INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Test Manager positions are at a much faster than average growth rate, which is 22%. With that said, there are currently 1,847,900 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 409,500 to 2,257,400 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Test Manager jobs was $110,140 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $65,210, and the highest 10% more than $170,100.
Our conclusion? The Test Manager job market is facing competition due to decreasing demand.
Top test manager sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
A Test Manager resume experience section to be proud of
Writing a strong experience section for your test manager resume:
- List your previous jobs in chronological or reverse-chronological format;
- Use no more than 4-6 bullets per position;
- Mention only relevant work experience;
- Describe the tasks you were responsible for and how you managed to exceed expectations;
- Show you’re able to take charge by choosing action verbs over buzzwords.
Looking for real-life examples of what a strong experience section looks like? Check out our suggestions below!
- Test Manager pour plusieurs produits de capture de documents et d'envoi d'ordres par fax: mise en place de stratégies de test, élaboration de cas de test techniques et fonctionnels avec les utilisateurs clés, planification et coordination des campagnes de tests utilisateurs UAT, rédaction de manuels utilisateur, tests d'infrastructure notamment disaster recovery
- Screening de profils Test Manager pour le département resourcing de Blue Infinity
- Chef de projet Technique pour la migration de l'outil de trading Kondor 3.4 : Coordination pour la migration technique : Solaris / Sybase / Env. Spécifique Perl/Java/Tomcat. Reprise par les équipes d'exploitation et de support N2/N3 transverse de la banque de la gestion de la plateforme. Mise en oeuvre des processus ITIL en vigueur à Pictet pour l'exploitation des services et la transition des services. Coordination pour la mise en place du monitoring applicatif, des jobs CtrlM, des alertes Patrol et des procédures de déblocage. Communication sur la nouvelle organisation auprès du métier et équipes IT.
- Developed End to End Program Test Strategy for PIM, MDM and Supply Chain Programs
- Co-created Testing Center of Excellence that increased the testing efficiency by 60%
- Increased the Test Process Standardization across the company that cut the cost by 75%
- Enhancing test quality and effectiveness by working with theDevelopment and Program Management to prevent problems andensure the products can be tested effectively.
- Regulating and coordinating testing processes and standardsacross multiple and simultaneous projects and departments, forvarious core banking and regulatory projects.
- Ensuring the Automated Release Process in the Bank.
- Regulating the Left Shift Automation for ensuring the fast track offunctionality in reaching the costumer.
- Manages global technical resources, including planning,estimating, and developing test cases in compliance with theestablished engineering process.
- Have been part of the Bank success in procuring the Bankinglicense with supporting the Audits of testing.
- Regulating the entire solutions on the Core Banking testing andensure the product is ready for GO Live.
- Building the test process from Scratch and Defect management.
- Key accountability included: analyzing technical specifications; developing comprehensive test strategies and plans; assembling and leading a Test Team; delivering project to rigorous deadlines; and ensuring minimal post implementation bugs.
- Monitoring and managing test project plans across functions providing resource estimates and establishing tasks and schedules; prioritising and delegating responsibilities to the team.
- Setting up the Automation Foundation for Digital Channels acrossJIOCLoud Apps.
- Developing and driving continuous improvement initiatives.
- Regulating the Implementation of the Left Shift Testing for all jio apps implementation of Kibana Dashboard for Automation Dashboard. Integration of CI for Android and iOS Jobs.
- Enhancing test quality and effectiveness by working with theDevelopment and Program Management to prevent problems andensure the products can be tested effectively.
- Regulating and coordinating testing processes and standardsacross multiple and simultaneous projects and departments, forvarious core banking and regulatory projects.
- Ensuring the Automated Release Process in the Bank.
- Regulating the Left Shift Automation for ensuring the fast track offunctionality in reaching the customer.
- Manages global technical resources, including planning,estimating, and developing test cases in compliance with theestablished engineering process.
- Have been part of the Bank success in procuring the Bankinglicense with supporting the Audits of testing.
- Regulating the entire solutions on the Core Banking testing andensure the product is ready for GO Live.
- Expert in Agile/Lean software delivery experience in executing agile and continuous delivery expertise.
- Implementing the Experience with Jira and Backlogs .
- Defined the Assemble Programme Test Strategy which covers all the phases of testing in a loosely coupled micro-services architecture.
- Defined Test and Quality principles and got all the teams to follow these principles and approach
- Defined Test Automation Framework which helps to achieve a single automation code repository across various QA teams i.e. SET, Integration testers, UAT resources
- Define ways of working with the Safe framework and convincing the senior management and got all the teams (product, Dev, QA) to adhere to predefined guidelines
- Defined CI/CD strategy (from a testing and QA viewpoint) and assisted in implementation
- Implemented a robust test governance model which looks after the day to day QA activities
- Implemented and on-shore/offshore testing model to enable round the clock testing and continuous delivery
- Took ownership of the RAID log from a testing perspective and either mitigated or escalated the risks to senior management
- Define a Programme Test Strategy and get all the projects to adhere to the strategy
- Define a Test framework with all the testing levels/cycles defined and agreed by the projects/work streams
- Reviewing and approving Test Plans from work streams for each of the testing cycle to ensure the defined test processes are followed
- Define a Test governance model which included detailed entry, exit criteria for each of the test phase as well as defined stage gates for every level of test progression
- Evaluated and suggested appropriate test management, functional automation, performance tool to meet the firm’s testing needs.
