What do you need for a Selenium test automation job?

First, the obvious.

Since test automation is programming, you need to know the basics (more if possible) of a programming language such as Java.

And you need to know the basics of the Selenium WebDriver framework.


But this is not sufficient for getting an automation job.



In an interview, you have to convince other people that you know how different things work in Selenium and Java.

For example, 

1. what is boxing in Java?
2. what is the difference between method overwriting and overriding?
3. what is the page object model?
4. what are the fastest locators?

This requires practicing explaining how things work, what they are and how they should be used.



You still need more for that new automation job.

You need 500 hours of practicing Selenium and Java.

The number of hours is different from person to person.

Some people may need less, others more.

But it is essential that you put the time in for the practice.



Why so many hours?

Because companies will put you to test.

There are 2 types of tests that you may have to do:

1. JAVA coding test
This test happens before the face-to-face interview and is a condition for it.
It is usually done online on a site like codility.com and it can last around 1 hour.
You are given a problem and have to write code that solves it.

EXAMPLE


2. SELENIUM automation test
After the face-to-face interview, if the interview went well, you may be asked to do the automation exercise.
This test is about automating a scenario for a site.
You may get 1 day or more to do it.

EXAMPLE



Going back to the 500 hours practice.

It is very difficult to do well at these exercises if you are not already proficient with Java and Selenium.

Because the time for doing the exercises is limited.

And your solutions have to be very good to get the job.

Selenium WebDriver Interview Resources

I have gathered together a few resources that may be useful to manual testers that either

• prepare for test automation interviews or

• want to interview test automation engineers

BASIC TEST AUTOMATION CONCEPTS

1. WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver()

How Does WebDriver driver = new FirefoxDriver() work?

You see this line of code in any test automation project.

Why does it use 2 different types (WebDriver and FirefoxDriver) for creating the driver object?

Why can you create a FirefoxDriver() object and assign it to a WebDriver object?

2. How Does Selenium WebDriver Work?

Selenium WebDriver is a library that allows the test script to drive the website in the browser.

But how does it work from a technical point of view?

How does it work from a non-technical point of view?

3. Why is unit testing essential for test automation?

Can Selenium WebDriver test automation be done without unit testing?

Why is unit testing important for test automation?

4. How do JUNIT assertions work?

Each test automation script uses assertions.

assertTrue, assertEquals, assertFalse, etc.

How do assertions work?

How are they implemented?

TEST AUTOMATION INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

The interview questions are group in categories:

• explicit waits
• locators
• unit testing
• selenium webdriver architecture
• framework
• maven
• selenium webdriver library
• java

SELENIUM WEBDRIVER PRACTICAL TEST

If you need to go beyond asking questions about test automation, this is a practical test from a real interview.

NEW

Do you need help to prepare for a Selenium WebDriver interview?

I can help you with it (not free).

Email me at alex@alexsiminiuc.com for more details.

Selenium WebDriver Interview Test

Practice tests are very useful for testing the level of our knowledge and skills.

We get useful feedback through them about what we can do with the new learned skills at a certain moment.

But practice tests show us as well what we don't know yet but should know.

What follows is a real interview test for Selenium WebDriver and Java.


1. Open the www.ia.ca in the Chrome browser

2. Click LOANS

3. Click the Mortgages link

4. Click the Calculate Your Payments button

5. Move the Purchase Price Slider to the right

6. Validate that the Purchase Price Slider movement works

7. Change the Purchase Price to 500 000 using the + button of the slider

8. Change the Down Payment to 50 000 using the + button of the slider

9. Select 15 years for Amortization

10. Select Weekly for Payment Frequency

11. Change the Interest Rate to 5%

12. Click the Calculate button

13. Verify that the weekly payments value is 836.75

Good luck doing the exercise!

If you are interested in feedback, post your code in the comments section.