QA Tester Skills: Definition and How to Demonstrate Them

Updated 25 February 2023

Quality assurance testers perform a key role in ensuring that companies release high-quality products. Quality assurance tester skills may be important, allowing a quality assurance tester to conduct relevant and accurate testing of the company's systems. Learning about tester skills can help you determine how to demonstrate and improve your skills. In this article, we explore what quality assurance tester skills are, outline relevant skills for a QA tester, provide tips on how you can improve your skills and highlight how to demonstrate your skills on a resume.

What are QA tester skills?

QA tester skills are the necessary qualities that a quality assurance tester may require to perform a task effectively. You can refer to a QA tester as a software test engineer, QA engineer or software tester. Quality assurance involves systematically planning and ensuring that customers receive a high-quality product or service. A quality assurance tester monitors the stages of designing and implementing the company's product to ensure good quality. Acquiring skills to undertake QA testing may be essential in developing your career, especially in the technology industry.

Quality assurance tester skills

Here are skills that QA testers may use to complete their daily tasks:

Critical thinking

QA testing may require you to assess the company's product intensely so that you can discover potential issues. Critical thinking can also help you predict possible issues in the company's product. In case any problems arise with the product, the company may also come to you for solutions that require critical thinking skills.

Organisation

As a quality assurance tester, you may handle numerous projects at once. Good organisation skills can allow you to evaluate each project efficiently and report accurate findings. Being organised can also allow you to perform challenging tasks without suffering from burnout. Good organisational skills may also involve managing your time effectively. Time management may involve planning when to handle each task and how to prioritise your work. Being organised may also involve learning how to delegate tasks so that you have time to focus on the most important issues.

Communication

Both verbal and written communication skills are important for a QA tester since you may be working with a team. Verbal skills can allow you to associate with your team members effectively and enable you to present findings effectively. Communication may also involve listening to suggestions and accepting corrections from other team members. Written communication can be important for creating reports and writing presentations. Good communication may make it easier for future quality assurance professionals to assess and learn from your work.

Focus

The ability to focus on small details in lines of code can allow you to notice errors in a project. You may also require focus skills for you to create effective solutions. Focus can also allow you to perform tasks for long stretches of time, which is typical for QA testers.

Flexibility

As a QA tester, you may provide services to multiple companies in diverse industries. Applying your skills in various companies can allow you to gain more skills and increase your job prospects. QA testing also involves using multiple tools, which may be important for you to master.

Ability to learn

QA testing is a field that involves technology and so it may be important to keep learning about the newest trends and inventions. You can learn by reading current technological publications and attending multiple seminars and conferences. Demonstrating a willingness to learn may also be attractive to recruiters, as it shows that you're committed to the profession.

Tips to improve quality assurance tester skills

Improving your QA skills allows you to perform tasks more effectively, which can help you build a good reputation at work. Here are ways you can improve your quality assurance skills:

Educate yourself: There are numerous certifications and skills that you can learn through short courses and certifications. Educating yourself on new trends in the industry also enables you to apply for positions that can offer a better salary.
Play games: Games can help you improve your strategic thinking skills, attention skills and critical thinking skills. Games that involve strategies, patterns and letters can be useful because they challenge you to search for minor details, just like in QA testing.
Take regular breaks: Breaks allow you to refresh your mind, which can improve your ability to discover errors. You can take a break by walking in nature, standing and stretching or watching an entertaining video.

Responsibilities of a quality assurance tester

The role of a quality assurance tester may depend on the company and industry. Here are some general responsibilities of a QA tester:

Constructs test scripts: A test script describes the actions you may perform to evaluate whether a program is functioning properly. QA testers can observe a system and determine which tests are necessary to examine its functionality.
Evaluates source code: Source code is a string of numbers or words that a programmer creates and which forms a computer software. Once the programmer creates the source code, the QA tester analyses it to determine whether it's of good quality.
Documents technical issues: Documentation may be an essential process in quality assurance as it guides other team members on what issues the system has had. In the future, the company can refer to the documentation to find solutions for technical issues that reappear.
Forwards recommendations to the development team: Once the testing process is complete, the QA tester can send recommendations on areas that require improvements. This can ensure the development team creates a product based on the company's requirements.

How to demonstrate QA tester skills on a resume

Finding the right way to show your skills through a resume can increase your chances of getting an interview or securing a job offer. One of the essential areas of the resume is the skills section because it shows whether you're a good fit for the role. Here are four steps you can follow to create a QA tester resume:

1. Add your details and career objectives

Personal details may include your full name and contact information, such as phone number and email. It may not be necessary for you to include your address or residence. The career objective is a short section with approximately three sentences that summarise your career and current goals. It's the statement that might show why you're the right candidate for the job.

2. Mention your skills

Since skills may be an important part of a quality assurance job, it may be beneficial to place the skills section at the top of the resume. You can explain your skills in bullet points, starting with the most relevant. It may also be important to list only the skills that are relevant for a QA position. Such skills may include analytical skills, coding skills and the ability to work on various types of systems.

3. List your academic qualifications and certifications

You can add a list of everything you've achieved academically, starting with the most recent qualification. For each qualification, you can list the institution, programme and year in which you graduated. Since QA testing is a career that involves numerous certifications, it may be important to create a section that highlights all your certifications properly. You can list the certifications starting with the most recent. Examples of certifications that may be relevant in QA testing include International software testing qualifications board (ISTQB), Certified test engineer (CSTE) and Certified manager of software quality (CMSQ).

4. Explain your work experience

Depending on your years of experience, you can place this section before or after your academic qualifications. In this section, you can list any positions you've held with a short list of your duties at each job. You may list your work experience, starting with the most recent position that is relevant to QA testing. Positions that a QA tester may hold include software tester, quality assurance analyst and QA engineer.

QA tester resume example

Here is a sample resume for a QA tester that highlights relevant skills:

Jacob Thong,
87 Napier Rd,
Singapore 258308
+65 1111 2222
jacobthong@email.com

Objective
Highly qualified QA tester with two years of experience in assessing automated and manual systems in various firms across the world, seeking to develop my skills in the banking and technology industry.

Core skills
Hard skills: automated and manual testing, familiarity with various bug tracking and test management tools and knowledge of software methodologies
Soft skills: exceptional communication skills, collaborative abilities, critical thinking and willingness to learn

Academic qualifications
Jurong University
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (Hons)
December 2017

Certifications
Certified software tester (CSTE)
January 2019

Certified software process engineer (CSPE)
December 2017

Work experience
Brookes Limited
QA tester

January 2018 – April 2020

assisted lead QA tester with planning and creating the master test plan
wrote 20% of the final master plans
implemented test cases across 10+ product areas
conducted frequent testing to ensure system efficiency

Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed. The model shown is for illustration purposes only, and may require additional formatting to meet accepted standards.