Summary

The article discusses common pitfalls in QA interviews, emphasizing the importance of honesty on resumes, preparation to discuss past experiences, adherence to basic interview etiquette, and a positive approach to handling unknown questions.

Abstract

The article "What NOT to Say in the QA Interview" outlines critical mistakes that can lead to failure in QA job interviews, despite passing the coding challenge. It stresses the importance of not lying on resumes about technical skills and the necessity of being able to discuss them in-depth. Candidates are advised to mentally prepare by reviewing past projects and achievements to effectively communicate their experience. The article also warns against violating common sense interview rules, such as speaking negatively about previous workplaces or colleagues. Additionally, it highlights the significance of demonstrating resilience and a willingness to learn when faced with questions about unfamiliar technologies, suggesting that this can be seen as a positive trait by interviewers.

Opinions

The author advocates for embellishing achievements on a resume but cautions against including technologies or skills one cannot discuss or has no experience with.
Interviewees should expect to be questioned about any technology or skill listed on their resume and should be prepared to provide specific examples from their work history.
Not following common sense interview rules, such as refraining from speaking poorly of past work experiences or colleagues, can lead to cultural misalignment and potential rejection.
Giving up when faced with a question about an unfamiliar topic is seen as a negative, suggesting a lack of problem-solving skills and an inability to handle challenges independently.
The author believes that showing a genuine interest in learning and adapting to new technologies during an interview can compensate for initial gaps in knowledge and may even be favorable.

What NOT to Say in the QA Interview

Over the past year, I’ve published several articles about how to prepare technically for QA interviews and I have been enamored with the amount of readers who had a positive reception of my suggestions.

This year interviewing has been tougher than ever before. The number of open positions are low and the positions that are open are frequently for senior candidates only.

When an interview invitation comes along, it seems like a miracle!

However, as someone who has been interviewing QA candidates during these trying times, you would be surprised how many candidates fail the interview for reasons that aren’t due to the coding challenge.

I have seen many candidates pass the coding challenge, but fail the cultural and technical portions of the interview.

For the candidates failing the technical and cultural interview sections, I have noticed these common issues…

Lying on your Resume

Don’t get me wrong on this one!! I will always advocate for over-embellishing your achievements and responsibilities in prior positions!

However, do not put a technology, tool, or skill on your resume that you cannot talk about, even if it is a lie!

— What I mean is, if you are fluffing up your resume to land the interview, make sure to research online everything you ‘claim’ to have experience in that you put on your resume.

Often times you have been selected for the interview because of something on your resume. EXPECT TO BE ASKED ABOUT IT!

It is extremely awkward during the interview when asking what project you used ‘A’ or ‘B’ technologies on and getting the ‘oh shit’ face followed by either a non-answer or an obvious hastily made up lie.

Again, I’m not advocating against resume fluffing, but make sure you at least google what you list on your resume and mentally prepare yourself to discuss it.

Not Mentally Preparing to Speak About Past Experience

It always surprises me how many people can successfully introduce themselves, give a brief overview of their past work experience, but are unable to discuss anything specific.

During the interview, if you can recite all the positions you’ve held, you’ve provided us with no new information that we did not already gather from your resume.

I always advise people to prepare for interviews by taking 30 minutes — 1 hour reviewing your past experience in your head.

You should mentally walk through each position you held in your career and try to recall each project you worked on. As a bonus, try and recall any achievements or wins you had in that position.

The interview is your opportunity to talk yourself up.

Prepare to be asked about projects you worked on.

Even if you aren’t asked about projects you worked on, when answering technical questions you can add context to your answer — including context shows that you not only know the answer, but have successful work experience in the technology in question.

When candidates haven’t mentally prepared themselves to discuss details of their prior experience, what often occurs is the candidate gets panicked and can only think of one project on the spot and refers to that single project for all their answers.

If you’ve got a lot of experience and can only recall/talk about one project specifically, doubt arises when it comes to your actual work experience.

Not Adhering to Common Sense Interview ‘Do No Dos’ Rules

This is not specific to QA, but not following the common sense interview rules can definitely get you rejected in the cultural interviews.

For example, do not speak badly about anyone in the interview!

We’ve all been there; we’ve all had bad managers, work environments, teammates, but in an interview we can’t judge WHO is in the wrong from your story. We’ve only heard your side!

As an interviewer, we will definitely sit and listen to your rant about your workplace, but remember you are wasting the limited interview time.

Instead, you could be killing this interview by talking about your work and skills — that is much more likely to land you the job.

Giving Up When You Don’t Know the Answer

Giving up is definitely going to end your chances of landing the job.

In your career, you most definitely will have an interview where you don’t know the answer to a question. This is inevitable.

We can’t possibly know everything, but how you handle not knowing sends a message to the interviewer.

If you give up, they now know you will need hand holding on the job, which may be acceptable for a junior position.

Not knowing the answer to a question is an opportunity — it is the opportunity to show your resilience and desire to improve.

An ideal response might be, “I’m not sure I have run into A technology in my career. If I had to guess, it sounds like it may be similar to B technology that I’ve worked with. Can you tell me more about A? Am I correct in thinking it is similar to B?”

After they reply, make sure to ask a detailed question about something specific they said.

You don’t know how many times I’ve heard hiring managers say something like, “Well, they didn’t know about A, but I really liked how eager they were to learn about it. It seems like they are a fast learner and would pick A up quick. Let’s move them to the next round.”

These are just some of the reasons for rejections I’ve seen in recent interviews. I hope these suggestions reach those who need them. Please drop any questions in the comments and I will try to post more!