Student QA: Getting Hired in Agile with Rachel Howard

In this episode of SoundNotes, LeadingAgile’s Chief Cultural Officer, Rachel Howard, joins Dave Prior to answer some of the “getting a job” related questions that are frequently asked during the CSM and CSPO classes Dave teaches for LeadingAgile. The topics covered in the interview include: How to get a job if you have little (or no) experience in Scrum, How to make the move from being a team member to being an Agile Coach, as well as some general tips about interviewing at Agile Consulting Companies.

Show Notes

00:08 Interview Starts
00:30 Rachel’s role at Leading Agile
02:33 The surprising thing about trying to establish culture in a virtual organization like LeadingAgile
05:56 Mike’s question – If you are new to Scrum, how to you get over the “minimum experience in Scrum hurdle”
09:46 Finding ways to apply Agile outside of work to get some experience with using the practices
10:48 Why “They won’t let me do Agile here” is not an excuse for not doing it at your current job
11:54 The value of certifications when you are looking for a job in Agile
17:23 If you are applying for a job in Agile and don’t have a basic certification like CSM or CSPO
18:13 Transitioning from working on teams to being an Agile Coach
19:40 Is it better to stay at one job for a long time, or jump around to get different experiences?
20:26 Do you need a coaching certification to be an Agile Coach?
21:26 Advice from Rachel on interviewing: Stuff you should research/know before interviewing for a job at an Agile Consulting company
23:00 The importance of finding a company that matches best with your own personal mission
26:05 How to reach Rachel with additional questions or to find out about working at LeadingAgile

Contacting Rachel:

You can reach Rachel via email at: Rachel.Howard@leadingAgile.com

Contacting Dave

You can reach Dave:
On the LeadingAgile site: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/
On Twitter at twitter.com/mrsungo
On his personal site at: www.drunkenpm.net

Feedback/Questions

If you have comments on the podcast, or have questions for the LeadingAgile coaches that you’d like to have addressed in a future episode of LeadingAgile’s SoundNotes, you can reach Dave at dave.prior@leadingagile.com

LeadingAgile CSM and CSPO Classes

For information on LeadingAgile’s upcoming public CSM and CSPO classes, please go to: www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/
Use the discount code: LA_Podcast to receive a 15% discount on the class.