Hiring for Agile Teams - Part 2

Written By Allison Pollard

Photo by killingtime2

Part 1 of this series focused on having the right job description for an agile team.  This post will focus on what to look out for in resumes.

Resume Smells

I'm going to focus on what to watch for when reviewing Agile Project Manager, Scrum Master, and Agile Coach resumes.

  1. If the person was a "Project Manager/Scrum Master/Agile Coach" at an organization, I don't believe them.  Each role is very different, and I don't know of anyone who could do all of them simultaneously.  If the candidate lists different time frames for each role, meaning that they were distinct jobs the person did, then I'm more likely to believe it.  Know which one you're looking to hire.
  2. Does the objective or summary map to your job description?  Ideally candidates are taking the time to tailor their resume for you, so the language should be complementary.  I'm amazed at how many summaries will say "Experienced project manager" when the job description said "Scrum Master."
  3. Too technical?  Sometimes the candidate's resume reads more like that of a developer or an architect.  It's nice to know what projects were previously worked on, but you want to know about the person's experience in working with people, not designing solutions.
  4. Not technical enough?  If your team is working on backend software, you may need someone with some experience working with technical teams who can listen for smells that the team isn't delivering iteratively and incrementally.  I don't think that technical skills are needed 100% of the time, although they are nice to have.  And by technical skills, I mean being able to understand understand technical conversations and identify potential smells--not designing the solution or telling people how to do their work.
  5. People skills--what experience does this candidate have?  For Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, you're looking for words like "facilitated," "mentored," "coached," and "taught."  Facilitation, mentoring, coaching, and teaching are the keys to the agile coaching stance.  I also like to look for community involvement.

What do you look for when reading resumes?

Allison Pollard

Allison Pollard is a coach, consultant, and trainer who brings the power of relationship systems intelligence to go beyond tasks, roles, and frameworks to create energy for change. She engages with people and teams in a down-to-earth way to build trust and listen for signals to help them learn more and improve. Allison focuses on creating alignment and connection for people to solve business problems together. Her experience includes working with teams and leaders in energy, retail, financial, real estate, and transportation industries to help improve their project/product delivery and culture. Allison currently volunteers as program director for Women in Agile’s mentorship program. Her agile community focus is championing new voices and amplifying women as mentors and sponsors for the next generation of leaders. Allison earned her bachelor’s degrees in computer science, mathematics, and English from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), a foodie, and proud glasses wearer. Allison is a prolific speaker at professional groups and international conferences, including Scrum Gatherings and the Agile Alliance Agile20xx conferences. Allison is co-owner of Helping Improve LLC.

http://www.allisonpollard.com
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Managing Risk in the Product Backlog
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Hiring for Agile Teams - Part 1