Crafting a compelling resume is essential to stand out in the competitive job market of being a functional tester. A well-written CV can showcase your skills and expertise, making you the top choice for potential employers.
Employers are seeking candidates with a specific set of skills and experiences, and your resume is your opportunity to demonstrate that you possess what it takes to excel as a functional QA tester. By including the right skills and effectively presenting your experience, you can make a strong impression on hiring managers.
In this article, we will explore functional QA resume examples and delve into the essential skills and key sections that will make your remote job CV stand out. Whether you are an experienced QA tester looking to advance your career or a newcomer to the field, we will provide you with the tools and knowledge to create a compelling resume that will help you secure your dream job as a functional QA tester.
How a great CV can pave your way to a better career
A functional QA tester ensures that software behaves as intended through testing. Functional testers do this by running the software through various use cases and detailed test plans. Without a detailed testing process, software is bound to fail. You can present this expertise in your CV (curriculum vitae).
CVs are more detailed versions of resumes. They can be multi-page documents describing your full list of experience, certifications, and skills. Using CVs, you can create shorter resumes that appeal to each functional QA job description. This saves you time and ensures that each resume is tailored. You can also provide this CV upon request.
When we apply this to functional testers, showcasing technical skills such as regression testing, performance testing, and various testing tools is crucial. These competencies should be incorporated to increase visibility via ATS filters. Relevant soft skills also enhance a functional QA resume, with communication skills and being a team player in an Agile environment speaking to your holistic professional capacity. Later, you'll learn more about the different sections you must include in these resumes.
Your CV and resume should be formatted for clarity, with short paragraphs for readability. Include a table or list to present information in a structured, impactful way. Remember, a targeted, well-presented CV not only demonstrates your technical and soft skills but also serves as a reflection of your professional standards, ultimately paving the way to a brighter career path in quality assurance.
Skills to include in a functional QA resume
A functional QA resume should be a testament to a candidate’s technical proficiency, problem-solving capabilities, and adaptability under pressure. Tailoring the resume to spotlight these competencies is key.
Must-have skills:
In the competitive landscape of quality assurance, a set of core skills is essential for any QA engineer. These skills are found across multiple QA positions, regardless of industry.
Technical expertise:
Proficiency in functional, E2E (end-to-end), and UAT (user acceptance testing) are foundational for showcasing one's expertise in software testing. Experience with platforms like Unix and scripting languages such as Shell amplify a candidate's technical arsenal.
For junior testers, resumes should showcase experience in the classroom and through personal projects. If you're struggling to find a job due to lack of experience, volunteering your time can help prove your skills. For experienced testers, showcase your hands-on experience and how it applies to the job description's priorities.
Software development process acumen:
A comprehensive understanding of the software development lifecycle is vital, as this allows QA engineers to preemptively address potential issues and provides insight into troubleshooting post-deployment problems.
Your understanding of the software development cycle should be part of your job and project description. Display how this understanding of the bigger picture contributed to specific achievements in past careers and projects.
Testing tools:
Mastery of tools such as Rational Functional Tester, HP Quality Center, Jira, JMeter, TestLink, Bugzilla, and UFT strengthens a resume. Try to focus on tools most often mentioned in the job description.
While there are some common tools found among QA testers, some are better for different industries. Specializing in an industry can provide you with a unique skill set that makes you more appealing to specific jobs. Do some research on the industry you're interested in if you are a newcomer.
Of course, there is still value in being a manual QA tester.
Problem-solving and stress management:
The ability to dynamically address complex problems and maintain poise under tight deadlines are pivotal soft skills that underscore a QA tester's potential to manage unexpected challenges.
On your resume, showcase this experience by explaining the problem and how your contribution solved it. Use this knowledge in the interview to explain how you overcame stressful situations.
Attention to detail:
This is critical when testing for defects and irregularities within the software. It ensures the highest quality of the final product. Testers need to be detail-oriented to work in jobs. Explain how your proven and defined testing process found errors within a program.
Educational foundation:
A degree in computer science, electrical engineering, or a closely related field is typically required, laying the groundwork for the advanced technical skills necessary in QA roles.
