.

“How to study for PMP exam?“ is a common question you will find on forums, study groups, and even during casual chats with office colleagues.

“Which study resources should I choose?“ comes a close second.

If you have one or both of these questions, you are in the right place right now. You should be able to find the answer to this, in a way that probably will help you for the rest of the certification exams (or higher studies) in your career.

As a PMP coach, I recommend that you find your learning style and choose study resources that suit your style of learning.

Download this guide for free from the bottom of this page!

In this article, using research-based insights you will be able to not just discover your learning style(s), but also pick the top ones for your PMP study.

The 3 simple steps we accomplish this are –

• Step 1: What’s my primary learning style?
• Step 2: Do I have more than one learning style?
• Step 3: Based on my learning style what are the top study materials I can use for my PMP exam preparation?

As you align your learning style(s) and your study resources, this should save you tons of time, effort, confusion, information overwhelm (and potentially heartache), and make your PMP^® preparation certain, surefooted, and quite frankly a joyful experience!

Make sure you get yourself your favorite beverage and let’s dive in.

[easy-tweet tweet=”In this article, you will find clarity about your own learning style(s), and come up with a strategy to simplify your PMP study based on research findings.” hashtags=”#smartpmpprep #pmexamsmartnotes”]

• What do we mean by ‘learning style’?
• Step 1: What’s my primary learning style?
• Step 2: Do I have more than one learning style?
• Step 3: Which resources should I use for my PMP preparation?
• PMI’s Recommended Books
• Top PMP® Video Resources
• Summary

What do we mean by ‘learning style’?

“The term “learning styles” refers to the concept that individuals differ in regard to what mode of instruction or study is most effective for them“, states Current Health Sciences Journal’s research article [1] based on the research conducted on students. “Proponents of learning-style assessment contend that optimal instruction requires diagnosing individuals’ learning style and tailoring instruction accordingly“, it further adds.

There are different learning styles – visual, kinesthetic, and auditory are the most recognized learning styles.

Visual learners are those that enjoy learning by watching instructions through videos, with someone explaining things on a whiteboard, through demonstrations, or even just talking. The engagement is high here due to the highly visual medium.

Auditory learners find it easier to understand concepts by listening, through podcasts or tapes. They are able to visualize concepts and pick information best while listening.

Kinesthetic learners enjoy learning new things through movement and touch. They are most comfortable when they involve their body in action and move around. They are the “hands-on” types that prefer ‘doing’ rather than ‘talking’.

Do you know what is your learning style?

Identifying this can help you answer the question more easily: ‘how to study for PMP exam’?

The research has brought to light a few interesting insights that should help those preparing for the PMP exam.

Let us understand these insights, and then see how to take advantage of them in your exam preparation.

Step 1: What’s my primary learning style?

It’s a great question to ask, and the first step to planning how to make PMP preparation easier.

The research has found that,

• 73% of the students prefer one learning style
• 22% prefer to learn using equally two learning style
• 5% prefer three learning styles

Does that surprise you?

The fact that close to one-fourth of the population prefers 2 learning styles EQUALLY, certainly surprised me.

The research coughed up some more interesting numbers. In the general population, the distribution of learners is as below. [continue reading…]

It is not unusual for people from non-traditional project management backgrounds to take up PMP. In fact, it can be quite a joyful experience, in addition to becoming a tool for greater recognition and better opportunities.

Kalpana Pandiya is a Tax Senior with over 16+ years of industry experience and got PMP certified last week.

Kalpana had been working towards her PMP goal since 2014 when she failed the attempt. Gathering her lessons from the experience she kept the dream alive and achieved the goal with some meticulous planning and smart strategies. In this article, she shares them all.

When did you begin your PMP preparation?

My PMP Journey started in 2014. 😀 Yes, it has been that long since I began but then I’m glad I stuck with my goal and reached it last week!

In 2014, I started preparing for PMP with the thought that I’ll be a PMP certified in the same year but unfortunately, I failed in my first attempt. And that loss (both in terms of financial, time, and motivation) taught me few things.

Lessons Learned from failure:

• Don’t overprepare
• Don’t use too many books/materials/notes
• If you are sure your answer is correct don’t flag them for review (I did this mistake and took a bad hit on time management)

In hindsight, I wish someone had told me these before I took that attempt. 🙂 I hope this article might do that for some of you preparing for your PMP exam.

I understand it can be hard from there. How did you continue?

After the first attempt, I had to take a break from PMP preparation due to personal reasons. However, getting PMP certification was always on my mind, and I never thought to drop this plan out of my to-do list.

In 2019, I attended a training session of Mohit Mathur. The way he explains each concept with different examples was easy to remember.

Again, few things came on my way and I couldn’t spend much time for exam preparation, and achieving the PMP certificate was again put on the backburner. Then it was the end of 2020 and PMP rolled over with the new exam content.

At the beginning of 2021, I decided that whatever comes on my way, I will at least take the exam this year. So, my preparation began with full-time job and taking care of my three and a half years old son during this pandemic situation.

Also read,

• Top PMP preparation tips from Sandra Jones, PMP
• Arindam shows how to prepare for PMP using the agile approach
• 3 things that helped Peter pass the PMP exam
• How Shweta passed with a perfect Above Target score

Can you share your study approach and plan?

I dedicated 1 hour a day on a consistent basis so I can study with complete concentration. In addition, I continued watching/listening to YouTube videos while doing my household work.

