The application process
What is the application process like?
Our process is different – no CVs, cover letter or awkward assessment centres are required.
It has been designed for you to get a glimpse into the world of a technology company – allowing you to understand what kind of situations you may be faced with as a tech specialist. We’ll get to know you better in the process and gauge whether your strengths, interests and motivations will be a good fit for the QA Talent programme.
Check out our video to learn more:
- It starts with a short application form on our website where you’ll be asked to fill in a few basic details (name, surname, email address, phone number).
- First, you will arrive on the portal homepage for the strengths assessment. You should go through each panel in turn and think about the scenarios you are presented with before answering the questions. It will take around 60 to 90 minutes to complete.
- If your strengths are a match, then we will ask you some questions to determine your coding potential.
- If your coding potential strength is a match, a QA career adviser will be in touch to schedule a telephone discussion. This is your chance to ask questions about the programme.
- Last up is a video interview – where you’ll get a chance to ‘meet’ a member of our team and talk about what motivates you face-to-face. They will talk to you about your strengths portal experience and discuss how you are likely to handle certain situations in the programme.
What is the strengths assessment?
The strengths assessment goes through scenarios that a tech specialist may face to give you insight into what the job is like. You’ll be asked questions about the scenario and how you would feel or respond to that situation to see if it’s something you would enjoy. The assessment looks at what motivates you, what you are passionate about and how you handle certain situations. Answer as honestly as you can because there aren’t any wrong answers - we simply want to get to know you.
The assessment will take around 60 to 90 minutes to complete and you should try to do it all in one go. You’ll then be emailed a feedback report – which is yours to keep and refer back to. The feedback report is a personal profile all about you! It lists your key strengths and identifies areas for development – giving you tips on how to improve in future.
What is the coding potential assessment?
This step identifies your coding potential which shows us your technical aptitude for the role. As with the strengths assessment, try to complete this in one sitting. Once it’s completed, you’ll receive an email with the outcome and next steps.
Onboarding
Do I need to provide references prior to joining QA Talent?
When starting with QA you will be asked to complete a number of onboarding forms. One section will ask you to provide 5 years' reference history.
We must obtain 5 years of references for security clearance, so it is very important that you provide these details at this stage. If your employment or academic references do not cover 5 years, we can accept Job Seeker’s Allowance letters. If you have any gaps longer than 3 months that you cannot cover with references or job seekers allowance, we will request a personal reference. A personal reference must be someone that has known you for 10 years and is not related to you.
All references must have a professional email address as we cannot accept any from generic accounts such as Yahoo or Hotmail accounts.
Training
Can I choose which technology route I go down?
Your technology route will be dependent on what customer opportunities we currently have. This is so we can get you real-world work experience as quickly as possible. We encourage you to keep up-skilling your technology expertise and will support you throughout your career with us.
Where will the training be?
All our training is currently delivered virtually.
What are the working hours during training?
Your usual hours will be 9am – 5.30pm weekdays with an hour lunch break. Any changes to these typical hours will be agreed with you in advance.
Can I have days off during training?
We suggest that you do not take any time off during training. We must cover a lot of content during the short period of time that you are with us and if you take a number of days off it is unlikely you will be able to catch up on the work you have missed.
We do, however, appreciate that unforeseen events do arise, so we allow you to take up to three days of authorised absence.
Is the training paid?
You will receive a monthly bursary to help and support you during the first 5 weeks of training, after successful completion of your initial training (5 weeks) you will be offered a permanent contract.
What support do I receive during training?
You'll have support throughout your training from our subject matter experts. Once you have secured a role with our end customers, you will have a dedicated Technical Manager to support your journey through the customer site.
How many assessments/exams will I have while training?
The number of assessments and exams during training is entirely dependent on your training pathway. Within the QA Talent programme, most of the modules have some form of assessment at the end of the training – whether it’s individual or group-based – to evaluate your knowledge and understanding. Most of these assessments are in-house assessments, but there are some modules that have official accreditations that you are required to obtain.
What do those assessments consist/measure progress of?
The assessments will encapsulate the majority of the content covered within that training module. For example, the assessment for a Databases module will discuss some form of domain or requirement set that is to be completed with all knowledge gained in the Databases module. The primary measure of your understanding will be an assessment of your solutions fit for purpose, against the specified requirements and the quality of your submission.
What certifications will I get?
Certifications are entirely dependent on the training pathway. It is important to note that some training pathways may not have a relevant certification to earn; this could be down to the level of certification or the technology not offering official accreditation.
Post training
When will I know my end customer?
Typically, you will be made aware of customers that you have been aligned with towards the end of training. This is because the specialisation training that you will go through will allow for a better understanding of your capabilities and suitability for a specific role or technology. You may be considered for several opportunities with a variety of customers.
Can I choose my end customer?
No, we match your skills to our customer's needs so you can get onsite experience as quickly as possible.
How is a customer chosen for me?
Customers are chosen based on your technical abilities and training alongside your soft skills. Your specialisation will be the largest factor for your customer – for example, if a customer needs 8 Java Enterprise Edition-based developers and you have specialised in Java EE, you may be suited technically for the role. Alternatively, if a customer needed 8 DevOps engineers and you completed your training in Java EE, this customer wouldn’t be suitable for you.
How do I get a position with the end customer?
When aligned with a customer, you will typically go through an interview process with them. This can vary from customer to customer – some may require face-to-face interviews, technical tests, or assessment days. Due to the varied nature of these customer interviews, you will receive soft skills training, interview peroration and CV writing training sessions to support you through this process.
What does my progression look like?
Progression within QA is self-determined, but we will offer you the support and guidance necessary to achieve your goals. You will have the opportunity to enhance your technical skills by using our market-leading training platform – Cloud Academy. We monitor progression through the Skills for the Information Age [SFIA] Framework. This means that it’s your responsibility to determine your progression within QA and your personal path towards success.