.

I’m so happy to bring this week another of my student’s PMP^® exam success. Neeharika Peri has 11 years of rich experience in IT Service Delivery and Management. She has a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering and loves traveling & watching movies.

What made you take up PMP^®?

As part of my work responsibilities I am required to ensure successful delivery on a consistent basis.

I manage both Predictive and Agile projects. There is no certification equivalents to PMP standards for a well-rounded learning about project management.

My organization had arranged PMP^® training sessions – where I got my first experience with what is involved with this exam. I was tremendously influenced by the amount of useful information, which gave me the confidence that this certification would certainly help me become a better project manager.

I always had this blind spots while managing projects, not knowing what am I missing to proactively ensure that things on the project goes well.

Now that I am PMP certified, I feel pretty confident of taking up any complex and challenging projects. I know that I can cover all of the aspects of project management – right from scope, cost, schedule, to all the way of managing outsourced work.

I believe PMP adds lot of value to my profile and project management skills.

Which study resources did you use for the exam preparation?

Initially I thought of reading Rita Mulcahy’s book (ad) and PMBOK guide.

Project Management is a vast subject and involves lot of expertise such as managing scope, budget, schedule, people, vendors, communications, risks, and so on. It is very important to have a book that simplifies the understanding of the content and helps you to remember the key points under each section which is required to clear the PMP exam.

Hence, after reading few pages of the big books, I felt the need of some easy-to-understand visuals, techniques and phrases to remember the ITTOs & other complex information.

Hence I started to refer some reference materials on Udemy, YouTube but they couldn’t meet my needs fully.

Then my friend Prem, who has been a student of Shiv Shenoy, suggested to refer to the PMP^® Exam preparation Kindle books from Shiv and I grabbed them.

I also took the Launchpad and The Complete PMP^® Formula Guide online courses from Shiv – which helped a lot in my PMP^® learning journey.

Also read: How Mariia passed PMP exam with this rock solid study strategy

[continue reading…]

2020 gave the world Covid. Let us take PMP^® out of it! 🙂

Offer has ended.

The PM Exam Last Mile Prep Program (Limited Seats Only)

(Use the 4-wk plan & work with Shiv Shenoy to get certified before 31 Dec)

• $123.5 off the regular price of $247.00 (limited seats offered on first-come-first-serve basis)
  
• Discounted price: $247.00 $123.50
• Sales Date: 29 November 2020 (Offer is open currently)
• Discount coupon code: CM2020
  
• How to claim?
  • Click this special discount coupon product checkout link > PM Exam Last Mile Prep Program at 50% Discount!
  • Enter the Discount coupon code CM2020 click ‘Apply’ & go ahead with payment options and instantly access the program.
  • Once you log in, please go through PMP^® Exam Secret Strategies course first (these are ultra powerful strategies to reduce preparation time & efforts) and use the instructions in the PM Exam Last Mile prep program lesson #1 to get in touch with Shiv Shenoy for one-on-one calls.
• What does the program contain (if you aren’t already familiar with this flagship program)?
  1. The mind map based video training, and brain-friendly content of 14 modules in the PM Exam Last Mile course (watch up to 2hrs of actual mind map based training content here)
  2. A powerful video course on strategies to be applied at various steps along the PMP journey: PMP Exam Secret Strategies
  3. Weekly one-on-one calls with Shiv Shenoy to fast track your exam preparation (one of student experience here), after the initial session to discuss customized study plan, strategy questions, and PMI application (if you’re yet to apply)
  4. Daily student support, any of your questions on PMP topics are answered the same day, so you can maintain study continuity
• Be the first ones to grab this limited seats offer (my apologies if you’ve missed the deal, but you can still invest & get certified before the harder exam kicks in) > PM Exam Last Mile Prep Program at 50% discount!

Happy studying!

-Shiv

Many years ago when I was preparing for the PMP^® exam my kids were 3 and 5 yr old. I had 3-4 hrs of daily commute to office and back. I was managing 3-4 clients across 3 time zones, working for a start up. And then I had to make time for PMP^® study.  And I thought, rather naively, that its the most challenging situation a PMP aspirant can have (not to mention I started off with PMBOK alone 🙂 )

Over the years as I began working with PMP^® aspirants across the globe I have seen other, more intense, challenges that some of them had to go through. I’m sure Mariia Aleksieieva has had a different type of, and a more troublesome challenge, on her way to PMP^® certification.

Mariia is from Ukraine and was taking exam in Russian. There are not many study resources in Russian, and I believe even PMI’s 200 question mock test available for members is not available in Russian as well. Mariia had to translate a lot of English notes into Russian to understand it thoroughly.

