Scrum Master Resume (With Examples)

A scrum master is not some made-up job title for someone in Star Trek, but an actual position that is in demand. If you want to have a job in which you are part coach, part manager, and part organizer, this job is for you.

A scrum master is a person who facilitates an agile team, which is a team that has the freedom to organize themselves to get the project accomplished. As a scrum master, you’d be making sure the team is committing to their decided structure, works smoothly together and with outside players, and is focused on the task at hand.

Due to this, a scrum master resume has to cover particular needs.

Key Takeaways:

• Make sure you know what the main agile team principles are to apply them to your scrum master resume.

• Make sure to include as many deliverables as possible and quantify them to showcase your success as a scrum master.

• Discuss the types of teams you managed, and their impacts on the company.

What Is a Scrum Master?

A scrum master is a person who facilitates information exchange in a particular team, whose organization is made through scrum or agile methodology.

Seem like a mouthful to you? Here’s what you need to know:

Some teams are highly structured in workplaces. For example, you may have a team leader who manages your team and then directly reports to the upper management. Everyone on the team may have a particular role to play, and the process is somewhat limited.

On the other hand, Agile teams are flexible team structures that allow for freedom for self-organization and decision-making. The person who facilitates these teams and manages information and insights exchange is a scrum master.

For example, picture a remote island that decided to create its own government and rules to tackle problems on the island together. The island’s scrum master would make sure everyone followed the new rules and government format you agreed upon.

They would also ensure that everyone is working smoothly as a team and ensuring everyone is working as effectively as possible within the agreed-upon framework. Finally, they would relay information between players both inside and outside the new government to build good relationships.

How to Write a Scrum Master Resume

Crafting a scrum master resume is a different process than a normal management role resume. How you write your resume as a scrum master will reflect your knowledge of agile principles, so you’ll want to pay close attention to this guide.

A scrum master is a highly specific type of managerial position. Therefore, the resume for a scrum master needs to be highly specific. When writing a scrum master resume, you’ll need to include relevant agile team keywords and write about your experiences through the lens of agile principles.

You might be wondering:

What exactly are agile principles? Luckily for you, a group of people came up with the Agile Manifesto (yes, it is really called that), which discusses agile principles in detail.

The 12 Principles of Agile Project Management

1. Get customer satisfaction by continuously delivering a high-quality product.

2. Don’t be afraid to make changes to deliver a better product.

3. Deliver great product in the quickest time possible.

4. Foster cross-functional teams and communication across team players and management.

5. Build projects around motivated individuals.

6. Work face-to-face as much as possible for effective communication.

7. Quality product is the primary measure of progress.

8. Utilize agile processes to prevent burnout.

9. Commit to focusing on product quality.

10. Simplicity is essential.

11. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

12. Inspect your process and outcomes, reflect and adapt for better future outcomes.

These principles should be reflected in every area of your resume for a scrum master position. From your career summary to your work experience, keep these principles in mind to help frame your skills and experience for this particular position.

Tips For Writing A Scrum Master Resume

So a scrum master resume is essentially a traditional resume with scrum and agile qualifications. Now that you understand what you need to place in the resume, consider the following tips while you create it:

• Provide quantifiable results for projects. As always, quantifiable results are huge for resume. Hiring managers and recruiters want to see proof your skills being successfully put into action. As a scrum master you will want to focus this on the types of projects you lead to show exactly what you achieved.

• Highlight agile experience. Whether you have previous scrum or other agile experience, showing that you are familiar with the process helps elevate your qualifications to lead a scrum team.

• Provide collaboration and leadership experience. Since scrum masters have to be good project and people managers, you want to show that you are capable of working with others and leading your teams to success.

• Make sure your resume is ATS friendly. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) filter out resumes for hiring managers. Using keywords related to the job description and providing an ATS friendly resume format, such as the chronological format, help get your resume to be read by an actual person.

Scrum Master Resume Example

Now that you know what you should focus on when writing a scrum master resume, let’s talk about what this looks like on paper.

When it comes to management positions, recruiters want to see your deliverables. Are you able to manage well? What impact have you had on past companies that show you’ll be a good fit for the next one?

The best way to knock these questions out of the park is to fill your resume with measurable deliverables.

Take a minute to think about what you’ve accomplished in past jobs. Is there a way to put a number on the impact you’ve had? Here are some common measurable deliverables:

• Money saved

• Money earned

• Website traffic increases

• App downloads

• Product sales

• Clients earned

• Reduction in operating costs

• Reduction in the average time necessary to complete a project

These deliverables are often the goals of agile teams. In your resume, discuss how you applied the 12 principles to get deliverables like these and quantify it with a number. That is how you write a stellar master scrum resume.

Here is an example of a resume summary using these tips:

Once you’ve written your number-packed summary, check out these examples for the work history section of your resume:

Final Thoughts

A scrum master is a niche job, but one that is coveted by many managers. While the job principles might seem a bit foreign at first, it is obvious why employees like agile teams have the freedom to organize and perform.

As a scrum master, you’ll be making sure the team stays on track and true to its mission while encouraging innovation and change when needed. To get this job, however, you’ll have to write a stellar resume — by including deliverables and keywords, you’re one step closer to landing your next scrum master job.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Expert

Don Pippin, MHRM, CPRW, CDCS

Don Pippin is an executive and HR leader for Fortune 50 and 500 companies and startups. In 2008, Don launched area|Talent with a focus on helping clients identify their brand. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Digital Career Strategist, and Certified Personal Branding Strategist, Don guides clients through career transitions.