5 Tips for your First Day as a Test Engineer
Intro
As a software tester, you need to get acquainted with your work and know the basics. “The first day as a software tester is challenging. You have to get to grips with what is expected of you and how your role fits in. You may also be anxious about making mistakes or feeling inadequate.” It all happens, however, you need to relax. Understand that you need to understand the business in the next 30 days not in one day.
Tips for your first day as a software tester
-Get a good understanding of the product – write down what you’ve learned and make some notes about any questions that you have
-Read the documentation and API references for the product
-Keep an eye on Slack to see if there are any announcements that you need to know about
-If there’s anything in the project management tool that looks important, take a look
Know the job role from a software tester friend
- Know the job role from a software tester friend
- Talk to everyone around you (workers and managers)
- Get an understanding of the company values and culture
- Understand how your new team interacts with other groups and what their workflow looks like
- Ask questions and document everything
Spend 30 days to make yourself familiar with the role
Before you start your first day on the job as a software tester, you should spend 30 days learning about the different aspects of your new role. You can review your work scope and what to expect on this blog for more information. Take the time to understand your software testing career path.
Spend at least 30 days (or more if needed) to consider which software testing career path is best for you. You can read about different skills required in software testing, learn from job descriptions and look through job postings on websites like Indeed, Monster and LinkedIn for more information. Don’t ask about a salary yet!
A general rule that I use for all interviews is don ’t bring up salary during the first few interviews. If they ask, tell them that you would like to know more about what the role is and how it aligns with your career goals (be honest) then you are open to discuss compensation.
Ask many questions on your first day
It can be intimidating to start a new job, but the best thing you can do is to make sure you ask questions. Ask your boss for a meeting and ask about his or her goals for the company. Ask your coworkers what they do and what their roles are at work. You should also talk to HR because they probably have some helpful information, like who to talk to if you need help with benefits.
Learn the new tools
You will have to learn how to use many new tools, including tools like Jira, TeamCity, and Selenium WebDriver. It’s best to start by learning a few at a time and then learning the rest when you need them. You can always research these tools online or ask your manager for help.
Conclusion
The most important thing to remember is to remain confident. Even if you feel like you’ve never done this before, do your best and try to stay calm. If you’re happy with your performance, the company will be happy too―and hopefully this means that they’ll want to keep you on as a permanent employee!
