.

“Studying for PMP exam with your own timeframe is key”, says John, “so you avoid rescheduling, which can be stressful”. 

John D. Howze is a US Army veteran, currently working as Director of Sustainment.

He and his team safeguards 581 aircraft valued at $6.6B for US Army enterprise. He leads 298+ personnel directly with over 600-person workforce under management.

John decided to take up PMP while working in the Army.

In this article, he shares the steps he took and shares his advice to PMP aspirants.

You’ll be surprised to know that John spent just 3 hours on the 5 weekdays and 6 hours on the weekend, and did it in 3 months.

That’s about 108 hours over a 3-month period.

That’s pretty much what it takes, if you did focused study.

If you are short on time, here’s how you can go about your PMP plan:

You can fill 100+ study hours in 4-6 weeks. That’s about 17-25 hours a week. Or, roughly 2.5 to 4 hour/day, on average.

Of course, you will need a plan and approach. Find out more about this from PMP toppers’ experiences and by following my LinkedIn profile for PMP support.

This is a short interview, but each word of strategy, approach, and technique John shares is gold.

Why PMP?

I mainly pursued my PMP to become more competitive in the civilian sector prior to retiring from the Army.

I had acquired certification in Scrum and LSSBB and wanted to add PMP to my credentialing.

What was the core benefit you expected from PMP certification?

I took PMP to become more marketable in my job search. Research proves that PMP is and remains in high demand.

Now that I’m certified, I see limitless opportunities, which is great.

Also read: 

• LaKeevia reveals how planning can get you Above Target result
• Joshua reveals his simple strategy to pass PMP with Above Target score
• Did you miss PMI’s 2022 Salary survey? See how much you’re expected to earn!

👇 In a hurry? Watch this short video 👇

Want my FREE PMP course?

Which study resources did you use?

I used various sources, including PMBOK guide.

Information from your PMP blog site and the daily support community was very helpful in achieving my goal.

Can you talk about your study approach?

I studied for 3 months intensively and felt comfortable taking the exam.

The key was receptiveness.

I totally immersed myself in PMP and became focused on succeeding. [continue reading…]

With so much content to study for PMP, it may seem like a huge task. Especially, if you have a demanding job and a young family.

Exactly the situation Joshua was in.

He managed this beautifully and passed his PMP.

Joshua Curtis worked in the military for close to a decade and then, with the help of PMP, transitioned into the traditional project management space.

After PMP, he went on to get a slew of certifications needed for Construction management.

In this interview, Joshua shares the methodical, simple, yet highly effective approach he took to pass the PMP exam.

Even if there is one strategy or technique that resonates with you, you’ll have got multifold of the 5 minutes you’d spend to read through this ‘PMP lessons learned’ interview.

Let’s begin.

👇 In a hurry? Watch this short video 👇

What triggered your desire to take up this exam?

Originally, I wanted to go to school for construction management. But I had a hard time finding a program that I could do with my schedule.

Then, one day CTU had a commercial play about their Project Management study program, and at that moment I decided what I was going to do.

Seeing my degree is in Project Management, the natural progression in my opinion was to get my PMP.

Now that you are PMP certified, what changes would you foresee in the future?

The certification itself has not made a major impact. I wanted to pad my resume before I got out of the military to ensure some sort of financial security for my family.

Interestingly, even though I had 11 years of experience leading projects, plus a PMP cert, several of the major organization I applied for didn’t accept. They said that I was not yet qualified to be a project manager with their organization. And they offered me jobs as a construction superintendent or project engineer.

This probably was a blessing in disguise. I took a job with a start-up to not only be a project manager but also to continue developing myself to be the project manager that even major companies would want on their payroll.

The startup environment is conducive for faster growth, where you get to don multiple hats to get things done.

More PMP support articles for you:

• Grab my PMP brain dump for free, increase your odds of passing the exam.
• Use this research based 3-step formula. Prepare for PMP in a way you will enjoy!
• Click to subscribe, and get FREE PMP videos to study complex concepts
• Begin reading this popular brain-friendly guide to recall PMP content effortlessly

Which study resources did you use to study for PMP?

The choice for me here was straightforward: books!

I went with:

• Rita Mulcahy’s book
• Andy Crowe’s book
• Oliver Lehmann’s sample questions
• ..and a load of mobile apps.

You can also refer to this plan if you are just getting started.

You may like: tons of top PMP study resources, sample questions, and simulators.

Want my FREE PMP course?

Going through a PMP experience example is one of the strategic moves you can make while studying for the exam.

That way, you can avoid some common mistakes.

Better still, legally steal a technique or two that has worked for the toppers.

This week, Nirmala Vinothbabu shares her PMP experience, and shows how she topped the exam.

Nirmala works as an IT Project Manager in Barcelona, Spain.

She is passionate about Supply Chain Digital solutions and Data Analytics.

So far, we have interviewed over 340+ PMPs, picking their brains to know how they prepared and passed the exam. Bookmark this page to go over PMP experience example now and then.