If you can't get a degree in computer science, pursue certifications and get more experience. Degrees are great for proving your knowledge, but there are many paths to educating yourself.
Nice to have skills:
In addition to the essential skills, additional proficiencies and qualifications can elevate a QA engineer above the competition.
Automation tool expertise:
Hands-on experience with specific versions of tools such as Selenium WebDriver 2.x, Rational Functional Tester 7.x,8.x, and HP ALM adds a specialized edge to a QA resume.
Knowledge of automation is becoming more commonplace as companies rely on handing off processes to machines. The more you can automate aspects of a business through functional testing, the more viable you can be across multiple job types.
Soft skills:
Excellent communication, documentation, and team problem-solving abilities exhibit the candidate’s capacity to collaborate and adapt effectively within a team and with the wider project stakeholders.
Soft skills are often in higher demand across open positions because they are harder to train, such as empathy and teamwork. Showing off your collaborative approach throughout your extensive experience can help.
4 key sections to include in your functional tester resume
When crafting a functional tester resume, it is essential to organize the information into key sections, ensuring that each highlights your qualifications clearly and succinctly. At the outset, include your contact information at the top, making it easy for potential employers to reach out.
1. Work experience
In the work experience section, detail your hands-on experience, focusing on responsibilities that involved conducting system tests, identifying defects, and collaborating closely with project managers and the IT department. This will demonstrate your capacity to operate within and contribute to a development team on a daily basis.
Junior testers can show off their work experience by displaying how they excelled in the classroom. If you’re struggling to find employment due to little job experience, try volunteering. By working for free, you can get valuable experience that helps you find your first job.
2. Education
Education is another critical element. You should emphasize a relevant degree, such as a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering or a Master's in Computer Science. This showcases the strong educational foundation backing your technical skills.
In addition, highlighting certifications in regression testing, software quality assurance, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and manufacturing provides tangible proof of a candidate's commitment to staying abreast of industry standards and methodologies. Pursue certifications that apply to your industry.
3. Skills
List 6-12 hard skills that pertain to the role, such as manual test case preparation, automation testing, experience with tests like Veracode, documentation proficiencies, and test implementation expertise. These should form the core of your skill section, displaying a range of essential QA technical skills.
Don’t overlook the inclusion of related skills that display your dependability, cultural awareness, interpersonal communication, organization, and time management prowess, as these are valuable soft skills in any Agile environment. Presenting this information in an easy-to-read format through bullet points or tables will ensure clarity and a professional resume appearance.
4. Professional summary or objective
A professional summary gives readers a shorter form of your resume in a few sentences. It provides readers with an immediate reason to hire you, without needing to read through an entire CV. In a world where most resumes are thrown out in the first three seconds, an executive summary keeps recruiters hooked.
Alternatively, you could choose to inform readers of a specific objective. The objective should appeal to the job description, explaining how you plan to contribute to the company you're applying for. The idea with objectives is to show people you're ambitious and ready to work to help you and the company you're applying for to grow.
