Todayās task is focused on marketing yourself as a software tester. Your visibility and presentation can greatly impact your career prospects and opportunities. We have a short useful video from @mirza on āHow to Market Yourself Better as a Software Testerā that provides valuable tips on creating an impressive online portfolio.
Task 19:
Watch the video: Start by watching the five-minute āHow to Market Yourself Better as a Software Testerā video. It delves into the significance of having an online portfolio as a software tester and offers practical advice on making it stand out. Youāll learn about showcasing your work, increasing your online visibility, and demonstrating your enthusiasm for learning.
Reflect on your own tip: After watching the video, take some time to reflect on your personal experiences and insights. Think about a specific tip or technique that you believe can enhance a software testerās online portfolio or other personal brand marketing strategies (e.g. social media, personal blog or content creation etc.). It could be something you have implemented successfully or a new idea youāve yet to try but want to share.
Share your tip: Reply to this post and share your own tip. Mention the key point or action steps, and explain why you find or think itās effective or valuable. Feel free to draw inspiration from the video or your own experiences. Remember, your tip can benefit others in the software testing community and help them market themselves better.
Engage with the community: Read and engage with other participantsā tips and insights. Comment on or like posts which are useful. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from each other, exchange ideas, and expand your knowledge.
By participating in this task, youāll gain practical knowledge on marketing yourself as a software tester and contribute to the growth of the community. So grab a cup of coffee, watch the video, and letās share our valuable tips together!
One of my goals for the Summer is to create a portfolio website. Iāve read and watched a lot of content on the subject, but this presentation was the first to discuss SEO and accessibility, which is great.
My tip would be to make use of MoT. There are multiple opportunities to flesh out your portfolio using the tools in the community. You can blog with the monthly blog group, submit an article for publication, volunteer to host an event or speak at TestBash, or take a pro course and use what youāve learned to create a testing project.
I donāt have a personal online portfolio (although I do have a domain), but what has worked for me is some activity on LinkedIn. I donāt have enough space to create regular content, but I have started to follow some interesting people in the industry. I ālikeā their content when I really like it and post a comment when I have something to say. This has led to some interesting discussions and I have added some really interesting people to my network (and also make myself more visible). It just happened naturally without me pushing too hard, which is the way I like it.
I also have a board game in mind about testing, so if I ever finish it I could do some meetups around it. But thatās more of a dream than a tipš
Iām impressed by our peers who can not only get a website started but keep up the fresh content on their sites too - some of the articles can be really inspiring but I am pretty sure I wonāt ever have a site of my own, unless something within my own context shifts significantly.
Iām going to give Ministry of Testing some love here - MoT has been a fabulous accessory to my career, in some obvious and more subtle ways:
In 2013 Iād moved back to UK after 10 years away, I went to a Software Testing Club meetup upstairs in a small Brighton pub - everyone was so friendly and so passionate about the Testing / tech world
I later hired one of the people there that day, and we still work together now
TestBash - the events (in-person or online) are fantastic, they are so well organised but thereās so much love and fun too; if you can get to an in-person event like TestBash UK, they are just wonderful
Career skill - asking my senior bosses for X tickets for my staff to attend various TestBash events has offered good practice in āsellingā the value and how to positively influence people - a valuable soft skill
99 Second Talks at TestBash might be nervy to some of us for a few seconds but it is such a buzz, and in such a safe, supportive and inclusive space - definitely recommend these, especially to anyone reluctant but keen to try speaking in front of a crowd
I have paid for my own Pro licence, as a way of supporting and thanking MoT but also itās a commitment to my own career, wherever I may work
I could go on ā¦
As a note to self, I am trying to improve my own regular usage of this MoT site., including contributions of my own. Iām kickstarting this by contributing to the 30 Days of Career Growth (good timing!) as often as I can, and Iām currently doing three MoT courses alongside some colleagues, so maybe Iāll write about that soon ā¦ thatās a small sign of commitment, right there
I have my own portfolio, and I try to write blogs at times if I get the time. I am engaged with 2 communities internationally and locally 1 in my country, I try to share what I learn and learn from the community as well. I even took a basic QA session at live as well. I am trying to contribute to the community this is helping me to market myself, get connected with more QA around the world, understand how testing is happening around the world.
I would think that the most important thing (at least in my book) is to show your personality through the things that you have tied into your professional online presence.
However, one thing that I would caution is that you should keep your online personal personae (Youtube channels that are not related to testing, blogs that are more personal, Twitch channels that are only gaming related, Twitter accounts with acerbic themes or questionable humor/language, etc) separate from your online professional personae (unless you feel it is integral to the employment positions that you are seeking).
That being said, it is still important to make sure to have some of your personality appear within that professional space. It shows that you area easier to work with, have creative ideas, and have the follow up skills to complete tasks; You have the intangibles that make someone a great co-worker/employee.
Very interesting. for me, Iām a bit far from creating my online portfolio, but after watching this video it will be one of my goals to be accomplished this year.
I am the kind of person who is really bad at showing up and marketing myself, I think this is one of my biggest weaknesses which Iāll try to overcome as soon as possible.
Itās always tough for me to find the time. Itās 50% procrastination, 30% work fatigue, and 20% poor time management (I always have 2-3 projects for others that get in the way of my own.)
Very interesting. I have my personal cv site in which iām planning to upgraded during next month. Iāll also have under consideration the tips that this topicās video prompted.
