Rand Eaton 12/13/17 Rand Eaton 12/13/17

Scrum Masters – Why I Didn’t Hire You

Topic 2: The Screening Interview

As a hiring manager actively looking for Scrum Masters, I’ve read a lot of resumes and have said “No” to the majority of them. Are you guilty of committing any of the Scrum Master candidate mistakes that I see all the time? In this series of blogs, I’ll discuss my personal Do’s and Don’ts list, as well as address questions I’ve received from the Scrum Day MN 2017 audience that attended my talk on this subject. I’d love to hear from you and continue the conversation in the comments section below.

Topic 2: The Screening Interview

Scrum Masters – Why I Didn’t Hire You Topic 2: The Screening Interview

Looking over my notes, I typically receive about one hundred resumes for each open Scrum Master position, and I review every one of them, but I’ll move on quickly if I can tell that the person isn’t a good fit for my team (more on resume “bad smells” in another post). If I believe that there’s a possibility of a fit, my next step will be to schedule a thirty-minute phone interview. This is a “screening interview”, in which I’ll try to do two things:

· Attempt to verify that the candidate actually understands the Scrum framework and the role of the Scrum Master

· Gauge the candidate’s passion and energy for the work.

Something to keep in mind: it’s not as if I’m trying to screen people out – I truly come to each resume I review with a hopeful heart, willing this candidate to be a match for my team. However, my experience has been that only about 20% of the candidates submitting a resume receive a screening interview, and only about one-third of those screened make it to the next step.

This means that:

1. Four out of five resumes are not hitting enough of the right marks for me to want to spend any time talking with the candidate

2. Two-thirds of the candidates that I speak to do not successfully demonstrate that they understand the Scrum framework and the role of the Scrum Master

3. Ultimately only about 6% of people applying for my Scrum Master jobs make it to a full interview.

I have found that the best way for me to gauge a candidate’s capability is not by asking questions, but by listening the questions that the candidate asks me. In the screening interview, I spend time up front talking about the position and generally trying to establish a friendly and open conversation, but I’m working towards asking my main question, which is “What questions do you have for me?”

In response to my question, about half of the candidates I speak to tell me “I don’t think I have any questions at this point”. I’m really disappointed when I hear this, because it usually means I have to drop the candidate because I don’t have enough information to move forward with. I understand that it can be difficult to think clearly when you’re put on the spot, so here are some questions to have on hand for your next interview. Note that I’m giving you the questions but it will be up to you to ensure you understand why these questions are meaningful, and to be prepared for any conversations they spark. Also note I’m starting with what not to ask.

Terrible Question Which I Am Often Asked: (Don’t ask this one!)

What is the velocity of the team that I will be working with?

Assuming I knew the answer, of what value would that information be to you?

Mediocre Question Which I Am Also Often Asked: (Don’t let this be your only question)

Does the team use [insert name of tool here]?

I’ll grant that familiarity with the team’s toolset can be a “nice to have”, but you want the questions that you pose to demonstrate that you get this Agile/Scrum thing. This question may provide you with some interesting information, but it does nothing for me as the interviewer.

Better Question:

How does the team manage its workflow?

By asking this, you indicate your awareness that this is an approach that varies from team to team, and the answer can give you better information about the team environment.

Good Questions: (These communicate a basic understanding of Scrum values)

• How engaged is the Product Owner with the team?

• Are all team members 100% allocated to this team?

• Are QA skills included in the development team?

• Is the team co-located or distributed? How many time zones separate development team members?

Great Questions: (I would personally be very interested in a candidate asking these questions, which I think indicate a deeper, nuanced understanding of the value of Agile and Scrum)

• Is the team currently able to produce a Burn Up Chart? Do you trust the information it contains? Why or why not?

• How was the sprint length determined?

And finally, here are a few great questions you could ask to interview your interviewer, and use the information to determine if this is an organization that you want to work for:

• Who prioritizes work for the development team?

• Who manages the development team members, from a people/HR perspective?

• How often are development team members moved from team to team?

• What interaction does Project Management have with the Development team?

• Does your org employ “Dev Managers”? If so, what do they do?

• Are there any formal metrics that the team is expected to report on regularly?

Want to learn more? Check out our course schedule to take advantage of our upcoming opportunities!

About our Guest Blogger: Maclore Christensen is an Agile Delivery Manager with Thomson Reuters in Eagan, MN. Maclore leads the implementation of agile for the Risk Technology group and manages teams of ScrumMasters and Agile coaches in the USA, Canada and the UK.

