When attending a manual testing interview, a common question after your introduction is: “Can you explain your roles and responsibilities in your previous role?” The interviewer asks this to assess your experience, skills, and suitability for the new position.
It’s important to answer clearly and concisely. Keep your explanation high-level and avoid overly technical language unless asked. Highlight your daily tasks, testing processes, tools used, and interaction within your agile team.
Sample Answer
If you have 0-5 years of QA testing experience and know tools like Jira, SQL, and agile processes, consider the following structured response:
In my previous role, I was a QA Analyst. My main tasks included analyzing customer requirements, creating test cases, and executing tests.
We followed the agile methodology. I participated in user story refinement and sprint planning. Our sprints lasted two weeks. We selected user stories based on team capacity and effort estimation.
At the start of each sprint, the test lead assigned stories to QA analysts. Larger user stories often required collaboration with multiple developers and QA members. My daily tasks involved analyzing user stories, creating test scenarios, and writing test cases based on acceptance criteria. We documented test cases using Zephyr, a Jira plugin.
I submitted test cases for review to our Business Analyst and Test Manager. After receiving feedback, I updated and resubmitted the test cases for approval. Once approved, I prepared test data using SQL databases.
When the build was available for testing, I executed test cases step-by-step and documented test evidence. If defects were found, I logged them in Jira with clear reproduction steps and severity. I worked closely with developers to resolve issues. Once all tests were completed without major defects, I marked the user story as ‘Done.’
This explanation clearly outlines your manual testing responsibilities, your familiarity with agile methods, and proficiency with common tools like Jira and SQL.