Here is my dilemma, I have 25 years work experience. The first 15 years are in an Account Management type roll, so more sales oriented and nothing to do with tech. The last 10 years are in Software QA roles.
Should my resume show both of these in detail if I am applying to QA roles? I have been given mixed opinions for various reasons. Wanting to hear more input on this topic.
I am also debating whether to break up my QA roles into my two titles that I held. Software QA (7 years) and Senior Software QA (2.5 years) at the same company.
I also have many other resume related questions (first time drawing one up in 25 years) so if any of you are expert resume writers I am all ears!
YES! Domain expertise always matters. You never know when that will tip the scales in your favor. Specifically “Sales tech” is a growing thing. Look up some jobs like “Sales Engineer” and see what I mean.
But I would suggest maybe summarizing that section of the resume a bit more. Like grouping those AM roles and experiences into a single entry that notes accomplishments during those various tenures.
You know the role of an account manager and what they do. Leaving that experience off the resume eliminates any opportunity for a hiring manager to see that and say “Heeeyyyyy. We need a QA person who also knows account management…”
My upfront statement is “there are many non-traditional paths to a career in software testing.” You are another one of those candidates where that statement applies.
I want to reinforce the idea that was expressed regarding knowledge of a business domain - it’s VERY important to understanding you as a candidate. Any person that is making hiring decisions for CRM/SalesForce related testing should see you as a candidate that must be interviewed, even identified as a preferred or candidate to focus on in a screening process. And that’s just the beginning of where there could be a fit based on your two different-but-valuable-career stops through the present.
I’m a baby in testing (just over 2 years in now), so take my comments with a grain of salt, but I’ve found my past non-IT background skills - specifically Subject Matter Expert and Escalations roles - have been pivotal in the success I’ve had so far.
Think about it. Being good at sales and Account Management requires you to be very in-tune with what your client needs - both now and in the future. How is that not directly transferrable to doing good testing, where you can think beyond a page of requirements and get deeper into what a new feature should actually be doing for the end-user?
Not to mention stakeholder-engagement… sales gets you comfortable talking to just about anyone about anything, and clearly communicating when doing so (both speaking, and more importantly, listening).
I think you should absolutely keep that experience on your resume, as it’s almost entirely transferable. The only thing I would suggest is to review the contents of those sections and rework it to be more “relevant” to working on a software project, if that makes sense.
Yes, I totally agree with this. It may be a non-technical experience, but it has certainly changed you, your mindset, your way of thinking. Try to point out these things because they are always transferable.
You can leave it in if there’s space I’d say! Mine didn’t have space any more for my marketing roles so I cut them out - otherwise I wouldn’t have I think
I started off as a Midwife, so there are transferable skills that I call out on my CV. I would say the cv should be catered based on what role you are applying for anyway, otherwise the CV would be huge. I Went into tech self taught and now have progressed to Staff Quality Engineer atm, but also held Test Manager, Test Lead, Programme Test Manager titles/experience also.
If you apply for a testing role within a similar field to your first 15 years then thats when to highlight this even more.
Having been on the side of hiring QA staff, I would encourage you to break out your experience w/qa into the two titles as you have been considering. Having that within the same company should give the reader some confidence in your skills. I also agree w/what others have said about how having domain knowledge is very valuable but keep it minimal when listing accomplishments or transferable skills. Off the top of my head, the only possible reason it could be a barrier to an interview might have to do with a company/hiring mgr being concerned about what salary you might expect. But with your qa history I would have reached out for an initial phone screening. That is just my two cents. I’m no resume expert so I can’t offer you any coaching. Good luck!
Your resume is supposed to tell your testing story. It’s supposed to help the reader understand your experience and how it relates to the job you’re applying for.
Given this, if you can tell the story of how that account management role helps / relates to your experience in testing, then leave it in. If not, you can add a line about inquiring for additional work experience. This way people know to ask about your work experience.
As a hiring manager I don’t like to read long resumes because they make it harder to understand that story. I write about this in Hiring more Software Testers, an Analysis.
Regarding the titles / bump from mid level to senior level. Yes I’d mention it. Again it helps to tell a story about your experience in testing.
Contrary to that I love detailed lengthy resumes. I like knowing as much as I can about the experiences, achievements and tech people have worked with. I want to go into an interview having more curiosity about that person and how they might fit in the role than I can cover in the allotted time.
Also - and this is vaguely off-topic; show off those “gaps” in employment! enter it like any other job and describe the things you did! You have no idea what transferrable skills are lurking in those “gaps” you are being shy about!
One of the best presentations of this was from a young woman who had a two year gap in which she took time to become a mother and to care for a parent. She described the skills she had to learn and the management activities she had to engage with. It demonstrated a high level of organization, learning and priority management. It opened the conversation (while being mindful of EOE considerations) to discuss those skills and how she might approach a shift back into IT professional work and catching up on changes in the profession. In the end she didnt fit my team but I knew there was another about to open on another where she would be a good fit. I presented that to HR and that teams hiring manager. That role never even got presented publicly because she fit right in and was a great hire
