Well hello,
My name is Emil Bibinovski - QA Manager, Architect, Manual QA, Automation QA and everything that can summarize the Quality Assurance profession. I have been doing this for 7 years now and based on the experience I have, I will present my insight into management and shaping QA teams.
Over the past 5 years at VSG Bulgaria we have changed a lot of approaches to shaping the work teams. The complexity of the domain we are developing, as well as its typology, has shown us that the word Senior is not heavy enough to form teams around it. It turned out that people with a lot of experience can quite quickly and easily get lost in a domain that is absolutely different from the one in which they have operated so far.
A large number of those we encountered had lost their ability to adapt quickly, which made the situation even more interesting.
What were the challenges ahead of us?
The product we develop is very complex. It requires specific attention and concentration. We needed people who were flexible and proactive, and there weren't many free Senior QAs on the market ready to embark on a new challenge.
A lot of changes have taken place until we come to the right and working approach for us. We needed people who solve problems, they have ideas, they understand what is good to happen in order for the workflow to go easily and efficiently. No one wants to have teammates, who create additional concerns or identify problems, but do not have at least a proposal for a solution. This is true not only in our industry, but everywhere.
The situation made us think in a completely different direction - not to look for ready-made, trained professionals, but to look at those who have little or no experience, but you see that they are burning for the profession. The truth is that we met many young people, disillusioned and demotivated by their previous jobs, in other areas of business. The development of the IT sector and the opportunities offered in it kept alive their aspiration to be good professionals and to seek meaning in what they do.
So far, so good. We had a new, different work and selection plan built, but we have yet to find out how many people we need to turn the QA wheel in this new direction.
Of course, this carries its risks. Imagine a situation where you hire a few young, inspired, positive Junior QAs and they are ready to do anything to catch the most bugs, log them in, crawl the system thousands of times. This, in turn, creates a lot of noise in the to-do list and makes managing the whole project very difficult.
You can't just hire 10 new people. It's good to know exactly how much you need. My advice is to analyze your product very carefully. Realize exactly where it is (A quadrant analysis of customer and product) and at what pace you plan to move, because QAs slow down slightly.
If we have to make an analogy with football - you can not have 11 attackers and add 10 new defenders to them. You will have too much difference in your view of how to do things.
The situation is variable because the work is dynamic. For the specific purposes, at that point we came to the conclusion that the appropriate ratio of QA to programmers is 1:2.5 - or in other words - a QA specialist should work with no more than 2.5 programmers.
The moods became quite positive, we had a strategy, we had a plan. Now we had to figure out the questions about training, team culture, distribution of domains in the teams themselves and the pace at which each of them should move.
I also have a few tips for all new people who are trying to enter the IT industry.
Applying.
After the change in the work strategy and the recruitment strategy, we are now on the threshold of our second internship program, and among us there are over 10 hired people with little or no experience.
Applying for a new job is a difficult process for the applicant. Creating a CV that meets thousands of requirements and everyone tries to cover the maximum of them and make an impression.
The process of selecting new candidates is difficult, especially if the number of CVs entered is three-digit.
My first advice to applicants is to stick to a clean and simple vision. To emphasize that the CV is tidy and to highlight the skills they have. The color style of processing was transferred from colleagues who are engaged in design, but for them this is like an additional touch to the business card. In Bulgaria we are still reading from top to bottom, Left-to-right and we expect there to be a meaningful sequence.
When searching for people with no experience in the profession, we try to find the right colleagues. We can't shape anything about your personality in our minds if we don't read it.
It is much easier and more grateful to train a freshly graduated student and create a work ethic and habits for them.
My second piece of advice is not to write things that are like stuffing – just to fill in some more space. Try to provide information that is relevant to the specialty you are applying for. Whether you have a driver's license, what salary you took in your previous 10 jobs, strange hobbies like bushcrafting or how much you bench press are things, which you can tell us on a teambuilding, but all this distracts the examiner and rather has the opposite effect on the process.
And something very important - both the CV and the photo to it are good to be clean and simple. Cropped party photos are also something we can have fun together with, but let's do the important work first.
Take the time, think about the little things, and I'm sure you'll do the best CV to send you exactly where you want to be. Every little effort pays off.
Interview.
If after applying you received a set of tasks, solved them and ended up for an interview - you are 80% employed. Don't underestimate the other 20%. You have difficult minutes ahead of you, in which the main task is to give a final touch to the good impression you have already made, and not vice versa. Usually the interview is the process in which we try to gather as much information as possible about the character of a person, his work ethic, work habits, radiance and thinking.
Features that will tell us if you are our new colleague and whether you will fit into the working environment and culture of the company.
The most important thing is to be yourself. You have no idea what the profile of the person we are looking for is. You can't go wrong if you're just the person you're out of this room.
A few basic rules:
- Stay calm. We've interviewed a lot of people, and we know there's anxiety. We try not to take it into account in the evaluation, but worry prevents you from being your best version right now. Try to take the pressure off in the first minutes of the conversation. There is no formula for this to happen, but if you put the same little effort here as for your CV, it will pay off again.
- Speak slowly and intelligibly. Once you seem calm, it remains to have a pleasant conversation. Sit comfortably in the chair, put your hands on the table and we can get started! Our expectations are for a good conversation in which we feel a lively spirit and a desire to work. Do not go from topic to topic, do not get out of the topic of the question. Be cheerful. In addition to a purely factual answer, it is good to give a part of yourself, but in moderation. Personal topics and stories will again be left for the friendly environment in which we are on a team building. If you don't understand any of the questions, don't be afraid to ask how it can be asked in other words. Don't respond to things you don't understand. Feel the mood of the conversation and respond in the same tone set by the interviewer. It's an adventure, isn't it?
You have followed these few steps and congratulations, you are now our colleague!
The difficult task of becoming an independent member of one of our product teams is in front of you!
Be prepared to face a large volume of tasks, a huge domain, but also open your worldview to everything you are yet to learn!
Welcome to the realm of Quality Assurance professionals! The main task for your growth is to keep enthusiasm, positivity and desire to work and not stop achieving your goals. Be proactive, curious and hardworking. Your duties are not limited to the end of the working day. Read, search and keep your curiosity engaged, because the IT sector is extremely dynamic and constantly evolving.
Subscribe to various QA news and besides coffee, start your day by reading things related to the profession you have chosen. Find out as much as possible about the technologies your project has adapted. People in QA need to be more than problem-pointers. Try to be full members of your teams and know the domain best than others.
Good luck to all!