My preparation continued for 6 months and when I felt confident that I am prepared to give the exam, I booked the slot.

I got a chance to do the virtual combined study with a friend. This was a revelation of sorts and made the exam preparation all the more fun.

Which study resources did you use?

[continue reading…]

Prabhao Moon passed his PMP exam, and I asked if he can to share his approach with the community. He feels that to pass the PMP exam all it takes is a simple strategy and consistency in following the plan.

By the end of this article, you may not just agree with him but also have a strategy and plan of your own (if you haven’t made one yet).

Prabhao has a master’s degree in Business Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. With 7+ years of experience in the Automotive industry, Prabhao is an expert on Project Management and New Product Development. Risk management is his favorite area. PMP^® is his first professional certification.

What made you take up PMP^®?

From the beginning of my career, I was working around the PM team and I always wanted to pursue my career as a Project Manager. About 2 years ago, during a casual discussion, one of my colleagues mentioned PMP certification.

That was the first time I heard about it, so I googled it, visited the PMI website and few other educational websites, forums, then went through some success stories.

Soon enough it was clear to me that there are no other certifications than PMP that I want to consider to enhance my knowledge, project management skills, and use to give me good exposure to the project management world.

I never considered any other certification and was only focused on PMP. But now I’m considering an Agile certification.

Also read –

• This week’s special offer coupons on top PMP study resources
• Now you can legally steam my PMP braindump
• Julian shares how using the simulator smartly helped her ace PMP
• Crucial PMP study tips from Jigar
• Anna Ezerskaya’s CAPM prep strategies

How do you see PMP^® helping you henceforth?

The first and basic benefit of being PMP^® is the confidence it gives you. For me, along with knowledge it has been a confidence booster and has changed the way I approach the projects.

It helped me to identify and fill the gaps in my current understanding of project management. This certification has helped me get recognized at my workplace and by recruiters.

Can you share your preparation approach & the study plan?

First things first – I enrolled myself in 35 hours of classroom training from Seed Infotech.

They guided me about the PMP certification: how to read and key elements of PMBOK, introduced me to knowledge areas and process groups, recommended few books for reference, explained how to apply for the exam, and gave tons of motivation.

Books Referred –  PMBOK guide & the PMP prep book from Rita Mulcahy

Preparation Strategy –

• PMBOK guide (read twice),
• Rita Mulcahy’s book (read twice) &
• Mock tests (went after the wrong answers with obsession)

I targeted to get PMP certified in 2 Months and planned backward.

This is my strategy for the preparation. [continue reading…]

Jigar Joshi lives in the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada, and works as an Instrumentation Engineer. He’s been fascinated by project management and recently got PMP^® certified. In the week’s article, Jigar shares his PMP exam study tips and the study approach he used to pass it.

What made you take up PMP^®? Did you consider any other certification exams?

I have been working in the Oil and Gas and Mining construction industries for a long time. I have completed 6 projects so far, out of which two are megaprojects (2 Billion and 10 Billion).

Wanted to advance my career in the project/construction (EPC) industries from the start of my career. Having PMP certification will work as an asset and may become a bedrock for my further progress.

Without a doubt, having PMP^® certification in hand will expand more doors of opportunity. However, the core benefit for me is to be assigned more responsibilities in the current company.

I think that the engineering technical background and PMP leads to more project-related responsibilities and faster growth.

Can you share your PMP^® prep approach in detail?

It took 3 months of consistent study to prepare for the exam.

The books I used:

• PMBOK guide
• PMP^® Exam Prep 9th edition, Rita Mulcahy

First-round study –

[continue reading…]

CAPM certification preparation the Agile way? Anna Ezerskaya discovered this, sort of accidentally, when she found PMBOK was a hard read. And this approach served her pretty well.

Anna holds the role of a design engineer doing mainly project integration of a sub-project in High Tech environment with a group of multidisciplinary engineers. She says she is totally sure that her future is in Project Management.

In this article Anna shares how coming from a strong science background, she adapted to project management and prepared for her CAPM exam using the unique Agile approach.

Don’t miss her golden study nuggets at the end of the article.

What made you take up CAPM certification exam?

I have researched available certification exams, where are they recognized, and what value do they stand for.

PMP/CAPM turned to be the winner recognized globally and is supported by the organization of motivated professionals thriving to bring Project Management to a new level.

How do you see your Project Management certification helping you going forward?

I have considered the certification as proof of my capabilities. I am an engineer by trade and actively transitioning myself towards Project Management.

Being a young (I am 29) professional with a heavy technical background (Ph.D. in Physics) one doesn’t readily come across as a project manager until the first or maybe even a few projects are delivered. So one may say that I have used CAPM to put my foot in the door.

I expect to grow in the project management role, as I enjoy the process of solving problems using the synergy of a bunch of smart minds.

Related reads –

• CAPM exam changes – what you must know if you are preparing for it
• A short guide to CAPM certification preparation
• Elizabeth Coleman’s CAPM preparation strategies
• How this focus helped Srikant answer 30-35 ITTO questions on CAPM exam
• This old school technique helped Anthony get CAPM certified

Which study resources did you use for the exam preparation?

I have used PMI’s online self-paced course for CAPM certification, which I am very satisfied with, and I have read the PMBOK 6 once.

I opted for the online resource because it fits my busy schedule and I can adjust the pace to my availability. [continue reading…]