As a tester, you play a vital role in the world of software development. You navigate through complex lines of code, ensuring that everything is intuitive, seamless, and ready to be seen by the end users.
You’re meticulous, which helps you spot a bug in code from a mile away. But how do you apply that attention to detail to crafting a winning resume and create a cover letter for the job? No stress—we’ve got you covered.
Our tester resume examples and handy resume tips can help you create a resume that puts your top skills front and center. Here’s how to make your job search that much more effective.
Why this resume works
- A tester resume should be a perfect opportunity to look back from where your career started and the impact you’ve made over years. While achievements will speak louder than words here, there’s another great way to support your suitability for the role.
- Did you mentor and help new hires transition from school to workplace environment? Great. Mention it as your way of underscoring your ability to forge collaboration to improve team productivity.
Why this resume works
- For a job as detail oriented as this, it’s best to show that you’ve been playing with data and software using different testing methods throughout your entire career.
- Add some variety to your ETL tester resume and include past roles such as Test Analysis and Software Tester. Don’t forget to write how you dealt with information using root cause and log analysis, cross-platform compatibility testing, and any other methods to reduce commonly reported issues.
Why this resume works
- Cyber security roles require candidates to be one step ahead of digital criminals using the latest tools. Show how you’ve created resilient systems in the past using modern cyber security software like Metasploit Framework and Aircrack-ng.
- However, back them up in your penetration tester resume by writing how you’ve used them to conduct penetration tests on networks and identified exposure points to help companies strengthen their systems.
Why this resume works
- Your role is crucial to the success of every department. Therefore, you should be a dependable expert at all times and with extraordinary skills.
- In that case, your QA tester resume should showcase your mastery in the latest industry tools and how you’ve applied them in your work. The use of Appium for mobile automation, Bugzilla for managing bugs, and Burp Suite for security assessments are perfect examples you can include.
Why this resume works
- Manual testing, unlike automated process, is time consuming and can cause costly delays. A best fit candidate would be someone who has a track record of decreasing test cycle times.
- Such is a perfect chance for your manual tester resume to outshine the rest. Emphasize your consistent achievement in reducing test cycle times, and you’ll have the attention of employers.
Why this resume works
- Now that you’ve the educational background and work experience to propel your application to the top, you should look for something to make your software tester resume stand out.
- Something as simple as the appropriate resume template can make a difference between getting hired or not. Ensure there’s a balance between text and white spaces, giving recruiters an easy time to scan your piece.
Why this resume works
- Sometimes, taking the recruiting team back to when you started your career can be a source of inspiration and a tactic to show how you’ve grown professionally over the years as an automation tester.
- As a junior test automation engineer, Xavier shows what he could do at an entry-level position and sets a robust foundation for career progression. This strategy gives a potential employer an opportunity to internalize the experience and value you can bring to them.
Related resume examples
Fine-tune Your Tester to Match Each Job
Whether your expertise lies in automation, manual, or QA testing (or maybe you’re a pro at all three!), you possess a unique blend of skills. This is where you can put them in the spotlight and match them up against the job description.
Software testing, as a whole, relies on applying your extensive technical know-how to find and squash bugs, inefficiencies, and oversights, so this is what you should highlight here.
Here’s a pro tip: get into the details of your proficiency with application testing tools, such as Selenium and QTP. Next, talk about your ability to stay on top of bug tracking and project management with Jira, and your expertise in controlling app version histories with Git.
Need some ideas?
15 best tester skills
- Selenium
- QTP/UFT
- LoadRunner
- Jira
- Git
- TestRail
- Bugzilla
- Confluence
- Mantis
- Jenkins
- Appium
- Trello
- SoapUI
- Ruby
- PyTest
Your tester work experience bullet points
The type of testing you do daily may vary depending on your particular niche. After all, your work thus far may have been focused on mobile application QA testing, or perhaps manual testing for desktop apps.
Still, on many days, your job is less about excitement and more about impeccable attention to detail. That’s why it’s better to focus your resume on your achievements rather than the daily grind.
Much like you track bug occurrence and resolution statistics using JIRA or Bugzilla, give recruiters something to work with by including statistics about your impact as a tester. For instance, mention reductions in testing cycle times or the number of bugs you identified each week.
- Highlight the time savings your test scripts and integration strategies led to.
- Emphasize the large volumes of projects you led or the number of critical bugs you identified and solved in a given timeframe.
- Money talks, so spotlight the cost savings that your test automation strategies or test case management systems resulted in.
- Showcase high defect detection rates and decreases in open defects to flex how good you are at your job.
See what we mean?
- Implemented continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) pipelines, resulting in a 12-hour reduction in release cycle time
- Executed manual and automated test cases, identifying and reporting 30+ critical defects, which contributed to a 14% decrease in post-release issues
- Implemented test automation using Selenium, resulting in a $201K reduction in annual testing costs
- Spearheaded test planning and execution efforts for 9 projects, achieving an average defect detection rate of 98%, resulting in a significant reduction in post-release defects and associated costs
9 active verbs to start your tester work experience bullet points
- Implemented
- Executed
- Spearheaded
- Performed
- Designed
- Orchestrated
- Utilized
- Conducted
- Maintained
3 Tips for Writing a Tester Resume When You’re Just Starting Out
- Showcase educational projects
- If you’ve worked on any software testing projects during your education, be it college or a boot camp, go into detail about them. Talk about the testing frameworks, tools, and methodologies you used.
- Demonstrate your analytical ability
- To showcase your analytical skills, discuss how you analyze software requirements, identify potential issues, and create comprehensive testing plans. Then, drive the point home by showing how your keen eye for analysis helped you save the day by catching critical bugs.
- Flaunt your software proficiency
- Go into some detail about the testing tools you’re familiar with, such as Selenium, Jira, and other commonly used frameworks. Make sure to include some of the key tools from the job description, too.
3 Tips for Writing a Tester Resume Once You’re Experienced
- Dive into your specialization
- If you specialize in a particular niche of testing, such as security, performance, or automation, elaborate on this. Mention any certifications or advanced training you have, and highlight the impact your specialization has had on project outcomes.
- Show your business-first mindset
- Show recruiters how your testing strategies align with business goals. You can do this by discussing times when your testing efforts directly contributed to positive outcomes, such as user satisfaction, compliance, or reducing time-to-market.
- Illustrate your leadership
- If you’ve taken on any leadership or mentorship roles, don’t be afraid to brag a little. Talk about how you led testing teams through challenging situations or contributed to the professional development of your junior colleagues.
In your cover letter, explain the challenges and decisions behind your achievements. For example, you could talk about why you chose to use Selenium over Python in a particular scenario, or go into detail on how you leveraged Postman for API testing.
Read each job description carefully and note the job skills it emphasizes, be it Jira or TestRail. Just as you automate your testing, recruiters automate the initial scanning process, so including relevant keywords will help you get past them.
If you’re just starting out, a career objective can be a great way to show your enthusiasm for the role. Make sure to include a specific mention of the role and company, and a desired career trajectory you’d like to follow within the organization, such as advancing from a testing intern to a senior testing specialist.
