Employee Spotlight

Sean Roffe

What is your History with Volt?
This is my fourth assignment with Volt. I have had, and still am having, a great time. Volt has treated me well both on and off of assignment. When on assignment, Volt has been great about responding to questions and helping to make my time at work as enjoyable as possible. When off of assignment, Volt has worked closely with me to find new assignments or return to previous ones when they became available again. Volt representatives are always pleasant to contact and very helpful, whether it is someone from benefits, payroll, or the employee relations representative.

How did you hear about Volt?
I found out about Volt when I was looking for work at “the Software Giant in Redmond.” There were two agencies that listed the job, in fact. I did some research and talked to a few people. The consensus from those that I spoke to was that Volt was the favorite. Well, they were right and I have been with Volt ever since.

Which group are you currently working with and what are you doing?
I am on the Reserves Training Team in the Games Test Organization. I assist with the coordination of this program and also help with content creation. Our goal is to help new testers joining the Reserves team learn the proper tools and processes they need to be successful in a game testing role at Microsoft.

What do you like most about your job?
Passing on the knowledge that I have to a whole new group of software testers means a lot to me. Software testing is something that I enjoy, and sharing that passion is very exciting. Plus, I get to meet a new group of people every week and that is always fun.

What advice would you give to an employee starting their first assignment at MS?
Get lots of sleep. It sounds silly, but there is a lot of information in the form of practices and methodologies that are thrown at you in the beginning. If you are well rested, you will absorb all of this much better. The quicker you can get up to speed, the less stress and more enjoyment you can get out of your assignment. Also, do not be afraid to ask questions. If something is not clear, ask questions. Asking questions not only shows that you are paying attention to the subject at hand, but additional information that you get can make your job a whole lot easier.

What advice would you give to someone who was interested in breaking into your field?
There are many good books on software testing. However the best ones are by Cem Kaner. Any familiarity with his texts will put you leaps and bounds above others attempting to break into the field. And, get experience with Windows XP or Vista. While you may be testing an Xbox 360 title, a lot of the tools that you use will be on the PC. Being comfortable working with a PC is a big help.

When you’re not at work, what do you spend your time doing?
I enjoy playing chess. If not playing against co-workers, I have a couple of chess playing programs that are more than a challenge for me. Of course, I also have a slew of PC and Xbox games that I play. On weeknights, I try to squeeze in a little time on my guitar. I was classically trained, but I also play some jazz, and a whole lot of Rock & Roll. On weekends, I often donate my time to the Northwest School for Hearing-Impaired Children.