Anri Liy’s internship as a quality assurance tester at realquantum turned into a full-time Quality Analyst role this summer. We sat down to find out what that was like.

KCWiT: Tell us about realquantum. What is the company all about?
Anri: realquantum is a web app for commercial real estate appraisers that is easy to learn and use. We also have a new iOS app for appraisers to use when they inspect properties that make their job easier.

KCWiT: Anri, what does a typical day look like for you? What does a quality analyst do?
Anri: I am responsible for testing our web and mobile applications manually and ensure they are ready for production. In addition, I’m learning about automated testing and starting to implement test scripts. Our developers are very good, but I still manage to find things to fix!

KCWiT: What would you like to tell our members about interviewing for your first technical role?
Anri: First it’s very important to network and to be an active member of the community because I don’t think I would have gotten a chance to interview otherwise. I interviewed twice before I got hired by my current company. My First interview was with CEO Mark Davis. We talked about some general topics, my past experience, and education. We didn’t discuss technical topics in any detail.

The second interview was with the CEO and CTO, Dan Wieschhaus. To prepare I reviewed what I had learned, then decided what I would like to show them. The day of the interview they asked me about technical topics and past projects. For example, they asked me to describe a gem file, which rails version I have used, which databases I have used, etc. The interviewers told me I could say if I didn’t know something. That made me very comfortable and that I could simply describe my skills.

I brought my laptop, prepared my GitHub and web URL so I could show them my projects and code. This preparation helped me show them my skills and I wasn’t fumbling around in the interview.

KCWiT: You mentioned that getting involved in the community was important to helping you get an interview. Can you tell us more about that?
Anri: I started my online programming school one year ago. At that time, I had just moved to the U.S. from Japan, so I didn’t have anybody to ask for advice. I really wanted to join a good community so I Googled “Kansas City programmer women” and found KCWiT and Coding & Cocktails. I started Coding & Cocktails in April 2017. I remember my first session like it was yesterday.

After I finished my online boot camp, I started job hunting. I didn’t know how to do this in the U.S. so I asked many Coding and Cocktails mentors what to do. I thought my questions were childish, but all the mentors were super kind to me. I also received help editing my resume from three or four mentors. They gave me professional advice for my resume like adding a Github URL, my project URL and how to document my skills and education.

Also, they recommended I attend CoderDojoKC as a mentor because I didn’t have any volunteer experience. At first, I didn’t know what I could do, but the senior mentors were very kind and the girl I taught, made a presentation that made me really proud of her. The event was wonderful, so I still attend regularly. KCWiT has made my life so much better.
Thank you KCWiT members for all of your help and for being my friends!!

You can connect with Anri at https://www.linkedin.com/in/anriliy, or you can often find her mentoring at CoderDojoKC or hanging out at Coding & Cocktails!