What made you take up PMP?

I am working in the project management field for the past few years, but frustrated with non-standard ways of managing projects.

It was mostly trial and error, and it was becoming clear to me that I need to know how things are done in a systematic way to increase the odds of success.

When I was researching about possibilities, I came across PMP. I went over the syllabus. The comprehensive nature of it convinced me in picking up skills necessary to become a better project manager.

Apart from this, the credibility this certification provides did boost my self-confidence.

Also read: 

• LaKeevia shows how a bit of planning can get you Above Target result
• Rachana gives one more reason for adding PMBOK to your study resources
• Amit’s lean & mean PMP preparation approach can help you save time
• Did you miss PMI’s 2022 Salary survey? See how much you’re expected to earn!

Which study resources did you consider?

Keep reading the article to know how to get this score yourself.

I read Rita Mulchary’s PMP Exam Prep book in my preparation.

This book gave me good knowledge with practical application tips for implementing it in organizations.

For Agile preparation, I used Agile Practice Guide from PMBOK and googled for the agile concepts (Agile manifesto, Scrum guide, etc)

👇 In a hurry? Watch this short video 👇

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

My study plan is to complete all chapters from Rita’s book and ensuring to answer the questions by the end of each chapter.

I followed Andrew Ramdayal YouTube videos as well. His videos helped me in setting my mindset to prepare and get to know about the expectation of PMP certification.

Can you share any of the issues you faced, and how did you overcome them.

The main difficulty was consistency of preparation.

[continue reading…]

The simplest thing you can do when preparing for a tough challenge like PMP exam, is to see how others are conquering it.

Rachna Chauhan passed her PMP exam, and I decided to pick her brains to know her approach.

I tremendously enjoyed her 11-point preparation steps. Some of these are quite unique. I’m sure you’ll find useful.

It’s almost like a checklist you can stick at your desk.

Her 10 study insights shared in the end are just gold.

Then the insights she got to increase focus of level during the 4hrs of the exam! Goes to prove that by being mindful of our own actions, we can remove many blockers to PMP (true in general as well!).

Rachna Chauhan has worked in diversified IT insurance industry for over 10 years. She believes in being a lifelong learner, and being part of a dynamic team has helped her grow.

She also gives you a rock solid reason for considering PMBOK as one of your study books.

Make sure you have a sticky note nearby.

What made you to take up PMP?

I have been in industry for 10 + years and though I had real experience in managing projects, it was time to climb up professional ladder with certification.

My seniors and a colleague suggested that PMP was the highly recommended. It is a globally recognized professional certification and highly respected.

I researched and found it to be true, including the compensation part, and took it up.

What was the core benefit you expected from PMP certification?

My expectation was industry recognition, plan and simple.

I wanted to stand out from the crowd and take my career to the next level.

Now that I have passed the exam, I see a lot of good opportunities coming my way.

PMP has certainly broadened the horizon for me.

Which study resources did you use for study?

I had a lot of recommendations starting from Rita M, Headfirst PMP, and PM prep guide.

These are great suggestions and based on my learning style, I decided to go reading just the PMBOK 6th edition & EduHubspot.

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

First thing I did was to make sure I am 100% committed to complete this certification.

That mindset shift alone allowed me to say No to a lot of things, and make way for focussed study. [continue reading…]

When it comes to PMP preparation approach, Amit went the lean and mean way.

Amit Sharma works as Assistant Consultant specializing in Cloud Technology and has close to 12 years of experience in the Information Technology. He is a constant learner, and has achieved PMP, AWS, ITIL Expert V3, Six Sigma, Azure, Oracle Certified Associate, & CCNA.

This week, Amit talks about the challenges he faced, how he simplified the PMP complexity, and what exactly he did before the exam.

If you are in a hurry, watch the short video below.

What made you take up PMP?

I have come across many successful project managers in my career and got to know about the benefits of PMP from their real-time practice.

Subsequently, I began following PMI and joined many communities like the ones on LinkedIn, which made me comfortable about taking up the challenge and applying it in my daily work life.

I did not consider any other certification for project management than PMP. That was the one I was after, and I got certified with a memorable journey.

Now that I am certified, I feel confident of being able to manage and deliver projects of any size and complexity.

The good thing about PMI is that the PMP certification is valid and respected in any industry, and not just designed for IT project managers. I am expecting to manage large and complex projects with better planning and deliver desired results with complete customer satisfaction.

Which study resources did you use?

There are many good ones out there. After some research, I chose to go with just a handful of them, and for specific reasons.

I focused mainly on books because I am a big fan of reading. I feel more comfortable reading than any other means of learning.

• PMBOK guide
• Rita Mulcahy’s book
• PMP Exam Mentor (apple store, google play)
• LinkedIn groups (join this LinkedIn group or, if you are on Facebook, check out this Facebook group.)

I would recommend you invest time in research and decide to invest in those 2-3 resources that you find useful.

👇 In a hurry? Watch this short video 👇 [continue reading…]