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Scrum Master is a challenging job; you'll be responsible for working closely with Scrum Team members as well as senior leaders to achieve organizational objectives and provide value to the stakeholders.

With the role being critical to the success of the organization, the selection process could also be challenging, and you'll need to prepare comprehensively for the Scrum Master interview.

In this article, let us discuss some tips, along with a few sample Scrum Master interview questions to help you get your dream Scrum Master job.

What are recruiters looking for?

Different companies have different objectives, which may lead to varying expectations and selection procedures. Nevertheless, the qualities that recruiters will take into consideration are an Agile mindset, knowledge about various Agile frameworks and hands-on real-world Agile experiences. Other factors, like certifications, innovation etc. might also come into play. Let's discuss these factors briefly.

Agile Mindset

One of the crucial aspects of playing a Scrum Master role is to possess an Agile mindset. Agile mindset is about keeping your thinking simple, continuously thinking about how to optimize value depending on what the stakeholders are expecting, helping simplify complex processes into small, actionable steps, so make sure you demonstrate an ideology to do things that reduce unproductive work aka waste and increase efficiency.

Understand the Agile Manifesto that includes 4 Value statements and 12 Principles. Understand the difference of Being Agile versus Doing Agile. Agility can also be construed from different perspectives such as Business Agility, Personal Agility, Technical Agility, People Agility etc.

Knowledge of Agile Frameworks

Scrum might be one of the most widely used product development Agile frameworks to solve complex adaptive problems, but it is not the framework suitable for every problem. Attempt to learn other frameworks as well. For instance, Kanban is a powerful, versatile framework used to visualize flow and thereby reduce waste; which every Scrum Master should learn. Extreme Programming (XP) is another Agile framework focused on technical practices that can give immense quality. Focus on understanding what is the business problem you are trying to solve, with an end-goal in mind.

Interview questions that will be asked will focus on differences between the frameworks, their applications, pros and cons etc.

Hands-on real-world experiences

You will need to have actual experience to be able to do the Scrum Master interview well. You don't necessarily need to have experience of working as a Scrum Master in a Fortune 500 company, but recruiters will look for tough situations you've been through that show how you react in real-world situations. Some recruiters might even role-play tricky situations to check your patience, resilience, and the ability to handle pressure. 

Be proud of your achievements and what you have done. Mention each project and job position you've been a part of on your resume and turn them around with confidence. Even the worst job comes with a learning experience, and you never know which learning might help you for the Scrum Master interview.

During the interview, talk about the most difficult challenge you have encountered as a Scrum Master or Product Owner. Although Scrum Master interview questions might be different from Product Owner interview questions, the objectives of both these roles are towards a successful product and/or service. And lastly, be ready to role-play tough situations.

If you don't have experience and looking to get some, please read my blog about 'CSM done. What Next?' in the Blog section.

Certifications

Not all companies care about certifications, but it does not hurt to have one. It's good to be certified, and it might come in handy if you appear for a Scrum Master interview for a company that prioritizes certifications. But having a certificate does not guarantee your worth and expertise as a Scrum Master. A certification is only an endorsement of your learning and not your experience. If you are a beginner and are willing to make a career in Scrum, it'd be better to seek professional training and Scrum certifications such as CSM and/or CSPO before appearing for an interview.

Some common Scrum Master interview questions:

Now that we looked at some of the key aspects considered while interviewing for a Scrum Master, let's have a look at some of the common interview questions a recruiter is most likely to ask.

1. How do you decide whether Scrum is applicable to solve a particular problem?

2. What is Servant Leadership?

3. What is the difference between Mentoring and Coaching?

4. What is the difference between a good Scrum Master and a great Scrum Master?

5. What is your role in the Sprint Planning event?

6. How does a Scrum Master serve the organization?

7. How will you help the team deliver value by the end of the Sprint?

8. What exactly is a Scrum Master role during the Daily Scrum?

9. When should and shouldn't a Scrum Master act as a facilitator?

10. A Developer member has a question to ask the Product Owner. How would you approach this situation? Do you facilitate a conversation, or you are better off if the Developer member and Product Owner discuss directly?

11. As a Scrum Master, how would you ensure Product quality?

12. What role does a Scrum Master play in Sprint Retrospective?

13. How do you estimate work? What are the various techniques for estimation recommended by Scrum?

14. A senior Vice President asks a Developer to take up an urgent Product Backlog Item that would help sign a deal next week. As a Scrum Master, what is your next course of action?

15. How would you measure the performance of a Scrum Master?

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Advanced CSPO Certification Lexington, SAFe Agilist Training Switzerland, Product Owner Online Certification Sioux Falls, Advanced CSPO Online Certification New York City, Advanced CSPO Online Training Bhubaneswar, Scrum Product Owner Online Certification Tampa, What Is Sprint Planning?, Advanced Certified Scrum Master Online Training Houston, Advanced Certified Product Owner Certification Training New Delhi, Scrum Product Owner Online Certification Jersey City