A look at the interview process of a novice QA-specialist

Instead of intro

First of all, I would like to note that QA and testing in Russia are quite close and there is very little difference between them, which is why I summarized these terms.
In this article I would like to share common points of the interview process, both from the interviewee and from the interviewer. Here is a glance from two sides at once. I would also like to make a special emphasis on the technical side of this process, since, as a rule, it is she who is decisive when choosing a candidate. I liked this topic, so I would like to add something and bring it to the side of QA.
I want to note right away that these are only personal observations and I just wish the review process would be more understandable to both parties. Everywhere has its own specifics, but still you can highlight some points. Everything further can be attributed to a beginner or already experienced specialist, but not to an expert.

What did you do?

In most cases, the first question becomes the following phrase: “What are you doing now?”, And, optionally, “Why do you want to change jobs?”. Here I advise you just to tell theses, without trying to surprise, your usual working day. Remember, do not try to "kill" your knowledge, and the more clever abbreviations. People sitting across from you could work in your current (former) company. Tell the process by which you work, the preparation of test plans, testing, verification, etc. It is especially good if you say exactly what role you play in improving the quality of the product, and how exactly you helped to make the process more efficient.

Technical knowledge

As already described at the beginning, it is this knowledge that plays a crucial role in the process of passing the interview. And then immediately a “voice from the audience”: “What if the person is actually smart and capable, but he was not allowed to turn around and do nothing? He is good, he will learn everything! ” Yes, of course this is always the case, a lot of different factors may not be taken into account in the process of assessing technical knowledge, but you need to follow one simple rule - if a person, working for 2-3 years, for example, testing firewall systems, does not know what TCP traffic is different from UDP traffic, arguing that “Yes, it wasn’t interesting”, it’s “alarming”
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Depending on the company, current project, position, area of ​​questions may vary, but still, let's say, pillars that are asked in 80% of cases. So, here they are:

SQL

Here the minimum should be a request of the following form:
Select * from my_table where id=2;
Yes, for someone it's all nonsense, for others it is a set of letters. Here it is worth considering only one moment, if a person did not need SQL for active use, then it makes no sense to drive it through JOINs and CONCATs or something like functions. Here I think, or rather I would very much like to hear the phrase: “Google.”
+ There will be if a person correctly calls all the proposed commands, names and main differences of alternative databases, and also does not think too long for an answer, even if he doesn’t know it, but will simply begin to reason.

Linux

Accordingly, it is still worse. There may be more questions, and with Linux, unfortunately, a very small percentage of the “people” work at home, so here are some frequent questions that may be asked to you.
Explain the command:
ls -la | grep *.doc >> 1.log
From left to right. It may seem simple to the horror simple, but nevertheless, the question-hoof: "And what is the difference between one sign> two >>" can lead a person into a stupor.
+ Describe the whole team, find a better solution. Know about the main differences between Linux and Windows operating systems. Privileges, groups, file operations all come as a big plus. The knowledge of ABS is generally super, because not many people really know it well.

Network

The basic principles of the process "How it all happens." GET, POST, HTTP, FTP, SMTP - these terrible abbreviations should not scare you.
+ Know how DNS, ARP, NAT, DHCP works. Have experience setting “something” in a “combat situation”, for example at home. It simply shows that you are not afraid of problems and can use the documentation.

Programming

This is the most sensitive issue. It is extremely rare, but rather very rarely, it happens that a person who knows programming well works in QA. Here we need basic knowledge of any programming language. Knowledge of cycles, recursion, OOP. In general, the more the better, even HTML and XML, this is already an indication that you can work directly with the code. For QA, "involved" in automation, but mostly it is Python, JS, Java, the knowledge of the syntax is very desirable, and the experience of writing your own scripts / programs is very welcome.
+ Clear knowledge of the differences between OOP and functional languages. Experience in the development / support of automated tests.

Testing

Here you can talk long and stupidly, unfortunately.
Testing an elevator, a pen, an airplane is a complete banality, especially when you have already worked with various methods, levels, and models of testing. Here one of the best examples that I came across was testing the authorization form. In itself, the task is as follows:
You have a login, password, checkbox, button:

In fact, everything is simple here, but you need to test the system for “endurance”, etc. The most important thing is to describe the testing from two sides. Testing as a user - you have a mouse, browser, keyboard. Testing with a script (special tools) - sending 1000+ requests in a row, entering very large values, etc. The main thing is to be able to understand which of the approaches can be applied here. It is also worth noting that testing "boxes" here also has a place to be.

English

It’s so established that English is recognized as an international standard. In this case, the role played by the company the employer and its specific process. I think the best measure of the English language is the ability to translate 80-90% of the text into Russian, and to tell, for example, about your usual working day in English. Accordingly, it is not necessary to depict a ridiculous accent and think about each word for 5 minutes. As simple and clear as possible, this is the ability to speak English (IMHO).

Questions on logic

I think all of you know that solving such problems is a big plus for you. So to say, your mask of experience and knowledge is removed and the very algorithm that the employer essentially needs is left. I myself do not really see any sense in logical tasks, especially after a good technical interview, but nevertheless ...
Here are the frequent types of tasks:

• On the flip of two coins, the probability of the fall of one of them down the nut.
• Moronic! Tasks for transfusions, welcome to school.
• Geometric problems.
• Tasks on the number of steps to perform operations: balls, buckets, boats.

Here it is worth remembering that the best will be to show the train of thought, voice and state your every logical step.

Personal qualities

You should always ask, well, or tell about your hobbies, interests, pastime. I would like to highlight the desire of the candidate to grow and develop, both professionally and personally. Ask about the desire to learn languages, both verbal and programming. A good specialist, again my humble opinion, should always strive to learn new technologies and to improve existing knowledge. You may also be asked questions that require your choice: Colleagues or work, Career or honesty, etc. Here I think there is no right answer ...

“Do you have questions for us?”

It's simple. If you think the interview was good, ask about the process, prospects, team, bonuses, the possibility of business trips. Just do not ask too much, All the necessary information you can get on the official website of the organization. Ask about medical insurance, in “small” companies you will learn a lot of “pitfalls”, but it will be too late. Be sure to ask about the schedule. It should suit you, ask about “overtime”, whether they are often, for what reason, how they are paid. If you are sure that you had a bad interview, be sure to ask what you need to know in which direction to go, which areas of knowledge are the least strong from you and what you need to work in this organization. The last, I am sure, the most important, since it is this that gives you the necessary impetus to move forward.

A separate moment here are human, but rather emotional moments. So, for example, you can be “forced” to wait from 20-30 minutes, then come, and, without apologizing, start a conversation. Again, this conversation may have an initially negative “shade”. Also, they can insult both you and your knowledge in person. In these cases, the stress tolerance of a person is checked, because at this very moment, one can try to look “under the mask” of the interviewee. In my experience, I tried to keep from such companies as far as possible. Here the company is in a less attractive position, because it is she who needs to hire the most qualified personnel, but for some reason they often forget about this.

Thanks for attention. I hope this topic will change, at least a little, review processes in some companies. I apologize for the errors.