By Revathi Easwaran, PMP
Introduction
I always had a dream of building my career in project management. Hence, I decided of getting PMP® certified. As we all know, PMP certification is highly valued and to power my passion I went for it without looking back.
PMP Coaching Experience
I did my research to find the best institute in order to prepare for the PMP exam. After all online searches and enquiries, I finally chose a provider for getting started. Mr. Satya Narayan Dash was our coach and the training was for 4 days, spread over two weekends. It was during the end of December 2016.
My whole experience of that training was very informative and easily understandable. Satya’s way of teaching was to the point and interactive.
He had always encouraged learning everyday so that the content stays in our mind. As I remember, in the last day of training I was able to remember all the 47 processes across the 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups, even without thinking. Here, I would definitely have to appreciate Knowlegehut for providing very good facilities, which enabled better learning.
Own Study
I had plans to schedule my exam as soon as I am ready so I started my studies. I spent minimum two hours a day for my studies. By Feb 2017 I registered in PMI and submitted my application. My application was not selected for audit and I proceeded with payment.
I didn’t want to refer too many books and confuse myself so I went through only the PMBOK® Guide 5th edition and few other books such as Rita Mulcahy and Headfirst. I read until I was clear with the concepts and each knowledge area. I had made my own notes based on PMBOK5 which helped a day before the exam for revision.
Once I was done with my studies, I started with free mock exams from source such as Oliver Lehmann and few others. I was initially scoring very low so I went through my earlier references again.
I also purchased and installed few Software and Mobile Apps which I used to answer questions during my free hours - thanks to Bangalore Traffic! For mock questions, I also had used couple of other books.
I believe spending time everyday for your studies and practising mock exams will only help in achieving this certification.
PMP Exam Experience
Finally, I scheduled my Exam on 21st Dec 2017. I couldn’t take the exam earlier due to my work load. I was very clear that I won’t panic and do my best. Day before the exam I just went through my own notes.
I didn’t have any strategy in mind before sitting for the exam. I had picked the first slot at 08:30 am and reached the Prometric centre 30 mins before. When the exam started I didn’t want to waste my time with the exam instructions. Hence, I quickly skipped those and started attending my questions. I was having an eye on the timer as I don’t want to rush in the last minute.
Types of Questions Faced
I faced following types of questions.
I finished my exam with 30 minutes to spare. From that, I used the first 20 minutes to review the questions which I marked for checking. Final 10 minutes I was unable to hold the tension and hit on the finish button after skipping the survey. I had my heart out by the time the congratulations appeared on the screen.
Yes, I did it!! I’m a PMP now!
Suggestions for PMP Aspirants
Do’s
- Please carry only your ID proof when you go inside the exam centre.
- Reach your Prometric centre 30 Mins before. I had my exam started 10 mins before the exact scheduled time.
- Be clear with the process flow and what comes next.
- The exam requires both mental and physical readiness so be strong and make sure you have your food before you sit for exam.
Don’ts
- Don’t panic and believe in yourself. If you had put your time and effort on studying it won’t be wasted.
- The real exam questions are very different from the mock questions. Never expect easy and straight forward questions in the exam.
Conclusion
I would like to use this PMP as a means for my career growth. Moreover, it has given me a lot of self confidence and taught me to never give-up no matter what happens. If you have decided and made your mind just go for it and it will definitely happen.
Brief Profile
I’m Revathi Easwaran. I’m currently working for HCL Technologies as Release Manager with 9 years of IT experience.
PMP LIVE LESSONS - Guaranteed Pass:
I always had a dream of building my career in project management. Hence, I decided of getting PMP® certified. As we all know, PMP certification is highly valued and to power my passion I went for it without looking back.
PMP Coaching Experience
I did my research to find the best institute in order to prepare for the PMP exam. After all online searches and enquiries, I finally chose a provider for getting started. Mr. Satya Narayan Dash was our coach and the training was for 4 days, spread over two weekends. It was during the end of December 2016.
My whole experience of that training was very informative and easily understandable. Satya’s way of teaching was to the point and interactive.
He had always encouraged learning everyday so that the content stays in our mind. As I remember, in the last day of training I was able to remember all the 47 processes across the 10 knowledge areas and 5 process groups, even without thinking. Here, I would definitely have to appreciate Knowlegehut for providing very good facilities, which enabled better learning.
Own Study
I had plans to schedule my exam as soon as I am ready so I started my studies. I spent minimum two hours a day for my studies. By Feb 2017 I registered in PMI and submitted my application. My application was not selected for audit and I proceeded with payment.
Once I was done with my studies, I started with free mock exams from source such as Oliver Lehmann and few others. I was initially scoring very low so I went through my earlier references again.
I also purchased and installed few Software and Mobile Apps which I used to answer questions during my free hours - thanks to Bangalore Traffic! For mock questions, I also had used couple of other books.
I believe spending time everyday for your studies and practising mock exams will only help in achieving this certification.
PMP Exam Experience
Finally, I scheduled my Exam on 21st Dec 2017. I couldn’t take the exam earlier due to my work load. I was very clear that I won’t panic and do my best. Day before the exam I just went through my own notes.
I didn’t have any strategy in mind before sitting for the exam. I had picked the first slot at 08:30 am and reached the Prometric centre 30 mins before. When the exam started I didn’t want to waste my time with the exam instructions. Hence, I quickly skipped those and started attending my questions. I was having an eye on the timer as I don’t want to rush in the last minute.
Types of Questions Faced
I faced following types of questions.
- I had more questions from Communication Management and Stakeholder Management.
- There were few questions on calculating Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI).
- Also, I was given a graph and asked to identify if it was ahead/behind schedule or over/under budget.
I finished my exam with 30 minutes to spare. From that, I used the first 20 minutes to review the questions which I marked for checking. Final 10 minutes I was unable to hold the tension and hit on the finish button after skipping the survey. I had my heart out by the time the congratulations appeared on the screen.
Yes, I did it!! I’m a PMP now!
Suggestions for PMP Aspirants
Do’s
- Please carry only your ID proof when you go inside the exam centre.
- Reach your Prometric centre 30 Mins before. I had my exam started 10 mins before the exact scheduled time.
- Be clear with the process flow and what comes next.
- The exam requires both mental and physical readiness so be strong and make sure you have your food before you sit for exam.
Don’ts
- Don’t panic and believe in yourself. If you had put your time and effort on studying it won’t be wasted.
- The real exam questions are very different from the mock questions. Never expect easy and straight forward questions in the exam.
Conclusion
I would like to use this PMP as a means for my career growth. Moreover, it has given me a lot of self confidence and taught me to never give-up no matter what happens. If you have decided and made your mind just go for it and it will definitely happen.
Brief Profile
I’m Revathi Easwaran. I’m currently working for HCL Technologies as Release Manager with 9 years of IT experience.
PMP LIVE LESSONS - Guaranteed Pass:
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