Where have all the good jobs gone?

If you follow and believe the twitter conversations, it seems that the main reason for getting ISTQB certification is to pass the screening when applying for work. No ISTQB? No interview!
My personal experience has been that yes, on one or two occasions I’ve failed to be interviewed based on lack of certification. Rather than see this as a negative, I see this as a blessing. After all, if your idea of a tester is that narrow, then I’m probably not suited to your company. On occasion I’ve cited ‘NO CERT’! to justify why I can’t apply for a role. “I’m so sorry, I’m not ISTQB certified…” as I edge my way to the door.

I think it’s naive to rely on a certification as a means to getting work. Especially if you are a thoughtful and intelligent tester who cares about the quality of your work, and who wants to be taken seriously in the industry.

But forget about certification for one minute. Are you seriously willingly going to put your career into a strangers hand who then decides your fate by a keyword?  There are cleverer ways to play this game.

Have you not noticed that the way companies recruit is rapidly changing? To get a job that interests you, its not good enough to send in your resume or hold a silly piece of paper with a over ornate stamp on it. Those days are long gone. Now you need passion, you need to keep up to date with whats happening in your field, you need to be committed to keeping yourself relevant.

Our family has experienced this first hand when my husband was looking for work last year. He suddenly discovered at the ‘old age’ of 42 that he was unemployable. He is intelligent and personable(yes I am biased) with a first class degree in Electrical Engineering and he had made the assumption that good people always find work. But that’s not enough. Today, if you want a job that’s worthy of you, you need make sure you earn the companies respect.

This is not only based on my personal experience, I’ve spoken to many recruiters in the last few months, and all seem to have similar stories. Companies are more reluctant to use recruitment agencies to find their staff. They want recruiters who know and understand the specific skills they are seeking. I’m seeing recruiters leave the industry, or re-invent themselves as specialists in one field. Other ways the industry has changed is that many recruiting companies work for one company and are in effect the procurement arm of the company.

Of course, the testing industry has changed significantly too. Now that the major consultancies have successfully sold testing as a commodity, testing (or an excuse for testing) is being performed wherever people are cheapest. The adoption of Agile as a development process and its dependency on automation has also reduced the need for testers (though this is not necessarily a bad thing). The fact is, there are less testing jobs out there.

That doesn’t mean there are less quality testing jobs though. While its true that the crumbs from the table need to be shared among more, there is still plenty of meat and gravy at the table. The question is, have you earned a spot there? Here’s a fact. You are not going to earn a spot on this table with a certificate. The path to this table is through credibility and reputation.

My first bit of advice is if you want a worthy job, then you need to be worthy. Examine the work that you have done to date. Does it reflect your skill and perhaps more importantly, your ability? What about your attitude? Does your work reflect that of someone who is passionate and who loves testing? You don’t need rockstar status, but you do need to be an eager apprentice. If you have aspirations to get a great testing job, but you’re not prepared to put in the hard work, then why should you deserve a great role?

Here’s something I do that has proven to be very useful. When I start a new role, I ask myself two questions. The first is “If I leave, how do I want people to remember me”? and second is “what legacy do I want to leave behind me”? It may sound ruthless to think about an exit strategy when starting a role, but the reality is, NO job is permanent so why treat it as one?

So, you are now a worthy tester, the next step is to be able to demonstrate this worthiness and please, put away that tired old resume! I’m talking about blogging, and speaking and contributing to the testing community. Contributing to the community is a great way of meeting local and international people and you learn so much. Regarding speaking, this doesn’t have to be large conferences, there are plenty of small local meetups that offer you a space to speak. No tester meetups near you? Why not create one, or speak at a developer meetup.

Thirdly you need to network. I can’t emphasis this enough. This is where the jobs are. You need to consider two types of networking, local and online. Local is essential if you want to find work in your area. This means meeting people face to face at the local meetup. Yes, I know Masterchef is on a Tuesday night and this clashes with the meetup, but hey, do you want a great job or not? Online networking is important too because it allows you to connect with like minded people, plus its a great source of learning. Many jobs come from both online and local networks.

You also need to research. Find out the good companies, speak to people through your network (not agencies) about the ‘good places’ to work, and make a plan on how you are going to work there. Having an online presence helps a lot here, but so does face to face networking. And be patient, great jobs don’t just drop off trees and fall into your lap.

Yes, ultimately, these jobs don’t come easy. They require hard work, and a willingness to put yourself out there. It comes at a cost to your personal lifestyle. but hey! It’s all about choice. Great jobs are around, but its about seizing the day and making the opportunity instead of relying on an agent to do it for you. This is a good thing. Trust me. As I said at the start, why should you put your fate into someone’s hands?

The good news is more than ever before, companies who recognise and value their staff, who recognise and value quality testing, are recruiting in a grass roots way. If you want these types of jobs, it’s easier to get them.

Now maybe this all seems like too much work and you know? I can live with that! Seriously, it's your call. But don’t tell me that certificate is mandatory to work in testing, because it's not true. Many companies who ‘get’ testing will hire you without a cert. The question that is probably more pertinent is: “Do they want you?”

So get out there, work your butt off and then market your fabulous testing skills. If you stop putting your pearls before swine, one day that dream job will be yours!