Lessons Learned: Prepping for (and Passing) the PMP Exam
The PMP exam can feel intimidating, overwhelming, and even just plain unnecessary. It can feel like someone just decided to add a bunch of random terms and rules to things that don’t need them. WHY do we need to call this progress tracker a Kanban board?! For many of us, a 3.5 hour exam isn’t something we’ve done…ever. Heck, college exams last maybe 90 min! We’ve just been out here working. Well, I stressed out so you don’t have to and passed my PMP in the first try. Here are some tips so you can get after it with far more sleep and far less hair-pulling.
Check that the course you sign up for is up to date!
If I could go back and do this again…boy, would I. I took a very highly-rated and often referenced prep course on uDemy for the 35 Contact Hours in order to take the PMP. As I was taking the course, though, there were several sections that seemed as if they were the instructors personal preference, and other points were simply out-dated in today’s world. For example: ‘The answer on the exam is always going to be to get a physical co-location, even if you would actually get a virtual one in real life’, or ‘verbal communication is always best, no matter what.’. Even during the course I raised an eyebrow, as getting things in writing (ESPECIALLY when it comes to getting stakeholders and sponsors to agree to terms in projects) is absolutely critical. CYA, baby, CYA.
As it got closer to test day, I was reading the PMBOK 7th edition and taking new practice exams when I realized my course and the guide/questions didn’t seem to be jiving. Cut to finding out that PMI had made some pretty significant changes to the guide AND exam in 2023. The course I had just finished was done in 2021. This meant that a huge chunk of the class I took was not a major focus of the current exam: ITTOs (Inputs, tools, techniques, and outputs). Going back into the 2-3 star reviews, I saw nearly a dozen people noting that the exam had been updated and the course was not as applicable anymore for the current PMP. I should have done my due diligence instead of relying on recommendations. Was it a waste to learn the ITTOs or take this course? No, not at all. I do think it was helpful overall, but if I could do it again I would absolutely look specifically for a course that was updated for the current exam/year/PMBOK guide.
Take the exam in person if you can!
Holy cow do I wish I had done this differently. When I signed up to take the exam and saw there was an online/at home option - I jumped at it. The comfort of my own home vs a stuffy testing center? Yes, PLEASE!
The day before the exam I actually took a closer look at the protocols:
Nothing on your desk or nearby surfaces
No reading aloud
No silently mouthing questions to yourself
No looking away from your computer screen
No noise whatsoever
No covering our mouth
No headphones or earplugs
Your shoulders cannot drop from the webcam view
No scratch paper
These may seem like no big deal, but for me they made the exam exponentially more stressful. I am someone who often has to rephrase exam questions to process it and figure out exactly what is being asked. While I understand why you can’t read the question aloud, not even being able to silently mouth them to yourself seemed overkill. I also, like many people, tend to look around when I’m thinking, trying to figure something out, or recall an answer.
When you check in for the exam, you have to take photos of your testing space to ensure you have no study materials around. By that they mean literally everything has to be off of your desk. No clocks, no pictures, no nothing. I even had to pick up my entire desktop monitor so I could show the proctor my desk and the surrounding area In real time minutes before the exam - and then he had me spend several minutes with him on the line as I cleared makeup from a shelf that was a full three feet away from my desk. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s just added stress before a 3 hour exam that you don’t need. It didn’t even cross my mind that makeup brushes on a whole separate surface would also need to be cleared. Lesson learned, ammiright?
By the time I was actually taking the exam I was so paranoid about looking in the wrong direction or sitting the wrong way in my chair that it became incredibly difficult (and taxing) to focus on what I was actually there to do. It seems like so much of the online testing experience with PearsonVue is dependent upon your specific proctor and how strict they are (I read some horror stories the night before which was a huge mistake) - it’s not a risk I would take again.
This is all to say that in my opinion, the hassle and paranoia of the at-home testing with the way the rules are, made it significantly more stressful for me and even more challenging to really do my best on the questions. If I could do it again, I would drive the hour to a testing center.
PRACTICE TESTS
I fully believe that the mock exams and questions were more helpful than the course, than the books, than all of it. In the two weeks leading up to the exam, I would take 40-60 minute sessions of practice questions and then review/take notes on ones that I got wrong. This really helped me understand where my knowledge gaps were. Moreover, it helped me prepare my brain for three hours of test-taking which isn’t something I’ve done since the SATs.
Concepts & Mindset > Memorization
Outside of school, the only professional exam I had ever taken was the Cicerone exam. The Cicerone is a certification for beer professionals testing knowledge of brewing, history of brewing, beer style, etc. It consists of written and tasting portions. It’s a lot of memorization, much like undergrad a primary/highschool exams. The PMP exam is virtually zero memorization. You’re not going to be asked something like, ‘Which of the following describes a WBS?’. The questions on the exam are much more conceptual…’Here is situation X, what should you do?’. Memorizing processes and definitions isn’t going to help you there. You need to understand what the PMI is looking for in terms of perspective and approach. People first, analyze before acting, team-driven, communication, etc.
Lastly, Trust Your Gut
If you’ve taken the 35 hours, worked in Project Management for 36+ months, taken the mock exams, reviewed the PMBOK guide, done all the things…just trust your gut. It’s so easy to overthink every single questions and talk yourself into a corner where everything seems both right and wrong. You’ve done the work, you’ve done the prep - all you can do now is take a breath and trust your instincts.