Functional QA resume samples by seniority
Resume sample #1: Middle-level functional QA tester
NAME SURNAME Functional QA Engineer SUMMARY:
TECHNICAL SKILLS: Engineering practices:
Technologies:
WORK EXPERIENCE (SAMPLE PROJECT DESCRIPTION): [project / customer name] June 2022 - present Project Role: Software Quality Engineer Customer Domain: Life Sciences & Healthcare Team size: 25 Responsibilities:
Tools: Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, Jenkins, Saucelabs, Applitools, WorkSpaces, Eclipse, Postman, Git, Bash, AWS Technologies: Scrum, xPath, Gherkin, HTML, CSS, JSON, JavaScript, Node.js, React EDUCATION: BA in Economics Management, 2016 LANGUAGES: English C1 Polish Native |
Resume sample #2: Senior functional tester
NAME SURNAME Senior Functional Testing Engineer SUMMARY:
TECHNICAL SKILLS: Engineering practices:
Technologies:
Soft skills:
WORK EXPERIENCE (SAMPLE PROJECT DESCRIPTION): [project / customer name] Jan 2021 - present Project Role: Senior Software Testing Engineer Customer Domain: Business Information & Media Team size: 9 Responsibilities:
Database: MongoDB Tools: TestRail, Postman, Jira, Gitlab, Figma, Confluence, Chrome DevTools Technologies: ReactJS, Kubernetes, Kotlin, Git, Docker, Cucumber EDUCATION: BA in Software Engineering, 2017 LANGUAGES: English C1 Spanish Native |
Resume sample #3: Senior functional QA engineer
NAME SURNAME Senior Functional QA Engineer SUMMARY:
TECHNICAL SKILLS: Engineering practices:
Technologies:
Leadership & soft skills:
WORK EXPERIENCE (SAMPLE PROJECT DESCRIPTION): [project / customer name] June 2020 - present Project Role: Accessibility Tester Customer Domain: Insurance Team size: 10 Responsibilities:
Database: PostgreSQL Tools: NVDA, VoiceOver, Accessibility scanner, Pixolor, WAVE, AXE, Color contrast analyzer. EDUCATION: MA in Computer Science, 2018 LANGUAGES: English B2 Ukrainian Native |
Resume sample #4: Lead functional QA tester
NAME SURNAME Lead Software QA Engineer SUMMARY:
TECHNICAL SKILLS: Engineering practices:
Technologies:
Leadership & soft skills:
WORK EXPERIENCE (SAMPLE PROJECT DESCRIPTION): [project / customer name] July 2020 - present Project Role: Testing Team Lead Customer Domain: Life Sciences & Healthcare Team size: 20-25 Responsibilities:
Database: Oracle SQL Tools: Fiddler, Postman, pgAdmin, qTest Technologies: AWS, .NET EDUCATION: MA in Information Control Systems and Technologies, 2017 LANGUAGES: English C1 Latvian Native |
Resume sample #5: Executive-level functional QA manager
NAME SURNAME Functional QA Engineering Director SUMMARY: With 22+ years line management experience (with decades of SW testing, automation background) at various of positions, I've successfully coached and mentored 100+ people to senior/lead and to team/unit/project manager positions, supported and managed several successful project executions.
Skills:
TECHNICAL SKILLS: Engineering practices:
Business functions:
Technologies:
Leadership & soft skills:
WORK EXPERIENCE (SAMPLE PROJECT DESCRIPTION): [project / customer name] July 2021 - present Project Role: Software Engineering / Testing Manager Customer Domain: Manufacturing and Auto Team size: 50-60 Responsibilities:
Tools: JIRA, DevOps toolsets (Jenkins) Technologies: Java, C++, MySQL, Zookeeper, Rest, Kafka, Spring EDUCATION: MA in Information Technology Management, 2010 LANGUAGES: English C1 Hungarian Native |
Download our functional QA tester resume template
Apply for a functional QA tester job at EPAM Anywhere
Are you a skilled functional QA tester seeking to elevate your career remotely? EPAM Anywhere might have your next great opportunity. With a diverse job board dedicated to remote functional QA tester positions (and related tech jobs), EPAM Anywhere is your gateway to career advancement.
At EPAM Anywhere, we understand the expertise involved in software testing, the software development life cycle, test planning, execution, and precise defect tracking. That's why we invite professionals with a solid background in these areas to explore the roles we have available.
Applying for a job on EPAM Anywhere is straightforward:
- Visit the EPAM Anywhere job board.
- Filter the listings to find remote functional QA tester opportunities.
- Review the job requirements that match your skills and experience.
Check out our listings today to see how your future career can be both fulfilling and remote.
As Chief Editor, Darya works with our top technical and career experts at EPAM Anywhere to share their insights with our global audience. With 12+ years in digital communications, she’s happy to help job seekers make the best of remote work opportunities and build a fulfilling career in tech.
As Chief Editor, Darya works with our top technical and career experts at EPAM Anywhere to share their insights with our global audience. With 12+ years in digital communications, she’s happy to help job seekers make the best of remote work opportunities and build a fulfilling career in tech.
Explore our Editorial Policy to learn more about our standards for content creation.
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