Ask Me Anything - Onboarding Testers

We were joined by Theresa Neate who answered the following questions and provided lots of insight into Onboarding Testers.

• How is onboarding testers different to developers?
• How do you onboard people remotely effectively?
• By the end of a new testers first week, what are the top 3 things you want them to know?
• What resources and tools are most helpful to get new testers up to speed?
• What usually doesn't work when onboarding testers?
• How do you build confidence and trust in the new testers' skills, so they're empowered to do their work instead of consulting the testing expert?
• What is the best question to ask at an interview to get an insight if someone will be good at testing?
• What practical steps can be put in place to help mitigate that information overload/overwhelm?
• Have you had more success in throwing everything the new tester needs to know at them at once or giving pieces of information on a need-to-know basis?
• Is there a difference between onboarding in a consultancy versus onboarding in a product company?
• How do you onboard someone who is an experienced tester, but new to a certain domain or device type?
• How do you onboard a tester in a very different timezone (let's say in Europe when the team is in Australia)?
• Since ISTQB was brought up, how important do you consider that cert when looking at potential hires?
• As a tester when you start a new job what expectations do you think its important to set?
• What does a bad onboarding experience look like (from a new starter's perspective)? How can we address it, especially if you're more junior?
• How would you onboard a completely new tester, with no previous testing experience?
• What could a tester do to onboard themselves if there is no company/team onboarding, or it's lacking?
• How to organise a friendly and fun welcome for new team members in a remote environment?
• What is the most crucial training a tester should have in the first week when starting somewhere?
• How can you help onboard your future manager?
• What do you expect from other testers who already work there regarding to the newly joined tester?
• What would you do if someone is a bit passive and maybe doesn't know what to do? How would you encourage them and set them on the right path?
• On average, how long would you expect onboarding to take / after how long would you expect a tester to be 'fully functional?