- Designed UAT cycles for the business users with a hour by hour execution plan to have minimal disruption for the users from their day to day tasks
- Trained the business users on the test management tool for UAT execution
- Chaired a SIT readiness meeting to ensure the Programme is running to defined timescales and to resolve any Risks and Issues raised by the work streams
- Defined a suite of end to end business processes (existing and to-be) for the firm and performed a successful System Integration testing cycle with all the projects/workstreams within the Programme
- Defined a Risk based testing approach model for business processes based on usage, cost, impact and Technical Risk
- Team Size: 23 + 125 Partner Resources
- Test Partner Governance, Test Budgets, Test Strategy
- Manage Shift Left Testing, Test Transformations
- Drive Strategic test tools, Cognitive Automation
- Managed the testing phase of data migration projects involving HR/Payroll and Backoffice applications.
- Collabarted with different business teams and business analysts in analysing the complex requirements.
- Designed and developed detailed test strategy for different projects implementing optimal testing methodologies.
- Analysed requirements and developed test plans,test scenarios, and test cases using risk based techniques.
- Developed detailed test schedule with different milestone with optimal timelines.
- Managed and governed team of 15 people in delivering transformation projects for Siebel, BRM, Fusion and pricing application
- Analyzed requirements using Tosca test design and developed test plans, test scenarios, and test cases to remove known redundancy by 40%
- Designed and created current automated test suite that covers 90% of regression use cases which decreased schedule by 30%
- Implemented automation for mobile network testing which reduced testing duration from 5 days to 6 hours using perfecto and Tosco software tools
- Spearheaded a high-impact digital mobile app transformation project which increased customer user experience by 15%
- Reduced 50% of performance defects in production by increasing coverage and implementing different performance test designs
- Successfully saved 18% of yearly license cost of various testing tools
- Successfully lead onshore/offshore teams in delivering diverse testing projects with 100% SLA’s met
- Reduced 50% of post implementation testing by creating 100% regression automation suites for portal applications
- Optimized the testing cost by 20% every quarter by increasing automation test coverage
- Designed and implemented performance framework for new Staffware application which increased the transaction processed per hour by 33%
- Governed and implemented performance gating strategy which resulted in zero defect leakage in production
- Lead 4 member team in implementing and governing theperformance testing of batch and downstream banking application
- Streamlined daily and weekly test status reports to management inoptimizing release decision process
- Successfully managed multi vendor environment across offshore and onshore location in meeting 100% key project KPI's
- Managed project delivery of digital and Non digital project using different testing methodology on schedule within budget and involved every phase of the software development and testing lifecycle
- Managed a team of 10 members both onshore and offshore which also included code, use cases and test cases work & review
- Created and increased automation coverage by 20% for digital application by using perfecto, Applitools and Tosca tools.
- Decreased defects rate by 15% performing root cause analysis and increased automation test coverage
- Managed the performance test lifecycle for new version of Siebel ,salesforce, BRM and fusion applications
- Managed impactful Samsung and iPhone mobile launches for the past 4 years working with different internal teams and collaborating with different vendors like AWS, Splunk and new relic
- Reduced year on year license cost by 15% for different tools by collaborating and negotiating with different vendors
- Managed 15-member testing team and responsible for hiring, training development and performance assessment
- Strategized with Client’s executive team to define project requirements, estimating the effort, timelines and cost to translate business objectives to tactical plans
- Managed and detected 10% of high severity performance defects during software and hardware upgrade for legacy application
- Reduced 50% of post implementation testing by creating regression automation suites for portal applications
- Lead 4 member team in implementing and governing the performance testing of batch and downstream banking application
- Managed multi vendor test support teams in onshore & offshore environment
- Managed deployment of data migration scripts in test environment and validation of the different banking systems
- Streamlined daily and weekly test status reports to management in optimizing decision making process
- Built cohesive test team who shared best practices, test responsibilities, and supported reuse of test cases.
- Coordinated test strategy development, project planning, scheduling,allocation of test engineers to programs.
- Ensuring test environment availability,generation of test reports, communication of test status, and networking to coordinate test activities.
- Consistently met project milestones for multiple simultaneous projects.
- Leveraged resources across multiple projects to do more with less.
- Coordinated with partners to document and assess acceptance criteria for 3rd party email solutions.
- Pushed for improvements in software development practices to increase software maturity prior to delivery to test team.
- Focused on employee growth to give test engineers visibility and accountability for their work. Recognized by managers for ability to get the most out of individuals.
- Greatly improved integration of test engineers with development teams resulting in a cohesive work environment.
