Sebastian Clavijo Suero

Posted on May 12

Stand Out in the QA Crowd: Just Do You, but 'wick' Style!

#qa #careerdevelopment

(Cover image from pexels.com by Photos by ERRN)

ACT 1: Why am I writing this article?

Over the past year, I have been approached numerous times by people from various continents who aspire to become QA professionals. Many of them wanted to know what they could do to become great QA Engineers.

In essence, they were asking how they could Stand Out in the QA Crowd.

But how could I tell these individuals what they should do? Frankly, I wasn’t entirely sure, as I’m still carving out my own path in this competitive, ever-evolving, yet fascinating QA world. These are people who are placing their trust in you and your judgment to guide their professional careers. That’s a huge responsibility.

So, I shared with them the same principles I have strived to uphold throughout my personal and professional life. I believe these values are universally applicable and can genuinely help you shine in today’s highly competitive market, regardless of the profession or role you pursue. And that’s what this article is all about.

However, to effectively apply these principles, long time ago I realized I needed to embrace something that could be captured in one simple yet powerful phrase:

Just Do You!

This seemingly simple yet often challenging approach is what will give you the courage to uphold these principles and truly make you stand out in the crowd.

To do justice to this mindset, I will share with you, my friend, the raw, unfiltered, straightforward—and sometimes even blunt—version of my thoughts, to get it real!

So, if you’re not particularly open to hearing thoughts that might push you out of your comfort zone, this might be the perfect moment to pause and redirect your focus to something else. 🙂

ACT 2: Let’s Get Real—No Sugar Coating

Just Do You

OK, let me be completely honest to be fair...

Most of the time, this approach has served me tremendously well, helping me achieve great success, overcome significant challenges, and earn the respect of many peers.

However, there have been instances where it didn’t work as effectively as I had hoped. Sometimes it was because I didn’t implement it in the most effective way, and in many other cases, I genuinely believe no approach would have worked—whether due to external factors beyond my control or certain personalities where nothing could have made a difference.

So, why should I change to please others?

Exactly, just do you! But that doesn’t mean you have a free pass to do whatever you want or to shirk your responsibilities.

What it truly means is to gift the world the best version of you. Your core values must be strong and unwavering if you aim to succeed in anything.

We all know the expression "Fake it Until You Make It". It has unfortunately become very popular, especially among people navigating today’s market but lacking solid technical or interpersonal skills. Too often, it is used as an excuse to avoid putting in the extra effort required beforehand to truly fulfill the demands of any position.

But let me tell you what I think about that phrase, which is becoming a way of life for many... It's BS! Pure, unfiltered, and odorous BS! 😏

Sorry if I am too graphic, but yes, it is BS, no matter how many flies are trying to sell it to you, or even eat it themselves... Ewww! As we say in my home country, it is just pure 'caca de vaca' 🐄💩.

So instead of faking it, don’t wait for "some day" to make it, just do it! No tomorrow, not in one week... but NOW!

Yes, it might sound cliché —like a well-known sports brand slogan— but it is a mindset you must embrace and commit to fully. Believe me, pretending won’t take you far. People are sharp and perceptive, and most can spot a fake from miles away.

It might not be easy, I know. But I truly believe most people are capable of doing what they put their mind to. They just need to realize their own potential and learn how to overcome their fear to give it their all. If you want to succeed, you cannot hold back.

But still... YOU NEED TO BE YOU. If you’re quirky, don’t be afraid to embrace it. If your mind works differently or you approach problems in unconventional ways, that’s not a flaw, it is a strength. It makes you unique. Unique people achieve unique things, often in ways that others might label as unorthodox or even weird, but that’s perfectly OK. Just do (the better side of) you.

You don’t have to be quirky if that’s not who you are. But if you are, embrace it. What truly matters to most companies—especially those worth working for—isn’t necessarily how you do your work, but that you deliver results and ensure high quality. These companies do want to trust you, but you must prove yourself worthy of that trust. Often, they’re not overly concerned with originality or unconventional methods. However, those traits can work in your favor, helping you stand out and be remembered, turning your quirkiness into a valuable asset rather than a liability.

You’ll encounter companies or individuals who may not embrace your uniqueness, and that’s perfectly fine. Chances are, you don’t align with their rigid perspective either, and that’s OK too. Move on! As my mother often says: "You didn’t grow up there, and they didn’t shape who you are". So again, why change for them?

Actually, in some cases, your individuality might give you a head start in standing out from the crowd, but let’s be real—it won’t be enough on its own. You still need to deliver on your responsibilities.

And for that, there is one thing you absolutely have to embrace with every fiber of your being: You need to Truly Care!

Truly Care

The best professionals genuinely care about the work they do or the projects they contribute to, and they show it. They don’t fake it! They take full ownership, treating their work as more than just a way to fulfill a job description or earn a paycheck. They possess an innate drive to feel proud at the end of the day about what they have accomplished.

