How To Recruit Great Scrum Masters

Finding a Scrum Master is simple and complex. There are plenty of people out there who call themselves “Scrum Masters”, but how do you know if the person you are hiring really is a great Scrum Master?

Well, let’s start with the people who do the recruiting. Typically, and especially in large organizations, before a business area gets to see a Scrum Master, they have to go through a formal HR process. The question you then have to ask is, do most recruiters or hiring managers know what to look for in a Scrum Master? How do they know what a great Scrum Master CV is from a bad Scrum Master CV? Does the job advertisement communicate Scrum so that it would excite and attract great Scrum Masters?

The answer to all these questions is probably not likely.

Let’s take it a step further. It is pretty typical for a recruiter or hiring manager to conduct the first interview. Will this person know the difference between an experienced Scrum Master and a bluffer? How easy is it to throw around some agile buzz words and get to the next stage, or even get hired?

This might sound unlikely, but to those of us in the industry it’s quite a common occurrence, with a high cost. The reason companies and their teams adopt Scrum is to optimize value. However how many organizations employ Scrum Masters who don’t pull their own weight?

So, what’s the solution?

A solution needs to have the following things:

1. People involved in recruiting and hiring who feel comfortable talking about Scrum and listening to what candidates say about Scrum.
2. A job advertisement that speaks a language that attracts great Scrum Masters.
3. An application process that saves time and effort by testing early on how deeply applicants and candidates know Scrum.
4. Recruiters and hiring managers who conduct interviews that are insightful and inspiring for both the Scrum Masters and the interviewers.

If you want to know more about our solution and how we hire Scrum Masters, visit our website: https://amazing-outcomes.de/recruiting-great-scrum-masters

By: Johannes Geske, Professional Scrum Trainer, Scrum.org

Previously published at https://medium.com/amazing-outcomes/hiring-great-scrum-masters-f34b301957b8