Applying Agile to Your Job Search

Resource Applying Agile to Your Job Search

By Erica Haims

 

Finding your next role is at times stressful, daunting, and intimidating. If you apply best practices from Agile, you can find your next job using a successful project management methodology.  Streamline your search by implementing what most Fortune 500 companies use to design software. Perhaps you are looking to make a lateral move to another educational institution or enter the field of education for the first time. The best part is that you can apply Agile to your job search without actually taking any classes or earning a certificate. Let’s review some common terminology and apply it to finding a role in the education sector. 

 

Agile (you may also hear it referred to as Scrum) is a widely adopted project management framework that is used in technology. It promotes efficiency, collaboration, and re-evaluation of priorities. It was created to help engineers and users communicate better. If we apply the best parts of Agile to your job search, we can organize and prioritize all of the things you need to do to achieve your ultimate goal. Let’s kick your job hunt into high gear with an Agile approach. 

 

When this project management methodology was first introduced, job seekers probably didn’t think they could apply this new way of thinking to find a new job. Following some basic principles will put you in a mindset that will encourage you to focus on your goals, visualize what you want to achieve, and learn to communicate effectively. Applying a project management framework to personal career goals will allow you to simplify the job search process. Agile was created so that people can work smarter and ensure the user receives a final product that meets all of their expectations. 

 

The advantage of applying Agile to your job search is that it's true to its name. To be agile is to be flexible. This methodology was created in response to unsuccessful software development due to poor communication between teams. This philosophy can easily be applied to finding your dream job. The key principles inspire agility, time management, flexibility, and measuring success. A successful job search can benefit from all of this. Here are some things that we can take from Agile to achieve a successful career in education: 

 

User Stories – A user story is where you visualize what you want in the form of writing a story. Here are some examples that may apply to you: “I am a grade school teacher and I want an education setting that fosters healthy behavioral development.”, “As an administrator, I would like the leadership to be open to new technologies.”, “As a professor, I want to be at a top rated university that values a quality curriculum.” Create a story that describes the perfect role where you envision yourself thriving.

Daily Scrum – This is where the team reviews their tasks for the day and re-thinks priorities. Every morning review your list of upcoming tasks and prioritize them in terms of importance.  Apply 10 minutes at the start of every day to review your goals. This is a great way to set your intentions for each day and throw away what is no longer important. 

Roadmap – A roadmap is where you outline how long you need to achieve your goal. Give yourself a deadline to secure a new position. Allow up to three to six months for interviews and the hiring process. 

Sprints – These refer to shorter deadlines that allow you to see results over time so that you are constantly seeing results. These can be two to three-week deadlines to complete a particular set of tasks. These can be mini-projects such as researching curriculums, crafting your resume, or reviewing school ratings. 

Backlog – This is when the team re-evaluates their priorities. Usually, if something is constantly being pushed to the bottom of the list, you may find that you really don’t need it after all. Perhaps once a month review your big picture goals and to-do lists. If recruiters are not responding or you are getting interviews that are not your field of expertise, then take a different approach to your search. 

MVP or Minimal Viable Product – This refers to when the user receives a working product with only the basic functionality. The client is delivered the bare minimum and can decide if what they requested is actually what they need. For your job search, don’t wait until your professional profile is 100% perfect before you post it online. It is best to be available for employers to find you and tweak your profile as you receive feedback and learn what is working for you and what is not. 

Project Management Tools – There are great free tools that project managers use to organize their tasks and requests. You can use these to organize and map out your job search. Try Trello or Basecamp, these are very user friendly and are easier to use than creating a spreadsheet from scratch. 

Here's what the traditional agile approach often used by development teams looks like:

 

 

Taking some tips from Agile can help you visualize what you want in terms of your position and setting and organize your search. This framework can help you focus on what is important, and pivot where necessary. Applying this Agile mindset can take some of the stress out of your search for the perfect job. 

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