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Can't get a Scrum Master role? Do this!

Writer's picture: Stephen AngoodStephen Angood

Updated: Sep 15, 2024


No Scrum Master Roles? Do This!
No Scrum Master Roles? Do This!

Are you struggling to get a Scrum Master or Agile Coach role this year?


It's a tough market out there. There’s been a lot of layoffs in 2023 and that means the competition for every role in 2024 is very high so what can you do? Well, let’s discuss that.


I've had contact with many people who are struggling for work and it's affecting their health not to mention the financial strain

My message is stay strong there are things you can do which I'll get on to shortly. Now these things go in cycles and I do believe from Q4 this year things will pick up but first what's driving this?


I've never seen the market so bad in our game for 20 years even the financial crisis back in 2008 pales in comparison. It's been driven by the fallout from that well known virus back in 2020, a crisis in various countries around the world, resulting in huge downturn in the economy, high inflation and a massive rise in the cost of living. And these factors hit companies as well as individuals so organisations have responded to this by downsizing their workforce, concentrating on business as usual, keeping the lights on.


And for that they only want people who they perceive as doers people that actually produce the services or products that they sell. Now although this is shortsighted it is understandable, many organisations are fighting for survival.


The result is that people who are perceived as having only soft skills are getting laid off, such as many in our world. Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches are often looked on as having these soft skills, great when business is booming but not so great when the company’s backs are against the wall.


So what can you do?


Well as I've said many times before Scrum Masters need to do more than just facilitate events they need to show how they can directly deliver value and my advice is to learn some hard skills.


Now I don't necessarily mean they're hard to learn I mean that they produce tangible output, results.


So for example data analytics. As a Scrum Master you’ll have been deeply involved in metrics producing reports right? So why not take that one step further and use applications such as Microsoft Power BI or even eazyBI this will allow you to produce business reports that may typically have been done by a dev on the team.


You'll certainly have been using agile tools so why not take that a step further whether you're using Jira or Azure DevOps or whatever else learn them properly. Learn how to automate tasks, workflows etc. Learn how to set them up and configure them. You can access free versions of almost all of these tools on the web so you can learn them at home.


Understand how to extract data from them and present them as charts tables using easy to use dashboards and how about collaboration tools?


You'll certainly have had the exposure to some of them Mural, Miro even Microsoft Whiteboard.


Again you can access all of these things for free on the web so you can learn them at home. Now with these collaboration tools you can create engaging workshops by creating templates that you can reuse time and again, so start using them, you'd be surprised how engaging they can be made.


10 years ago all you needed to get a Scrum Master role was a certificate but things have changed so much

Now you need to be more than just a Scrum Master you've got to be able to bring something else to the party, so you need to up skill. Get into generative AI like chatGPT, again free tools you can use at home, so learn them and understand how they can help you.


Now what about low code? Research it use it. An example of low code is Microsoft Power Apps so why not start there.


Think back to a time before you were a Scrum Master, what did you do? What skills did you have and how can you surface these skills in what you do even if it doesn't naturally fit under the purview of a Scrum Master.


Also look further afield, don't just concentrate on Scrum Master or Agile Coach roles look at agile PM or delivery manager roles, many of those roles want and require agile ways of working.


Search the job boards for any mention of agile and take a hard look at the roles that come back and have a think if you could do any of them, yeah it's a tough market, you’ve got to make some compromises.


Update your CV with these skills and have more than one CV so that you can target particular roles, for example don't send your usual Scrum Master CV if you're applying for an agile PM role, tailor it accordingly.


Also I know many of you out there have had less than great experience with agents and I'd recommend picking two or three agents that you think are reputable and striking up a relationship with an individual there.


Let them know what you're looking for, what you're willing to do, get their advice on your CV as they know what companies are asking for. Put yourself in an agent's shoes, they literally get thousands of CVs for Scrum Master roles and they can only send a handful of CVs to employers.


Most of the CVs they receive are simply binned by the computer scanning them. But if they know you, if you've got a relationship with them they are far more likely to recommend you.


And remember, if you get an interview concentrate on solid real life examples of how you've added value, don't talk theory.


Company's quest to go agile may well have peaked, it's possible that we'll never return to the days when Scrum Master and Agile Coach roles were plentiful but organisations still need these ways of working so now is the time to update your skills on your CV so that it doesn't look like all you can do is Scrum Master.


It's about inspecting adapting, in other words it's about change, so we should be able to manage that as change agents.


Look, I'm optimistic there are signs of economies recovering and I believe it will get better sometime in Q4 this year.


Stay strong, keep an open mind about different types of roles and upskill - as the great Bob Dylan once said, 'times they are a changin'.

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