Many years ago, I scheduled my PMP exam for the afternoon slot on 31st December.
If I were to pass it, I’d be beginning the New Year as a Certified Manager.
Else, PMP would be my New Year’s resolution!
And that too with a head start!
You have almost 7 weeks to go in 2022.
Want to get PMP certified in the next 7 weeks?
Let me tell you this: It is much easier than you think.
Here is a 5-step process my students are using to do it. 👇
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Let’s dive in!
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Super Simple Proven System To Get PMP Certified Before Year Ends!
Step 1. Identify your learning style.
It could be reading, visual, guided, or blended.
Chances are you have a combination.
But there’s one that’s your primary learning style. Identify it.
- Love books? – Choose PMP books.
- Love watching videos? – Choose a video course.
- Need some nudge? – Enlist a coach.
- Need it faster? – Go for a combination that you can manage.
Choosing the right set of study resources, the ones you ENJOY learning from, can reduce your overall time and effort by 50% or more.
No kidding.
Bonus – Invest in a good simulator (check this and this). That’s the one to close the gap between your I-am-done-with-my-study and I-am-ready-for-the-exam!
Step 2. Treat your PMP exam as a project.
“A project is a temporary endeavor with a start and end date, that produces a unique product, service, or result”
That’s the definition of a Project, by PMI.
Well, your PMP goal too is a project, isn’t it?
It has a start date (today?), and an end date (when you take the exam).
And produces a unique result: PMP credential for yourself.
How would you do it?
First, have a simple spreadsheet-based study plan.
Have milestones and tasks under those milestones.
Here’s an easy way to do this: Simply copy the book or course outline as the set of milestones and tasks. And your study plan is ready!
Bonus – include mock tests from the simulator also as tasks.
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Step 3. Study every. single. day.
This is crucial.
Let me share a secret to PMP success, based on my experience of working with PMP students since 2013.
The secret ingredient is:
STUDY MOMENTUM.
There are many psychological reasons why this works, but here’s what’s important to know:
When you study every day, you create momentum.
And you make daily study a routine.
It gets easier to ‘get into zone’.
Within weeks the pendulum effect kicks in, and you will find it easier & easier to study.
This saves you from:
- False starts
- Frustration and guilt
- Sense of “I can’t recall anything”
Step 4. Take practice tests at milestones.
The benefits of simulator practice tests are many.
Here are 4 of them –
- They give you the sense of the real exam (4 hours!)
- They teach you how to apply concepts and solve questions
- They help you identify your knowledge gaps and fill them quickly
- Considering that you get 76 sec/question, they help you manage your time!
Many people take practice tests a few days before the exam.
This is better than not taking ’em at all, but this is a bad practice.
Practice tests from the PMP simulator are to be taken strategically.
- Take Knowledge-Area specific tests as soon as you complete a particular knowledge area.
- Take a couple of full-length (180-Q) tests at the end of the first round of study.
- Then onwards take one full-length mock test every weekend.
- Take 2-3 full-length tests in the week before your exam.
- Do NOT take any the day before the exam.
Get 5 recent PMP’s strategies to help you pass PMP:
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Step 5. Book the exam a few weeks ahead.
Once you’ve applied for PMP exam, the question is how will you know when to book it, right?
When you treat your PMP exam as a project, especially as an Agile project, you will be able to forecast the remaining effort.
And you do this as part of your Retrospective meeting at the end of every week.
That Retrospective you’ll do with you and your coach.
You’ll also get to forecast the remaining effort.
When you know you’ll be done with 2 rounds of study, add a week for revision.
Then take a look at your work schedule and personal commitments:
- Do you have to travel for work,
- Do you have a release at the office,
- Do you have a major event in your family,
- Do you have to attend your child’s play at school?
Yes, you are also managing risks here.
And adding the buffer for known-knowns.
That gives you a ballpark figure to look for the availability of exam slots.
This is the best way to arrive at a tentative date to get PMP certified.
Bonus – Online mode has more slot availability, while the availability of test-center slots is limited. Choose your mode of testing early.
Bonus – Celebrate your wins.
PMP preparation is like a marathon. It takes several weeks or months.
You need to keep the levels of energy, motivation, and interest high throughout.
One of the ways is to share your progress with your friends, community, and coach.
The other, most important psychologically – is to celebrate every single win, no matter how small.
Celebrate when you:
- Complete a KA
- Complete a domain
- Complete a mock test
- Complete a round of study
- Heck, at the end of every week!
The celebration doesn’t have to be big and expensive.
But it has to be relevant for you.
It could be:
- A walk in the nearby park
- Watching a movie with family
- Meeting friends for a couple of hours
- Having your favorite drink (coffee, for me)
- Taking your children for a round of ice-cream
- Doing your favorite hobby (playing Flute, for me)
- A quiet dinner with family at their favorite restaurant
Choose your reward, feed your soul, and make your prep a celebration.
That’s it!
The 5-step PMP prep strategy you can legally steal to get PMP certified in a hurry!
Why has this been working like a charm?
The majority of my students (book, course, coaching) use this system to get PMP certified in the timeframe they want.
Not just that, they’ve gone ahead and used this to get other project management certifications as well!
This method has been proven to work over and over and over again.
The benefits are many:
- No ‘information overwhelm’
- Gives you total clarity
- No getting stuck
- Agile progress
- Sure results
In short, most of the possible blockers are avoided without you even knowing about it. 🙂
Try this out today.
Got specific questions related to your PMP preparation? Reach out to me.
PS: Share this article with someone that may need this.
✌️
Shiv Shenoy, PMP
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