Tip 1: Improve your CV
You don't have a real Scrum Master experience yet, but you may have a Scrum or Agile related experience. Mark it on your CV or LinkedIn profile so that it stands out in any case. For example, have you been part of a team that did daily Stand-ups before? In such a case, you could describe, for example, that you have performed Daily Scrums. Even if it was not officially referred to as Scrum or Agile at the time, this experience will help you fulfill your role as a Scrum Master.
Tip 2: Look for vacancies with current employer
In many cases, an excellent next step is to find opportunities to gain at least small experiences with Agile / Scrum at your current employer. Even if Scrum may not fit within your current organization, project or team, you can see if you can apply elements. For example, see if one of the following actions can add value to your work environment:
- Introduce the idea of working in iterations or sprints.
- Start with Daily Stand-ups;
- Periodically demonstrate a working (sub) product to the stakeholders (consistently involve your stakeholders in the process);
- Start with periodic meetings with the aim of finding ways to improve collaboration within your team;
- Make the work transparent by using sticky notes (kanban board, task board, improvement board) in your work environment;
- Periodically report on progress using burndown charts.
Tip 3: Search for vacancies as a volunteer
If you can't find opportunities to introduce small pieces of Agile into your current employer, consider volunteering. This could be a regional, national or international non-profit organization or even at your children's school, youth team or church. Be creative, there are also plenty of opportunities in your area to gain experience.
Tip 4: Get your certificate
A Scrum Master course is valuable for filling your toolkit and helps you obtain your certificate. While it is not enough to learn everything needed to be a good Scrum Master, it does provide you with a solid foundation of knowledge and a toolkit sufficiently stocked to get started as a Scrum Master. Earning a recognized certificate indicates two things: a certain basic level of knowledge and, even more importantly, a willingness to learn and invest in yourself. Choose a credible Scrum certification, such as the one from scrum.org (Professional Scrum Master).
And would you like to expand your toolkit a little further? Then our Professional Teamcoach Experience is perfect for you! It is a training program that goes far beyond just the role of Scrum Master. During the six training days spread over six months, you will gradually gain a huge amount of knowledge and experience as a team coach. Obtaining a certificate for this program is also highly recommended and included in the price.
Tip 5: Know that most resumes are screened
To find a job as a Scrum Master, you need to make sure your CV is read. Most employers today use software to screen resumes. To get past those filters, you want to make sure their most obvious keywords are at least included in your resume. For example, if you are applying for a “Scrum Master” position, make sure your resume contains the phrases “Scrum Master” as well as “ScrumMaster”, both with and without space, so that you maximize the chances of passing a screening system that contains only one of those words.
This seems careless, but if it helps you get through the screening it might be worth it. Now I can imagine that you would like a clean CV and would rather avoid this kind of 'carelessness'. In that case, I'm going to make you very lazy with the following trick! By placing the different variants of this term somewhere on your CV, and giving the text the same color as the background, they will not be visible on your CV but they will pass the screening of such an application.
Tip 6: Networks, networks & even more networks
I cannot emphasize this enough, networking is really the best thing to do if you are looking for a new position. You can count on it that the online Scrum Master vacancies are widely responded to and that the competition is huge. All of the above tips will help you to make yourself visible among the big pile of CVs on the desk of the relevant manager, but nothing beats finding another entry into a company and skipping your competition in the same breath. This other route to your new job as a Scrum Master requires a good dose of luck - being at the right time and in the right place.
The good news is that you also have that bit of luck in your own hands: Get out there! There are currently a huge number of (free) Scrum & Agile gatherings being organized, and starting today, you shouldn't let them pass you by. Look for your local Agile or Scrum gathering via platforms like Meetup and Eventbrite . But, just as importantly, participate in meetings of other groups whose members might work at the type of company you want to join.
Tip 7: Have patience
This is perhaps the best advice I can give you: Be patient. The seven tips above will certainly help you increase your chances of increasing your Scrum Master position. However, shifting your career in a new direction will likely take longer than finding the same position in a different organization. Make sure you have done what you can, and be persistent and trust yourself. It may take a while.
