While I’m an extrovert (words just come out of my mouth sometimes), I’m not always comfortable speaking with people I don’t yet know. However, I want to make a real connection with other people. It doesn’t matter if I’m writing, speaking, or networking. I still want that real connection. I use stories and examples to […]
Many of my consulting and job-searching colleagues feel stuck in finding clients or jobs. Social media used to work, but it doesn’t anymore. But people actually have more options for discoverability (aka marketing) than ever before. That’s writing, speaking, and connecting people who might not know about each other. The more we write, speak, and
I started this series by discussing why managers didn’t perceive the value of agile coaches and Scrum Masters in Part 1, resulting in layoffs.) Then, in Part 2, I asked those unemployed agilists to review their functional skills, the skills people need to do a product development job well. While those skills are useful, they
If you’re an unemployed agilist, you are not alone. There way too many of you. But the causes and solutions might not be clear to you. That’s why Part 1 of this series discusses your value and what managers want and need. That part discusses why managers see agile coaches and Scrum Masters as staff
You’re an unemployed agilist. And even if you can find an agile coaching or Scrum Master job, the pay is so terrible, you don’t want to take it. That’s because potential employers think these jobs are staff positions. Your previous managers and potential managers don’t see the value of someone in your position. That’s because
Every day, I hear more stories of agile coaches or Scrum Masters losing their jobs. Why? Several reasons: No manager cares about “agile” even if they care about agility. So, selling “agile” into the organization doesn’t create any traction for change. Agile coaches and Scrum Masters are staff positions, not “line” jobs. Worse, many agile
I started this series with many specific concerns about a particular interview question: “The product owner and dev team cannot decide on a sprint goal, even after hours of discussion. They (the team) feel that the tasks for the sprint are too varied to manage to a single sprint goal. What should the Scrum Master
How to Describe All the Value When You Want to Influence Do you ever wonder how to describe the value of the changes you’ve led or want to lead? Fred, a project leader, needs a new job. His company—despite his project’s success—laid him off. He needs to influence hiring managers to look at his resume
Sourcing, how and where you recruit possible candidates is a great way to use small, safe-to-fail experiments. That’s because the recruiting landscape continues to change. A little history: in the past, we read newspapers—on paper! Before the Civil Rights Act, employers advertised for “Men Wanted” and “Women Wanted.” (I don’t remember if that was women
Let me summarize what you can do if you are a person of a certain age—maybe just over 30—and you want to find a job. Prepare for your search in these ways: Look relevant to hiring managers. That means you will do whatever you need to do your resume: Keep the resume to 2 pages