“I had a long gap after my education and I wanted to up-skill to the current market standards.”
It only took Saisree 10 short months to go from fresher to full-time job as a test analyst consultant after joining Industry Connect!
Congratulations Saisree on your new job as a graduate consultant! What was your background before coming to Industry Connect?
I come from India originally, and I hold a bachelor’s degree in computer science and information technology. I did a manual testing course way back in 2010, but I didn’t work anywhere. We moved to New Zealand in 2014 and I was a full-time mum for a while! Then slowly I started a volunteering job at New Zealand tech in database and support care. I also worked at one more non-profit organisation called Dress for Success, as well as working as an art teacher.
Wow, a lot of work in there! How did you discover Industry Connect and why did you decide to join us?
One of my friends referred me to Industry Connect. She was telling me that you guys were providing job-ready programmes along with internships. I had a long gap after my education and I wanted to up-skill to the current market standards in manual and automation testing. After having gone through the Industry Connect website, I really thought you could help me fill in the gap in my skills and testing experience so I joined.
Did you have any prior programming language coming into the job-ready programme?
No, not really. I had a little bit of knowledge in manual testing, but not in automation. I knew a little bit about C# and basic java.
So how did you find the six-week job-ready programme?
It was a very intense programme on manual testing techniques and automation tools. I initially found it very difficult to cope, but after two weeks I started to enjoy it thoroughly. The slack channel was really helpful too because I had so many questions during that first installation and writing automation test. I put questions in the slack channel and my friends always answered them immediately. It was very helpful.
What stood out for you during those six weeks?
Manual testing okay for me but on the automation testing side, I wanted to improve my up-skills, so within a short period I learnt so many tools – selenium, webdriver, C#, NUnit, bdd framework, spec flow, postman soap UI… so I learned basics of a lot.
Wow! So after the six weeks, you went over into the internship with MPP Studio. How did you find that transition?
My internship with MPP Studio was very smooth. It provided an opportunity for learning and working on MOS application. I applied so many tools within a short period and my mentors were very helpful. Whenever I asked questions or whenever I had any doubts, she immediately clarified and helped me.
What were the highlights of the internship?
It gave me exposure to scrum ceremonies and TV meetings, communication skills and life skills. Initially I was scared to attend the meetings, so after that slowly I improved myself and now I’m giving presentations.
And finally, what advice would you give someone, maybe a mum, that is ready to get back into her IT career?
Firstly up-skill to the current market, that’s the most important. Secondly, be focused – don’t lose hope. Be confident and actively apply for jobs. Whenever you are answering the questions during the interviews, follow STAR method. It’s very helpful. That’s what I used and I got a job!
Well Saisre,e thank you so much for your time and sharing about your journey and all the best in your new job as a test analyst consultant.
What is Industry Connect?
We have been helping career changers, recent IT graduates and people with career gap to start their IT/software careers.
Over the years, we have helped hundreds kick-start an IT/software career. (Verifiable evidences are available on this website)
OUR CORE
We are an innovative software training school backed by global/local software companies. Our ecosystem is an incubation process that supports our participants until they launch a tech career.
OUR PROGRAMMES
Our Job-Ready training programmes focus on,
- Software Development
- Business Intelligence (or Data Analyst)
- Test Analyst
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
- Six Weeks Training Classes (Practical Tech Skills)
- Three Months (or more) Structured Internship on Large Commercial-Scale Projects (Learning enhanced, flexible Hours)
- Employer Network (job analysis and internal referral if goals are met)
You can join us via Zoom (live face-to-face meeting) remotely from anywhere and "download" the valuable knowledge & experiences from our tech experts across different tech centres.
Watch 300+ Stories of Career Starters in IT/Software
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