Imagine studying entire PMP^® content in English by translating into Russian. That too with a limited time. It needs enormous self-belief and doggedness to march ahead studying every day.

And I was so happy to hear Mariia last week that she passed her exam (all her calls begin with a cheerful “Namaskara Shiv!”). It was one of my proudest moments when a PM Exam Last Mile prep program student passed the PMP exam, for the sheer amount of hard work she had put in and the hurdles she had to get past.

Mariia is an experienced manager with a demonstrated history of working in the management consulting industry. She has a Master’s Degree Diploma in Sociology of Management and PR from Inter-regional Academy of Personnel Management. 15+ years’ experience in operational improvement and top management. 7+ years as Project Manager in IT, retail and hospitality domains. 7+ years as Independent Business Consultant & Trainer for local small and medium sized enterprises (Ukraine, Russia, Nepal). 3 years as Hotel Manager.

A sports buff she like mountain trekking, kayak, dance and a bit paint, and believes that a successful manager should be versatile and draw his knowledge not only from books, but also from other life areas.

In this article Mariia explains how exactly she went about to prepare for PMP^® exam and passed it.

What made you take up PMP^®?

I have been working in project management for over 7 years. I really like the management and I cannot imagine my life without constant development and learning.

In addition to PMP^®, I also considered certification from IPMA. But in the end, I decided on PMP because I have noted that PMP is one of the often expected credential to have in job descriptions – indicating how critical this is for a project manager to have.

How do you expect your PMP certification to help you?

I have a Masters degree with excellence from Ukrainian universities and work experience mainly in local companies. International companies have higher requirements and work standards.

To develop my a career and for receiving a job offer of a project manager position in an international company, it is necessary to have an internationally recognized certification. I believe my PMP^® certification will help me land better positions to handle more challenging projects.

Also read: How Rachel aced her PMP^® Exam with smart preparation to a plan.

Which study resources did you use?

I tried many different ones, but what really met my requirements and expectations was PM Exam Last Mile prep program of Shiv Shenoy. Also I used PMBOK and a few free mock test simulators.

How did you approach the exam and what was your study plan?

I used the 7-week study plan from Shiv’s ‘Last Mile’ program. I also had to rely on translation from English to Russian as my exam was to be in Russian. In between I decided to take a break for few days to re-energize and get back to study.

I felt powerless when I read that many students prepare for the exam for 3 years or more. And many did not pass the exam successfully on the first attempt. I didn’t want to have this hard and long way.

Initially, when I estimated the capacity and complexity of information for exam, and also after reading the book by Scott Young  “Ultralearning”, I was looking for a training course using brain-friendly techniques, because I didn’t want to study for long with huge efforts. I’m glad to have come across ‘Last Mile’ program.

Also read: Liliya’s 45-day plan & strategies that gave her PMP certified

You have been part of PM Exam Last Mile prep program (thank you!). Could you please share how it helped you?

The most liked aspect of the program were mind map based videos of Shiv, crosswords, mnemonics, and knowledge capsules. Apart from these his one-on-one calls every week helped me course-correct myself and fast track my progress. He motivated me to make progress every time. [continue reading…]

When Rachel wanted to get PMP^® certified and we had a discussion about how to go about it, and subsequently she joined the PM Exam Last Mile prep program. After few weeks of working together Rachel passed the PMP^® exam recently. In this interview Rachel shares the exact steps she has taken to reach her PMP^® goal.

Rachel De La Cruz-Foster lives Greater Los Angeles, California. Has worked on various HRIS system implementations as part of various consulting firms over the past 20 years.

Rachel’s roles over the years have included systems analyst, independent consultant, project lead and account manager. In her free time Rachel teaches Hula dance.

This is a story of turning adversity (layoff to landing a job before even the certification!) into opportunity. And I am proud of Rachel’s hard work and tenacity to achieve her dream.

Please do not miss reading the ‘exam experience’ section – I have personally seen that this particular mistake has cost the exam for at least 2 exam aspirants.

What made you take up PMP^®?

I had been considering applying for the PMP^® certification for a couple of years, but never seemed to find the time to get started because of work and family obligations. Then my job was recently eliminated as part of a company restructuring and soon after that the pandemic hit the US.

On the first day that the state of California went on lock-down in mid March, I decided that I had no more excuses and I would have more time on my hands to study and prepare, so I spent a few hours filling out my PMP^® application.

I also considered the CSM certification, but I felt that the PMP^® certification would be more beneficial for me and more recognizable. I am now planning to study for my CSM certification next!

The main benefit I expect from my PMP^® certification was to help my resume stand out more and to broaden the types of job opportunities and pay-ranges that I could be considered for, from consultant to project manager.

