Complete guide to preparing for QA interviews: a practical guide from technical questions to behavioral questions
A complete guide to preparing for QA interviews - covering three types of technical questions, situational questions, and behavioral questions, with test case design exercises and analysis of common test questions to help you systematically prepare for QA engineer interviews
Last Updated:2026-03-16
This article provides advice on preparing for a QA interview; actual interview content will vary by company and role.
Table of Contents
1. Three major assessment aspects of QA interviews
The QA engineer interview not only tests technology, but also values your testing thinking and communication skills. Interviews usually cover three major areas: technical skills, situational response, behavior and teamwork. Only by understanding the key points of the assessment for each aspect can you prepare in a targeted manner. According to industry statistics, about 60% of QA interviews will include practical exercises, such as designing a test case on the spot or analyzing a bug. So just memorizing the answer is not enough, you must show your thinking process.
2. Technical questions: core knowledge required
This is the most basic and most commonly tested part, so be sure to be proficient: The interviewer will often give you a function and ask you to design a test case on the spot. For example: "Please design a test case for the login function." It is recommended to use this framework when answering: Showing your thinking process is more important than the answer itself. Interviewers want to see that you can systematically cover a variety of situations.
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test level
Differences and applicable scenarios of unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing
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Test type
Functional testing, regression testing, smoke testing, performance testing, security testing
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test design techniques
Equivalent segmentation, boundary value analysis, decision table, state transition diagram
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test pyramid
Why are unit tests the most and E2E tests the least?
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forward test
You can log in successfully with the correct account and password
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negative test
Wrong password, blank field, SQL injection attempt
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boundary value
Minimum and maximum password restrictions, special character processing
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non-functional testing
Login response time, continuous error locking mechanism, multiple devices logged in at the same time
3. Automation Tools Exam Questions
Depending on job requirements, experience in using the following tools may be tested: Intermediate and high-level QA positions usually test programming skills. It is recommended to prepare:
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Web UI automation
Differences and selection considerations between Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright
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API testing
Usage scenarios of Postman, RestAssured, pytest + requests
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mobile device
Applicable scenarios for Appium, XCUITest, and Espresso
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CI/CD
How to integrate testing with Jenkins, GitHub Actions, and GitLab CI
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Write simple automation scripts in Python or Java
Write simple automation scripts in Python or Java
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Implementation of Page Object Model design pattern
Implementation of Page Object Model design pattern
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The concept and implementation of data-driven testing
The concept and implementation of data-driven testing
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Basic SQL queries (JOIN, GROUP BY, subqueries)
Basic SQL queries (JOIN, GROUP BY, subqueries)
4. Situational questions: showing test thinking
Situational questions are a feature of QA interviews and test your judgment in actual work: The key to answering situational questions is to explain your thinking process rather than directly giving the answer. Organizing your answer using the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) will be more convincing.
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"A serious bug was discovered before going online, but it will be released tomorrow. How do you deal with it?"
Assessment of risk assessment and communication skills
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"The developer disagrees with the bug you reported, saying it is a feature and not a bug. What should I do?"
Assess cross-department communication skills
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"Time is limited and only half of the functions can be tested. How do you choose the test range?"
Assessment priority judgment and risk-oriented testing
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"How do you start testing when you take over an old system with no documentation?"
Assess exploratory testing abilities
5. Behavioral questions: Show soft power
Behavioral questions often use past experience to predict future performance:
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"Describe a time when you found a major bug"
Prepare an impactful bug story
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"How do you work with the development team"
Emphasis on communication, constructive feedback, and common goals
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"What do you do when you encounter uncertain needs?"
Demonstrate proactive clarification and non-guessing attitude
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"How do you continue to learn new testing techniques"
Share your learning resources and methods
6. Preparation plan for the week before the interview
Follow the following seven-day plan to systematically prepare for each interview session:
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Day 1-2
Review test theory and organize explanations of common test terms
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Day 3-4
Practice test case design and do at least 5 exercises with different functions
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Day 5
Prepare implementation examples of automation tools to ensure smooth presentation
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Day 6
Prepare 3-5 STAR stories covering bug discovery, teamwork, and conflict resolution
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Day 7
Mock interviews, practice with a friend or in front of a mirror, pay attention to the clarity and confidence of expression
7. FAQ
Can. Many companies have Junior QA positions that value a testing mindset and learning attitude. It is recommended to obtain the ISTQB Foundation Level certificate first and prepare a personal test portfolio (such as testing open source projects). Suggested questions: The team's test automation ratio, CI/CD process, QA's role in the agile team, and how the team measures test quality. These questions can demonstrate your professionalism and help you evaluate whether this team is a good fit for you. Foreign businessmen or multinational companies usually have interviews in English. It is recommended to practice explaining technical terms in English and prepare an English version of the STAR story. Technical English does not need to be gorgeous, just express it clearly.
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