You don’t? Then maybe it’s time to reconsider your career path and seek a role where your lack of care will not impact the lives of so many around you.

QA is a role of immense responsibility. We are the guardians of user experience, ensuring our product's integrity and preserving our company’s reputation!

Let me tell you a story about something that happened to me many years ago.

It was early March in Sevilla, my beautiful hometown. Some of you might find it familiar… Perhaps because of Game of Thrones? 😉

I had just joined a new startup company in Spain less than a week earlier. Their offices were located in the garage of the founder’s house in Madrid.

At the same time, I was preparing for a big life change—I was about to get married that summer, though my fiancée was still in the US. Believe me, switching from a well established company to a brand-new startup operating out of a garage, especially when you’re about to get married, might seem like a bold move. But I knew it was the right choice for the future of my new family.

On my fifth day, while working from home until they set up an office in Sevilla, I got a call from the Founder-CEO-Director-PR-HR of my new company, let's call her M. Well, when a company operates out of a garage, one person often has to wear many hats! 😄

I still remember it like it was just yesterday. She said:

"Sebastian—told me, M—, I need you to come to Madrid for three months to work at the offices of a new client. Well… they’re not exactly our client, but I want them to be (it was one of the largest telecom companies in the country back then).

But… how can I put this... —surprised me, M— Everything’s a mess! We’re not working directly for the client but for a consulting company they hired. This company already has three so-called expert consultants on-site, but they have no idea how to solve the client’s problem. So, they’re subcontracting us to get the job done. And by 'us,' I mean you.

But I should also tell you that on-site—continued, M—, there are a couple of official consultants for the product the client is using. However, they’ll only be there for one more week, so you’ll have, at most, three days to overlap with them.

They told me they’re leaving because everything is in shambles—warned me, M—. The code has been meddled with by too many hands, none skilled enough to preserve its integrity. On top of that, they believe there are too many external companies involved, each with conflicting interests."

Honestly, they weren’t wrong. Counting my company, there were now four external companies, plus the client’s own resources, working on this project. 🤦‍♂️

Can you guess what words crossed my mind?

Exactly! "This is pure 'caca de vaca'" 🐄💩

I could smell it, even from 533 kilometers away, all the way from Sevilla to Madrid! Sorry for being too graphic again! 😁

I’m not going to lie to you... she had me scared. All of a sudden, I wasn’t so sure anymore if joining this startup was the best decision for me and the new family I was about to build. Man, I was really in a pickle!

Three days later, there I was (Sebastian) on the AVE (the high-speed train originally built for the Universal Expo '92) racing toward the Wild Wild Madrid to face... I really had no idea what I was about to face. The only thing I knew for certain was that I had been hired to do a job in a multimillion-dollar project, and both my company and the client were counting on me. Uff, no joke!

After being met with a certain dose of cynicism by the consultants from the company we were contracted by (who, by the way, had already been there for over six months), I was finally introduced to the client. I could feel their apprehension and the frustration of a project that had been stagnating for nine months. Even more unsettling was their certainty that nobody who had shown up so far was capable of getting things done. They genuinely didn’t know who they could trust anymore.

What could I possibly say to this person that he hadn’t already heard from the countless others who had come across the project?

I sympathized with them. How could I show them that I genuinely wanted to help, that I truly did care about them?

So, I simply told them what I could honestly do given the circumstances: "OK, let me take a look at what’s there, and we’ll talk again in a week."

The Method to Support the Principles

I give you a hint: Follow the the Bold Brick Road! 😄

In situations like that, there are basically two things you can do:
You can try to keep a low profile, letting the days and weeks slip by while giving the impression that you’re busy and productive;
Or, you can slap your palm on the table (when no one’s looking) and declare loud and clear: 'Here I am, baby, ready to shake things up!'

That’s the attitude that will make you stand out in the crowd. Sure, taking risks can be scary, and it’s always tempting to stay in your comfort zone—and that’s perfectly fine if that’s what you choose. But hear me out: staying comfortable is not what will make you stand out. No pain, no glory.

To grow professionally, you need to step up and do grown-up things. Tasks that kids can’t handle or are not willing to take on.

I strongly recommend setting a deadline to come up with a plan, a realistic deadline, but not too far in the future. In my case, I committed to returning in a week with a clear course of action.

Also, assess your environment. What kind of ground are you stepping on? Is it solid, or is it unstable and squishy? Can you breathe the air safely, or do you need to control your breath because it’s too unpleasant? Do you remember the vaquita? 😅

After the initial warnings I received and just one day in the field, it became glaringly clear: the terrain was sticky, and the air felt suffocating to breathe. The consulting company that had hired us to assist with the system design and implementation (though, truthfully, to do their job) was clearly at odds with a competitor who was also on-site, managing the data collection and entry for the client. They suspected that the ultimate, unspoken goal of the competitor was to outmaneuver them—the very company that brought us in—and claim the entire enchilada for themselves.