Also read: With RIGHT resources it’s easy to pass PMP exam, says Prem after acing it.

What are the study resources you used?

I used just two – the PM Exam Last Mile prep program and the PMBOK guide.

The former helped me prepare well in the shortest time, and the latter ensured I cover the ground as per PMI’s expectations.

Since you only get an electronic version of the PMBOK guide as part of your PMI membership, I opted to purchase the paperback (it’s a big paperback!) so that I could highlight it as I studied and take it with me wherever I went).

I also purchased a couple of PMP^® test simulator courses that I found on Udemy for practice tests.

How did you approach the exam and what was your study plan?

I developed a 12-week study plan with Shiv using the sample plan that was included in the PM Exam Last Mile program.

Next, I scheduled weekly check-ins with Shiv to keep me accountable and to make sure that I was making good progress each week.

He also suggested how to progress further at each of the stages of the PMP^® journey, which helped optimize my study time. [continue reading…]

PMP^® exam preparation is probably pretty stressful time for many.

It need not be.

Absolutely not.

When I learned about the incredible PMP^® journey of Liliya Asenova Stoyanova I had to interview her.

This article is likely to be one of the most detailed account of how to go about PMP^® exam preparation I have seen in recent times. Liliya goes about in a planned way, removing any scope for failure.

She covers every step of the journey with details and insights – so you understand what to do, and why to do it.

The strategies that Liliya shares here are top-notch. They form a subset of what we teach in PM Exam Last Mile prep program – they are pretty powerful, so you just cannot go wrong with these!

What I liked most about Liliya’s 45-day plan is that she worked it out without making drastic changes to her daily schedule. This made it practical and easy to follow.

If you are preparing for your exam, dive deep into this article – you are bound to find few gems to use in your own preparation. And don’t miss the tons of study tips Liliya has for you in the last section.

Get a glass of your favorite beverage, let’s begin.

Thanks for taking time to share your exam experience, Liliya. Can you share something about yourself?

My name is Liliya Stoyanova from Sofia, Bulgaria. I have 10+ years of experience in top companies as IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, KPMG. Currently I am part of Cargotec as a Transition Project Manager.

My education is purely in Finance and Economics area with a BSc degree in Business economics with a second specialization in Banking from the University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria and a masters degree in European Business and Finance from the Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.

In my free time I enjoy playing Tennis. Whenever possible, I try to escape in the mountain for the weekend or to visit the seaside.

What made you take up PMP^®?

As a project manager it is easier to do a good job when you have access to standard practice such as what PMI has set up with the PMBOK guide. Having a baseline as PMP^® certification gives one the confidence to be able to handle any challenging project by tailoring the project approach.

In my eyes, the PMP^® certification should basically act as a trigger to search for more information and studies in the field of project management and be able to build upon your knowledge. The journey being a successful PM doesn’t stop with earning the certificate, it is just the beginning; it opens the doors to pursue many other opportunities.

When I asked experienced colleagues about a certificate exam that is useful, all of them recommended PMP^®. I didn’t need to hear anything more – so I took up PMP^®.

Also read: ‘With RIGHT resources it’s easy to pass PMP^® exam’, says Prem

What was the core benefit you expected from PMP^® certification and how do you see it helping you henceforth?

The core benefit which I value even more from having just the certificate and the knowledge is the fact that you become a member of a strong community of professionals from whom you can learn and keep yourself up to date.

During the preparation period I got to know so many amazing experts and cannot wait to meet many more. It is so inspiring to be able to verify your thoughts with another PMP^® professional, to exchange ideas.

PMP^® should be cherished and each and every one of us who earned it should consider his/her personal and ethical contribution to support and develop the field. The PM is a servant to the community and organizations to help achieve their goals.

Which study resources did you use for PMP^® exam preparation?

In terms of textbooks my main one was Rita Mulcahy’s PMP^® Exam Prep (9th ed) and for a second source of info was the PMBOK (6th ed).

In case something wasn’t clear in any particular area, I either looked it up in the PMI standards that are available on PMI site free of charge for the PMI members (i.e. Practice Standard for Scheduling, Practice Standard for Project Estimating, Practice Standard for WBS, etc.) or searched on the Internet.

I have not studied the individual standards in details but when I found a particular area which I am struggling with, I needed a third, fourth source of knowledge where I can check upon.

Last but not least, Oliver Lehman’s group on LinkedIn helped me a lot. Because when you are doing the mock tests sometimes the answer is not that clear and you need a buddy to explain it to you what is the logic behind.

Also read: Recommended (hand-curated) study resources for PMP^® exam preparation

How did you approach the exam, what was your study plan?

[continue reading…]