- composing and managing a team of 4 testers and 2 test automation engineers
- Leading 32 members team for multi-country testing and deployment of "Nokia Life Tools" project
- Lead a 4 member offshore team for bill run executions and TC executions
- Led Defect Management and User Acceptance Testing activities for 5 projects, including 1 onshore project
- Aufbau und Führung eines Testteams von 6 Personen
- Definition, Steuerung und Reporting der Testprozesse von 5 Teilprojekten, Erstellen von Testkonzept und Teststrategien
- Erhebung von fachlichen Geschäftsprozessen, Abdeckung in Integrationstests an Schnittstellen von Webservices und Datenbanken
- Definition von Testdaten durch Bildung von Äquivalenzklassen
- Anwendung und Implementierung eines agilen Ansatzes von Anforderungserhebung zur Produktivstellung mit automatisierter Regression, Steuerung im Team durch Kanban
- Anbindung der IT-Infrastruktur der Kassen- und Rabattsysteme zweier Supermarkt-Betreiber an eine KI - Engine
- Planung und Durchführung von Systemintegrationstests
- Definition von Testdaten, Durchführung des Fehlermanagements
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your test manager resume
Recommended reads.":
Taking Control of Your Test Manager Resume’s Skills Section
A skills section that shows what you’re capable of includes:
- Keywords from the job advert to help you pass ATS;
- Both hard and soft skills, incl. technical skills and people skills;
- Skills that are relevant to the position you’re applying for;
- No more than 15 skills – to keep your resume readable.
Top skills for your test manager resume
Jira
HTML
Agile
CSS
Javascript
Manual Testing
Scrum
JMeter
Testrail
Attention to Details
Efficiency
Patience
Time management
Problem-solving
Ability to work on parallel streams
Written and verbal communication
Teamwork
Knowledge of quality standards
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Test manager resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your test manager resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Test Manager resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
A test manager resume summary that spotlights your achievements
Checklist: a strong test manager resume summary:
- Use adjectives that highlight the character traits you’re most proud of;
- Mention 1-2 of your biggest achievements;
- Add keywords from the job advert to increase your chances of passing ATS;
- Keep the recruiter’s attention by going for short sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
"Recommended reads:":
Creating an impressive education section for your test manager resume
The Education Section: Checklist
- List your degrees in reverse-chronological order;
- Include your degree subject, place of study, name of institution, and year of graduation;
- Add a line or two about your relevant certifications;
- Mention some classes and projects that have helped you gain additional skills.
Top certifications for your test manager resume
Certified ISTQB® Test Manager Advanced Level Exam (CTAL-TM)
An online course to get ready and practice questions for the ISTQB® Advanced Level Test Manager certification (CTAL-TM)
ISTQB Advance Test Manager 2022 + Sample Questions
Get certified with ISTQB Test Manager & add quality to your process and build a competitive profile.
Test Reporting - Know-How & Templates for Test Managers
Increase transparency with status reports, identify critical issues and execute counter measures during software testing
Test Papers: ISTQB Advanced Level Test Manager Certification
Crisp set of practice tests that will help in gaining confience by testing your knowledge for ceritification exam
Advanced level Test Manager : ISTQB Certification
The course that guarantees success for ISTQB certification exam for Advanced level Test Manager
Recommended Reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
A professional format for your test manager resume
There are some aspects worth taking into consideration when choosing the format of your Test Manager resume. These include the position and company you’re applying for, your total years of experience, whether you’ve been through some employment gaps, and so on.
Generally speaking, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that: all your jobs listed in a reverse-chronological way, starting from the most recent and moving backward. It’s great for highly experienced professionals with over 10 years in the industry behind their backs. The reason for this: it’s almost entirely focused on experience and achievements.
The functional skills-based resume format, on the other hand, is just the opposite. It’s based on your skills, personality, and expertise. It highlights what you’re capable of even when you don’t have sufficient work experience. This makes it great for students, recent graduates, or people with larger career gaps.
If neither of these sounds like you, go for the combination resume format. It’s a combination of the best characteristics of other formats, which makes it great for showcasing different aspects of your career and education. It also gives you plenty of options to choose from – in terms of colors, structure, and sections.
Check out our additional tips on perfecting your Test Manager resume’s style and layout:
- Choose traditional 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for a serif or sans serif resume font that’s easy to read yet looks professional (e.g. Arial, Verdana, or Calibri);
- Keep your Test Manager resume short: one-page template are preferable, but if you have over 10 years of experience, you can also go for a two-page format;
- Save your resume as PDF and choose a suitable name, e.g. NameSurnameResume;
Tired of looking for ways to make your resume stand out? Read this article!
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Additional sections for your test manager resume
After drafting the required sections of your Test Manager resume, it’s now time to move to something a bit more fun. There are a number of sections you can add to your resume depending on the company, the position, and how you’re feeling in general:
Adding the right kind of creativity to your test manager resume
It is through creativity that we express ourselves. And trust us, it’s important to show at least a bit of your personality if you want to leave a strong first impression.
But what are the ways to add creativity to your Test Manager resume? Well, you can either go for a colorful and engaging template, or you could add some out-of-the-box sections, such as ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my typical day looks like’.
It’s up to you! Just make sure that the level of creativity matches the position, the company, and the industry you’re applying for.
What makes a great test manager resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
