How to hire a software tester

How to hire a software tester, step by step

Here's a step-by-step software tester hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a software tester job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new software tester
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a software tester do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the software tester you need to hire. Certain software tester roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A software tester's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, software testers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of software testers.

   Type of Software Tester	Description	Hourly rate
   Software Tester		$29-48
   Quality Assurance Analyst	Quality Administrators are responsible for managing the quality processes of an organization. Their duties include creating data collection processes, conducting data cleansing, tracks quality milestones, and develop training programs for internal teams... Show more	$27-44
   Quality Assurance Engineer	A Quality Assurance Engineer's role is to oversee the overall production and ensure that the product is cost-efficient and aligns with the company's standards. The responsibility mainly revolves around conducting activities that examine and scrutinize the condition of a product or service to identify issues and come up with possible solutions to resolve the issue or attain stronger customer satisfaction... Show more	$29-52

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Test Results
   • Regression
   • Test Scripts
   • Jira
   • Manual Test Cases
   • QA
   • Scrum
   • SQL Server
   • Java
   • Web Application
   • C++
   • C #
   • Test Data
   • Selenium

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Involve in the SDLC of an online payment manage website, draft the test case and execute the test case.
   • Execute and manage defects using JIRA extensively.
   • Support for UNIX and Linux base servers.
   • Utilize UNIX and Linux base servers and an Informix RDBMS to host Perl and java-base application features.
   • Perform regression and environment checkout activities for multiple front and back-end test environments of web-base applications.
   • Perform black box testing of applications written in XML, HTML with SQL connectivity.

   More software tester duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your software tester job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A software tester can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, software testers' average salary in hawaii is 31% less than in new hampshire.
   • Seniority. Entry-level software testers 39% less than senior-level software testers.
   • Certifications. A software tester with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a software tester's salary.

   Average software tester salary

   $78,580yearly

   $37.78 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level software tester salary

   $61,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average software tester salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$97,838	$47
   2	Washington	$89,445	$43
   3	New Jersey	$88,616	$43
   4	North Carolina	$84,750	$41
   5	Maryland	$84,518	$41
   6	New York	$82,079	$39
   7	Utah	$80,790	$39
   8	Virginia	$80,446	$39
   9	District of Columbia	$80,286	$39
   10	Rhode Island	$77,560	$37
   11	Illinois	$75,940	$37
   12	Minnesota	$75,152	$36
   13	Missouri	$74,278	$36
   14	Georgia	$71,643	$34
   15	Texas	$71,077	$34
   16	Michigan	$70,967	$34
   17	Indiana	$69,079	$33
   18	Colorado	$68,821	$33
   19	Florida	$67,919	$33

   Average software tester salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Nordstrom	$114,812	$55.20	4
   2	Mayo Clinic	$106,190	$51.05	20
   3	Barclays	$105,936	$50.93	2
   4	Medline	$99,330	$47.75	8
   5	Abbott	$99,249	$47.72	46
   6	iRobot	$97,704	$46.97
   7	Charles Schwab	$96,714	$46.50	32
   8	SAS Institute	$94,036	$45.21	37
   9	Henny Penny	$93,133	$44.78
   10	PACCAR	$92,844	$44.64
   11	Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.	$92,734	$44.58
   12	Xero	$91,272	$43.88
   13	Populus Group	$90,887	$43.70
   14	Innovative Emergency Management	$90,594	$43.55
   15	QuantumScape	$90,519	$43.52	1
   16	Nobel Biocare	$89,439	$43.00
   17	Nokia	$88,651	$42.62	44
   18	ICONMA	$88,265	$42.44
   19	Nintendo	$87,415	$42.03	13
   20	TML Intergovernmental Risk Pool	$87,150	$41.90

4. Writing a software tester job description

   A good software tester job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a software tester job description:

   Software tester job description example

   Job Title: [Entry Level] Software Tester Job Type: Regular Full-Time, Hourly This is an onsite position.
   Location
   Plano, TX
   Benefits
   Medical Insurance (Health, Dental & Vision) 401(k) with Company Match Bonus H1B/Green Card Sponsorship for qualified employee Hands-on experience at global industry leader Samsung Opportunities for career advancement
   Requirements & Preferences
   Ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously Ability to work in a fast paced environment with minimal supervision Critical thinker and problem-solving skills Team player Good time-management skills Great interpersonal and communication skills
   Primary Duties and Responsibilities
   
   Detect and track software defects and inconsistencies Analyzing the testing results and submitting the report to the development team Creating test designs, processes, cases and test-product documentation Conducting testing as per the set standards and procedures Ensure that the testing is carried out as per the defined standards and procedures Collaborate closely with other team members and departments Perform software testing in all phases of the design-develop-test-release-maintain software life cycle
   
   Our team of highly experienced developers offer a wide range of mobile application and software development positions. We also have opportunities in business operations and administrations, logistics, UX/UI design, and many more!
   
   Our vision is 'We Want to See You Grow' to become the industry leader for both employee and company.
   
   For more information about JND, please visit www.jndsolutions.com
   
   (QA Analyst, Software Tester, QA Tester, Test Engineer, QA Engineer, Quality, Quality Assurance, Software Engineer, Support Engineer, QA Test Analyst, IT, 8-hour Shift, Day Shift, Monday to Friday)

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find software testers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any software testers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level software testers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   To find software tester candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting software testers requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   If your interviews with software tester applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new software tester

   Once you have selected a candidate for the software tester position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new software tester. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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