and gain satisfaction regarding completion of an important assignment.
But who gets to decide the importance of a task? Here are the queries:
- Scenario 1: You’ve been eagerly anticipating a kite festival, but your best friend’s wedding coincides with the event. Which would you choose to attend: the kite festival or the wedding?
- Scenario 2: As a working parent, there’s a Parent-Teacher Meeting planned at your child’s school today. But, your manager has scheduled a demo that clashes with the school meeting. What’s your course of action?
Query #3 On Bug reporting:
Articulating an encountered issue is an art and this art plays a vital role in the success trajectory of any software tester.
Queries to evaluate this competency can include:
- Scenario 1: If you notice inadequate ventilation or fan utility in this hall and need to report this to the administration, what would be your approach?
- Scenario 2: You’ve located a defect within an application, but it’s not consistently reproducible. How would you report such a case? Illustrate with an instance.
Query #4 on Generating ideas:
Within the innovative realm of software testing, if the tester is incapable of producing test concepts, they would quickly find themselves in a stagnant position.
Queries in this department may include:
- How can you measure air temperature without a thermometer?
- What immediate actions would you undertake during an unexpected fire outbreak in a building?
- How would you conduct a test on a pen?
Query #5 on Conceptual understanding:
Occupying a role as a software tester would naturally imply that the individual would possess proficiency in testing techniques and their effective implementation. However, an understanding of the testing principles is also necessary and can be gauged through the following queries:
- Which SDLC model would you favor – Waterfall or Agile, and why?
- Why is retesting deemed crucial even when you are already executing regression testing?
Query #6 on Analytical Competency:
Identifying the root cause or recognizing a pattern in an issue is as significant as identifying the issue itself. Testers are expected to exemplify this ability as well.
Sample queries to evaluate this ability could be:
- If, as an automobile manufacturing company, you receive five consecutive complaints about flat tires on a newly released vehicle model, what’s your course of action? Would you replace the tire supplier or adopt a different strategy? Explain your how and why.
- If 13 translates to “Thirteen” and 12 translates to “Twelve,” how would you express 212?
In most instances, these types of queries are adequate to determine whether the individual in front of you makes the cut.
About the author: Bhumika Mehta, the author of this insightful article, leads a project team and has more than a decade’s worth of software testing experience to her credit. She is passionate about testing and indulges in extensive testing of anything and everything conceivable.
I would be intrigued to understand your perspective on this issue. Is there a genuine requirement to modify the interview regimen for software testing QA roles?