How to craft a compelling QA engineer resume?

Quality assurance (QA) engineers serve a vital role in the software development industry by ensuring that new software products are up to par before their release. To earn a position as a QA engineer, the first step is to create a job-winning resume that impresses employers and lands your dream interview.

In this guide, we will cover 5 essential tips for writing a resume as a QA engineer. Keep reading to learn all about:

• Choosing the right resume format as a QA engineer
• Writing an effective QA engineer resume summary
• Selecting key QA engineering skills to include on a resume
• Describing your work experience as a QA engineer
• Listing your education concisely and accurately on a resume

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1. Choose the right resume format as a QA engineer

The very first step to creating an effective resume as a QA engineer is to select a format that best suits your experience level.

In general, the standard format expected by most employers is the reverse-chronological resume. This resume format focuses primarily on work experience, listing your most recent job first and working chronologically backward from this point. Employers prefer this format, as it showcases your real-life experience and accomplishments.

However, if you are a recent grad or are new to the field of QA engineering, you may need an alternative format that focuses more on other elements of the document. In this case, you should consider using one of the following formats:

• The functional resume: Functional resumes take the focus off of work experience and place it instead on education, skills, and unpaid experience. This format is ideal for recent or soon-to-be college graduates who have plenty of academic experience but little to no formal work experience.
• The hybrid resume: Hybrid resumes combine elements of both the reverse-chronological and functional formats. The focus of this resume is spread out more evenly between all sections, creating a more diverse document overall. This format is well-suited for applicants who are either changing career paths or are working around large gaps in their work histories.

Choose your preferred template and make your resume shine.

2. Build an effective QA engineer resume summary

A resume summary is a brief statement at the beginning of the document that helps introduce you to employers. This summary should include information such as your years of experience, specializations, key accomplishments, or professional objectives.

To help demonstrate how to write an effective resume summary, below we have provided a weak example followed by a correction and explanation.

Why is this incorrect?

In this example, the applicant provides decent details but fails to use compelling language and more specific information that would make this summary more intriguing to employers. To improve this summary, they should offer quantifiable accomplishments and project examples.

Why is this correct?

In this corrected example, the applicant offers much more specific information that is eye-catching and compelling to employers. Not only do they highlight their specialized expertise, but they also showcase a recent project they worked on, including key details and accomplishments of this project.

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3. Select key QA engineering skills to include on a resume

Whenever you write a resume as a QA Engineer, it is key to include both technical and interpersonal skills. Technical skills refer to your learned abilities gained through education and training, while interpersonal skills refer to your ability to work and communicate well with others.

Both of these types of skills are crucial in QA engineering. You need to both understand the complexities of the products you are working with as well as have a strong ability to communicate any problems or solutions to development teams.

Here are 10 ideas for both technical and interpersonal skills to include on a QA Engineer resume:

4. Make your QA engineer work experience section stand out

Describing your work experience on a resume should include more than a basic overview of your responsibilities in previous positions. You should strive to include as many specific and quantifiable details regarding your accomplishments as well as your responsibilities to grab employers’ attention.

When listing your descriptive statements under a job, it is important to use bullet points to keep the information organized and highly legible. This way, employers can easily skim through your work experience section while still gaining a thorough understanding of you as a professional.

5. List your QA engineer education concisely and accurately on a resume

To become a QA engineer, you will generally need a bachelor’s degree in a field related to software development such as computer science, software engineering, or information technology.

However, to make yourself a more competitive candidate in the industry, you can boost your resume’s effectiveness greatly if you have QA-specific certifications as well.

No matter which educational credentials you have, it is important to always include the following information in the education section of your resume:

• The name of your degree or certification
• The university, college, or certifying institution
• The date of graduation or program completion
• Relevant accomplishments (graduation honors, student leadership positions, etc.)