Are you interested in becoming a Scrum Master, but
you are yet to have any experience?
People frequently ask me – if I don’t secure a job,
how will I gain experience?
In the last seven years, I have assisted several
interested and enthusiastic professionals to become Scrum Masters. In fact, in
my first job, at Hewlett Packard, I was a Software Engineer. I gradually
elevated to the role of a Scrum Master.
In this blog, I will share my valuable experience in
my journey towards becoming a Scrum Master. I would also share stories of
various professionals, including women, who were successful in getting a Scrum
Master’s job even after a career break.
The tips and strategies I will share helped several
professionals understand both the fundamental and experience associated with
Scrum Master’s role. Moreover, various professionals also experienced the
essence of these concepts in their professional lives.
They became more confident in their job search,
presenting themselves as better, more deserving candidates.
Coming back to the core question – How is it
possible to get the job of a Scrum Master without relevant experience – I would
like to share ten valuable tips that effectively help you get the desired
results.
A known devil is
better than an unknown angel.
A highly productive first step is nurturing the
willingness to experiment by finding the most appropriate opportunities under
your current company. You need to be straightforward and request your employer
about playing the role of a Scrum Master, getting associated with one of the
teams.
You have to locate a team that is new to the Agile
ways of working and try out few things such as:
Introducing the fundamental ideas of Sprint
Practising various Facilitation techniques to
facilitate different Scrum events
Showing the stakeholders the functionalities and
attributes of working software and getting their feedback
Introducing the concept of Scrum Board
Implementing a set of modern techniques to
facilitate retrospectives
When you experiment with the activities mentioned
above and strategies, you can obviously mention the details on your resume,
enriching it.
Pen down a Plan
for Personal Development
After you have already experimented with few basic
Scrum techniques, it is essential to visualise personal development aspects
properly.
For example, after a couple of years, you would like
to be in a Scrum Master’s role, helping your Organization radically re-imagine
the kind of work done.
A clear, crisp and well-designed plan is also vital
for your mental health in the long run, which would help you progress further
in your career.
Under the personal development plan, you can
consider:
Setting clear goals for yourself
Smartly prioritising those goals
Marking the deadlines for achieving the set goals
Recognising threats, along with opportunities
Constantly developing your skills and expanding your
knowledge
Utilising the support network you have
Measuring your progress
Your CV is
hugely important – start building it
There is no need to panic if you don’t have any
significant experience as a Scrum Master. But, it is pretty essential to
particularly highlight the contributions you have made in various Agile teams.
For example, you can mention how the team benefitted
from your practices.
My experience from the fields
“I had started my professional career as a Software
Engineer. To my employer, I had expressed my clear and honest intentions to
work in different Scrum teams. I expressed my interest to become a full-time
Agile team member. I gradually learned the fundamental practices of Scrum. In
my next job, I applied some of the Scrum practices that I could pick up. That
was a genuinely defining moment for me, as an aspiring Scrum Master.”
It is highly essential to project your experience as
a member of the Scrum team. Mention in your CV the exact practices that you had
employed in the Scrum team. Talk about how did you slowly seed your thoughts in
teams. Also, keep in mind not to falsify facts in your resume. Simply mention
precisely the scrum practices you did and not the ones you did not.
Get appropriate
training and get certified.
Earning too many certificates is not the answer to
every question. Personally, I don’t vouch for it. But, acquiring a recognised
credential certainly indicates two main things:
Strengthening the fundamental knowledge you possess
Creating a learning mindset by investing
productively in yourself
I would recommend receiving a certificate from
Scrum.org (PSM). You can also earn it from Scrum Alliance (CSM).
Some many other organisations and institutes provide
certificates on Scrum. I don’t recommend any of those. You need to be alert
from being tricked by an impostor. When searching for an experienced trainer,
you need to get connected with someone who has previous work experience of
being a Scrum Master.
Preparing Your
Resume
This could be the trickiest part of your
preparation. You have to ensure that your application, rather CV, gets
shortlisted for the role of Scrum Master in a company that you have targeted.
Companies nowadays rely on advanced software that screens resume. Hence, you
have to take a highly pragmatic and professional approach.
You need to ensure highlighting some essential
keywords while writing your resume, such as ‘Scrum Master’, ‘Facilitation’,
‘Retrospectives’, ‘Agile Teams’, ‘Metrics’, ‘Coaching’, etc.
Most modern software tools and products, including
LinkedIn, will scrutinise and scan the resumes based on these keywords. Keep in
mind to logically connect all these terms in your resume. Also, don’t forget to
highlight some key contributions in your resume.
Doing all these things would increase the
probability of your resume getting shortlisted.
Focus on the
question – Why an employer should hire you?
Given all other achievements and qualities are on
the same platform, a person with more experience would definitely get hired as
a Scrum Master. Since you lack that experience, you have to innovatively
highlight your attributes and stints relevant to the role you are applying for,
making you a perfect fit.
For example, suppose you are applying to the
E-commerce industry for the role of Scrum Master. Accordingly, you need to
demonstrate your qualities and experience relevant to that specific industry.
You can also highlight pertinent blogs you have penned for clients. It is also
acceptable to mention a community event that you have organised or facilitated.
Finding
volunteering opportunities in communities
If you cannot get enough relevant opportunities
under your employer, you need to search for volunteering opportunities in
various communities.
This could be a non-profit at the regional or national
level.
At tryScrum, our trainers were once community
members. They began their journeys as members of our Studios before they became
full-time Scrum trainers. Community forums help you in building a network among
several Scrum Masters.
45% of all your opportunities will be from
networking and relevant communities (Source: ‘The Stages of Scrum Mastery
research’).
You have to become creative to gain experience. I
have known people who struggled in the initial stages but never gave up,
ultimately achieving the position of a Scrum Master.
Your Network is
Your Networth
It is considered that good networking gets you the
job that you are desiring and searching for. It is also a matter of luck –
being present at the right spot, with the right people and at the right time.
Keep in mind that if getting your current job
requires networking, then certainly getting a Scrum Master’s job would require
even more vital networking.
Ensure that your colleagues and close friends know
very well about your job search intentions. In addition, try to utilise the
potential of various groups, forums and professional networks.
Be Patient
Patience is undoubtedly a valuable virtue. In
conclusion, I would always say you remain patient in your job search. Shifting
to an entirely new position in your professional career could take some time.
You have to be persistent.
What is next?
Numerous organisations can help you get valid
certificates and help you build an illustrious career. Remember that you have
to keep on learning and expanding your knowledge relentlessly. You can explore
the following:
Scrum.org (PSM II / PSM III)
ICAgile (ACC or ENT or CAT)
Scrum Alliance (CEC / CTC)
ICF (ACC / PCC)
CPCC (Co-active Coaching)
tryScrum
Community Opportunities
Scrum Master Studio
Product Owner Studio
Agile Leader Studio
Resource: https://tryscrum.com/2021/04/30/guide-to-building-a-career-as-scrum-master/
