How to Write an Effective Quality Assurance Resume

By Indeed Editorial Team

Updated November 14, 2022

Published September 7, 2021

The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed's data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.

Many quality assurance (QA) professionals are responsible for closely evaluating products to ensure they're ready for customers to use. Employers typically search for candidates with advanced technical skills and industry knowledge. If you're writing a resume for a quality assurance professional, a clean and well-written one can capture the hiring manager's attention and help you stand out from other candidates. In this article, we cover what quality assurance is, review how to make a quality assurance resume, and feature a template and example.

What is quality assurance?

Quality assurance is the act of making sure a company's products and services properly reach their established requirements, standards, and guidelines. Many quality assurance professionals may closely examine a product or service to ensure it's functional, reliable, and exceeds customers' expectations. In addition, there are many quality assurance employees who may work in fields like technology, manufacturing or engineering to test products and take note of any updates or enhancements needed before it's released to customers.

How to create a quality assurance resume

Follow these steps to writing your quality assurance resume:

1. Select a layout

The style and order that you choose to feature your qualifications and credentials influence the resume you present. You can select from a wide variety of layouts, such as functional, combination, or chronological. If you have several years of experience, consider using a chronological format that highlights your background and job duties. A functional format is well-suited for those with little to no experience because it focuses more on your skills and features them at the top of the document. Finally, you can use a combination resume to have a strong mixture of experience and skills that you'd like to showcase.

2. List your contact information

In the top left-hand corner of your resume, include your contact information, such as your name, email address, phone number, and location. Contact information can make it easier for employers to reach you regarding the next steps of the hiring process. Consider bolding your name and featuring it in a larger font size than the rest of your contact information to help it stand out to hiring managers.

Related: The Best Fonts for Your Resume

3. Write a summary or objective statement

If you have professional experience in quality assurance, you can include a summary that briefly explains your background in this field in one to three sentences. For example, you can mention your qualifications, years of experience, or skills you used in the role. Try to make sure these details relate closely to the requirements and preferences listed on the position's job description. If you have little to no professional experience, you can include an objective statement, which details your career goals and what you hope to achieve in the role.

4. Detail your quality assurance experience

Include a work history section to detail your previous roles and the job duties of each. Write the job title you held, the company you worked at, the dates of your employment, and a list of job duties using bullet points. Describe the tasks you completed, any goals you met, accomplishments you achieved, and any other talents or capabilities that made you a valuable asset to the company.

5. Include relevant skills

In a separate skills section, feature strengths or abilities that you developed, grew, or used that help you perform more effectively as a quality assurance professional. Consider listing a mixture of both hard and soft skills. Hard skills are capabilities you've developed through education or training, while soft skills are talents you naturally hold. Skills that are beneficial for quality assurance professionals to possess typically include:

Organizational time-management abilities
Attention to detail
Problem-solving and critical thinking
Technical capabilities
Statistical analysis
Data-driven and analytical
Leadership skills

6. Feature your education

Include your education in its own section on your resume. For example, list the degree you earned, the school you graduated from, and the dates you attended. The level of education required typically depends on the type of quality assurance role you pursue. For instance, QA technicians who perform basic tests may need a high school diploma, while QA managers working with advanced software technology may need a bachelor's degree in engineering or computer science to conduct more complex tasks.

Tips for writing a QA resume

Use these tips to help you write an effective resume for someone working in quality assurance:

Proofread your resume closely

Before you submit your resume, try to take time to review it carefully to make sure it's easy for employers to understand and quickly review. A strong QA resume is often easy to scan for the necessary credentials and information related to the role. Review closely for any grammatical, spelling, or clarity errors. Consider asking a friend, family member, or colleague to read your resume and provide any notes to help you improve it. You can also read the resume out loud or print it to ensure the formatting looks clean and consistent.

Make your accomplishments measurable

In the work history section of your resume, make sure the job duties listed remain measurable by listing any numbers, statistics or data. These help your achievements look accurate and easy for employers to understand better how successful most of your efforts were in your previous role. In addition, mentioning measurable achievements tells hiring managers what you've accomplished in past positions and helps them picture what impressive tasks or projects you may complete for the company.

Feature keywords from the job description

Many hiring managers include keywords throughout a job description. These are words or phrases used to describe certain skills, capabilities or experiences employers search for in their ideal candidates. Review the job description to locate any keywords and feature these throughout your resume. Highlighting these keywords can make your resume stand out to hiring managers and shows them how your skills and abilities relate directly to their open position.

Consider listing any relevant hobbies, interests, or credentials

If you have additional space available on your resume, consider including any extra information that could pose you as a strong candidate for the role. For example, if you've earned any impressive technical certifications, list these in this section of the resume. In addition, consider including any hobbies or interests related to the role or describe who you are as an individual, like volunteer experience.

QA resume template

Refer to this template when creating your QA resume:

[Full name]
[City, State]
[Phone number]
[Email address]

Professional summary
[Craft one to three sentences that detail any experience, skills, or other professional highlights specific to the job you're applying to that make you stand out as a valuable candidate.]

Work history
[Job title you previously held]
[Company or organization that you worked for]
[City, State]
[Dates you served in this role]

[Relevant duty or accomplishment you achieved in the role]
[Relevant duty or accomplishment you achieved in the role]
[Relevant duty or accomplishment you achieved in the role]

Skills

[Relevant skill, strength, or ability]
[Relevant skill, strength, or ability]
[Relevant skill, strength, or ability]
[Relevant skill, strength, or ability]
[Relevant skill, strength, or ability]

Education
[Name of degree you earned at your previous institution]
[Name of school you attended]
[City, state]
[Dates you attended this institution]

QA resume example

Review this example when crafting your own to help you impress hiring managers:

Hannah Adams
Belleville, Ontario
555-555-5555
Hannah.Adams@email.com

Professional summary
Hardworking, driven, and motivated quality assurance tester with over three years of experience developing, testing, and enhancing software programs. Advanced background in improving software functionality, programming productivities, and code qualities for various technical products.

Work history
Quality assurance tester
Ontario Software Solutions
Belleville, Ontario
June 2018-present

Locate and report any issues, errors, and bugs within the software applications for managers to review and apply fixes
Use advanced attention to detail to detect potential fixes within tight deadlines to ensure all changes meet the standards of the company and its clients
Collaborate with development, sales, and engineering teams to apply updates and fixes to software products ready for release once a month to consumers