A QA Tester finds bugs before real users do. Day-to-day work involves writing test cases, running manual and automated tests, logging defects in tools like Jira, and working closely with developers to get issues fixed before release. Most roles sit inside software companies, agencies, or in-house tech teams at banks, retailers, and insurers. You typically report to a QA Lead or Engineering Manager and spend a good chunk of each sprint reviewing requirements, testing new features, and regression-testing what already exists.
Peter Whitmore
QA Engineer
📍 London, UK✉️ peter.whitmore@email.com
Summary
Detail-oriented QA Engineer with 5 years of experience in fintech. Expert in test automation, CI/CD quality gates, and preventing critical defects from reaching production.
Work Experience
Senior QA Engineer at RevolutJun 2021 — Present
Design and maintain automated test suites covering 2,000+ test cases across web and mobile platforms
Reduced regression testing time from 8 hours to 45 minutes through Selenium and Cypress automation
QA Engineer at WiseJan 2019 — May 2021
Built API testing framework using Postman and RestAssured covering 300+ endpoints
Conducted performance testing using JMeter identifying bottlenecks under 10K concurrent user load
QA Engineer CVs need to demonstrate both testing depth and business impact. Recruiters want to see automation coverage, bug detection rates, and CI/CD integration experience.
Key Skills to Include
Test automation (Selenium, Cypress), API testing (Postman), test planning, JIRA, regression testing, performance testing (JMeter), CI/CD integration, and BDD frameworks.
Common Mistakes
Describing manual testing without showing automation skills. Modern QA is heavily automated. Show your time savings from automation.
Formatting Tips
One to two pages. Include a Testing Tools section prominently. Quantify test coverage, bugs found, and time savings.
Average Salary — QA Engineer / Tester
United States
$65,000 – $95,000
United Kingdom
$40,000 – $58,000
Germany
$42,000 – $62,000
UAE / Dubai
$45,000 – $68,000
Canada
$55,000 – $80,000
Australia
$60,000 – $85,000
Figures in USD. Ranges reflect mid-level experience (3–7 years). Senior roles and major metro areas typically sit at the top of these bands.
Top 5 Interview Questions — QA Engineer / Tester
1Walk me through how you would test a login form.
Cover happy path, edge cases (empty fields, wrong password, SQL injection, max character length), and accessibility. Show you think beyond "does it work" to "how can it break".
2What is the difference between regression testing and smoke testing?
Smoke testing checks that the build is stable enough to test at all. Regression testing verifies that existing functionality hasn't broken after new changes. Be ready to give a real example of each.
3Tell me about a bug you found that others had missed.
Pick a specific example that shows your thoroughness. Describe how you found it, the impact it would have had in production, and how you communicated it to the team.
4How do you decide what to automate versus test manually?
Talk about stability, frequency of execution, and ROI. High-frequency regression tests with stable requirements are good automation candidates. Exploratory and one-off tests usually stay manual.
5Describe a time you had to push back on releasing a feature due to quality concerns.
Show professionalism and data-driven thinking. Explain how you quantified the risk, who you escalated to, and what the outcome was.
How to Tailor Your CV
Capgemini, Infosys, and Lloyds Banking Group hire QA testers at scale and want to see ISTQB certification, Jira, and Selenium on your CV. Product companies like Booking.com and Revolut care more about your automation skills and experience with CI/CD pipelines. Agencies want breadth — show you've tested across multiple platforms, languages, and project types to stand out.