Rand Eaton 11/28/17 Rand Eaton 11/28/17

Scrum Masters – Why I Didn’t Hire You

As a hiring manager actively looking for Scrum Masters, I’ve read a lot of resumes and have said “No” to the majority of them. Are you guilty of committing any of the Scrum Master resume mistakes that I see all the time? In this series of blogs I’ll discuss my personal Do’s and Don’ts list, as well as address questions I’ve received from the Scrum Day MN 2017 audience that attended my talk on this subject. I’d love to hear from you and continue the conversation in the comments section below.

Topic 1: The Cover Letter

Let's talk Cover Letters

From my perspective, the best investment of time and energy you can make in the job application process is in writing a good cover letter. I understand that cover letters go in and out of fashion, and you may see some conflicting generic advice on the internet.

Here’s why I think cover letters are critical for those seeking a Scrum Master position:

1. Most applicants for my Scrum Master jobs do not already have an explicitly titled “Scrum Master” job on their resume. They may have been effectively working as a Scrum Master, but with a different title, or they might be looking for their first Scrum Master position. In either case, a cover letter provides an avenue for you to elaborate on how your previous experience translates into readiness for my open position.

2. Effective Scrum Masters are great communicators. A cover letter gives me a taste of your communication skills. How good are you at framing your experience up for me? Are you persuasive, yet succinct?

3. Ultimately, I’m looking for a qualified person who I also believe will be a fit for my organization. A cover letter gives me a glimpse into your personality. Are you very formal or more informal? Are you high energy? Are you creative? Do you have a sense of fun?

A great cover letter I received recently began “Hello Hiring Manager”, and ended with “Hope to hear from you soon!” The letter itself was typical in that it provided a bit of detail about previous experience and included a statement about what the author was looking for in her next role. But that simple opening and closing really caught my attention. The candidate came across as friendly and engaging, and I found I was eager to speak with her about the position (I did hire her, incidentally).

4. There’s no need to worry about negative points for submitting a cover letter when one isn’t “required.” If the hiring manager isn’t interested in cover letters, she or he simply won’t read it.

Bottom line, a cover letter gives you an opportunity to demonstrate that you understand what a Scrum Master is accountable for, and your desire to perform that role, even if your resume (given the nature of resumes) doesn’t make that explicit. Therefore, always write a cover letter!

There is, however, one very big DON’T:

DON’T use a generic “Project Management” cover letter and submit it for a Scrum Master job!

I actually see this all the time:

“To Whom It May Concern,
I am very interested in the Project Manager position at Thomson Reuters…”

The problem is, I don’t have an open Project Management position. If your response to that is “Scrum Master/ Project Manager, what’s the difference?” then I believe we’re both better off if I do not interview you for the position.

When I delivered this talk (Scrum Masters: Why I Did Not Hire You) at Scrum Day MN 2017 the audience submitted a lot of great questions. Here are a few that I think are related to the topic of cover letters:

· What skills would you look for in a potential Scrum Master who has agile experience, but has not acted as a Scrum Master before?

· So many companies have a different job description for Scrum Master. What are the key things to have/show [when trying to find a real Scrum Master job/fit]?

These two scenarios demonstrate why a good cover letter is critical.

In the first case, where you do not have specific Scrum Master experience, the resume won’t tell me what I need to know about your understanding of the role. Previous agile experience as a Developer or Product Owner is a huge advantage from my perspective, so definitely elaborate on how that experience informs your approach to facilitating continuous learning and improvement. The “skills” I’m looking for in a more entry-level position include a focus on people and teamwork, passion for improvement, a desire to learn continuously, and a sincere desire to do the job (which often translates to a sense of “passion” or “energy” that is apparent when we have a conversation about why you want the job).

In the second case, you can use the cover letter to state what you are looking for in a Scrum Master role. In fact, I strongly recommend that you do exactly that! An example might look something like this:

“I’m passionate about helping product development teams improve. I’m looking for a true Scrum Master position, with accountabilities in alignment with the Scrum Guide. If you hire me, you can expect that I’ll be making the most of my opportunities to coach the team, the stakeholders, and the greater organization in effective product-focused development using Scrum.”

· As a new Certified Scrum Master®, how do you get your resume to rise to the top when others have more experience?

· What are you looking for in a Scrum Master that makes it so you can’t NOT hire them?

Funny thing – as I was writing that italicized blurb just above, I thought to myself, “geez, if I ever actually read that in a cover letter, I would want to talk to that person right away!”

There’s experience, and then there’s this thing that I call “Getting It”. I think it’s possible to have “experience” and still not quite “get it”. And it’s possible to really “get it” without much Scrum Master “experience”. So again, it boils down to the cover letter. Write something that makes me believe that you might “get it”, and I’ll want to talk to you!

Check out our course schedule to take advantage of our upcoming opportunities!