The third external company, the official consultants for the product, was simply there to bill hours, and counting down the hours until they could get out of there!

Meanwhile, the client had their own internal team, a mix of developers and data quality control staff who were brought on just nine months ago, supposedly brimming with expertise in the field.

And then there was my company. In other words, me.

After that, I did the only thing I could do if I truly wanted to solve the conundrum I was caught in:

'Echarle dos cojones' (as figuratively we say in my home country), and...

Dig, and ask. Dig again, and ask again. Keep digging, and keep asking relentlessly, even if you’re asking uncomfortable questions!

It's fascinating what you can uncover once you start 'excavating', especially in a place where countless people before you have been digging and then carefully covering their tracks. It is indeed like working on the infamous Money Pit on Oak Island! Back then, The Course of Oak Island TV show didn’t even exist yet, but man, it’s the first image that popped into my mind as I was writing this—so, of course, I had to include it. I just couldn’t resist (right, Todd?)! 😆

The reality was that, even though I wasn’t getting straight answers to any of my questions, the information I gathered from the different stakeholders across these various companies gave me plenty of leads. They were all disconnected, but each one seemed worth exploring.

I haven’t mentioned it yet, nor do I intend to go into detail about the nature of the work or the type of system I had to get running. After all, it’s just like the MacGuffin in a Hitchcock movie—the backdrop to the story I’m sharing with you. What I will share is that it involved a distributed system operating across the county, where all database replicas needed to stay synchronized, ensuring no precious data was lost. And I think that’s plenty of detail for you to know. 😄

The interesting thing was that, after a week, the apprehension I might have felt initially was gradually fading away, inversely proportional to my growing knowledge of the system.

Well… it makes sense, doesn’t it? Duh!

But only once you have truly immersed yourself in the mess, instead of taking the easy road and keeping a low profile and letting the days and weeks quietly slip by.

After a week in their offices, I approached the client as promised (the head of the department, who was a not insignificant big shot in that telecom) and presented my blueprint outlining how I thought we could fix the broken pipes with minimal monetary expense. We just needed to tighten a few screws and replace a couple of leaking tubes. However, it was essential to bring together what remained of the 'team' (remember, the official product consultants were already gone).

So, the next step in the plan was to build consensus toward a common objective. And for that, nothing works better than recognizing what each person was doing well and then, with carefully nuanced guidance (so they still believed it was their own idea), asking them how they could improve their part in the process.

I know, this might seem like a little bit of manipulation, but as they say, all’s fair in love and war. Just kidding! 😉

Truth be told, when you candidly talk to people and genuinely listen to what they have to say, you realize that they aren’t the mischievous personalities you initially thought—or were led to believe—they were.

They need to see that you genuinely care. Once they do, they might surprise you by showing they care as well. It is the same apprehension you felt when stepping into unfamiliar territory that made them defensive. It’s not about assigning blame for someone else’s stagnation, but rather fostering understanding and cultivating a shared sense of growth, all directed toward a common goal.

And now comes the hard part, getting things done! You can't expect or ask others to do something you are not willing to do yourself. You've likely heard the well-worn phrase: "Lead by example!" Beautiful sentiment, right? Very motivational! We drop it into conversations every chance we get...

Cut the BS (AKA 'caca de vaca 🐄💩)! It's not enough to simply say "lead by example" or to just make it seem like you're doing it. You have to genuinely mean it, and do it for real! That’s how you learn, how you inspire others to follow you, and how you truly stand out from the crowd, whether it’s a QA crowd, a Dev crowd, or any other kind of crowd.

ACT 3: Sebastian, You Are Amazing! Truly Inspirational! 🤣

Thank you, I really appreciate your sentiment! 😍

But believe me, I wouldn’t say so lightly. Like any declaration of intentions and goodwill, we are still human, and sometimes our actions simply can’t keep up with our intentions.

But that’s OK, nobody is really expecting you to operate at 110% all the time. That level of effort is unsustainable. The true key lies in giving it your all when it truly matters. And that’s something not everyone is willing to do. That is what will set you apart and put that extra mile between you and the rest of the crowd.

To wrap up the story, the funny part of all this—which still makes me smile to this day—is that, after barely three weeks of working there, a stakeholder approached looking for some crucial information. To my surprise, the client's senior programmer-analyst genuinely told them: "You need to talk to Sebastian. He’s the expert and knows our system better than anyone". 😆

By the way, within the next six months, the client replaced all the external companies and entrusted my company to take charge of the entire operation—and cook the whole enchilada. 🌮 (Yes, this is a taco, but sadly, there’s no emoji for an enchilada!)

I know... this ended up being a long story, maybe a little too quirky, maybe even a bit too graphic for your taste. But that’s just me, the real me: I like to share, some times too much, because I truly care; I might be a little unorthodox, because I just do me; And yes, I might be a little too graphic because, as we say in my home country, 'Me gustan las cosas claras, y el chocolate espeso!' (I like things to be clear, and my chocolate thick!)

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