3 Important tips to rapidly get PMP certified

Greetings!

Recently, I happened to see my friends rushing up to prepare for PMP examination. The reason being, everyone knows that the PMBOK® Guide will be updated at the end of this year. A lot of people are asking: “What should I do to get my certification? “ So, I want to write about, basically one question and three pieces of advice. And the question is:

Should I do the exam before the end of the year?

And this question has no mathematical answer, “Yes” or “No”. It depends, so let me help you. If you have not started yet, if you have not done anything and the PMP is just a desire or a roadmap in your professional career, maybe it would be worth it for you to wait for next year and then you can do it with the new edition of the PMBOK® and the new structure of the exam. Maybe it will be helpful for you. However, if you had already started, then I strongly recommend that you finish and wrap up this cycle. And, you know I’m against procrastination. So, if you’re already started working on the PMBOK®, Next year, maybe this concept will be less relevant for the new exam. So, prepare, and do the exam now. This drives me to the three tips I want to share with you.

Tip 1: Schedule the exam Now

Yes. I know what you are thinking now: “I’m not done yet!” “I’m still studying!” “How can I schedule my exam if I’m not ready?” My answer to you: Schedule it. This has worked with me since always. And you should schedule with something like a non-cancellation option. Which means that if you cancel you lose everything. And why am I telling you this? Because this is the only way for you to fight procrastination. When you schedule the date, you will find time to study. Trust me, you will find time. If you wait for you to study and get ready and say: “now I will schedule my exam” you know what? That will not happen this year. Because other things will just take priority. So, when you block that, it will be a wall for you to reach.

Tip 2: Prepare yourself for Logical Questions

Don’t think that the PMBOK® guide and the PMP exam are a memory test. They are not a memory test. Please, trust me. I recorded a video that became very popular about the PMBOK® that became very popular and you can watch it here. And in this video, I do whatever I can to make you think in a logical way. When you see an input, tools or techniques or an output, Immediately, try to understand why it’s there. Why is it not in another place? What is the reason? And you will see that many processes are quite similar. So, don’t waste your time trying to memorize like a machine. Because first, this will not help you on the exam, trust me. And second, this will help you even less in real life. You know when you face a project, it is not a memory test. That you need to recall something to solve a problem in real life. Try to understand the connections and the logic of the flow. When you get to that, you will see that it is far easier to understand why that is not an input, but an output. Why that is a tool and not an output. So, trust in your logic and your rational thinking.

Tip 3: Do Practice Exams

Do as many practice exams / mock exams as you can. Please, buy some simulated test banks. Go online there are millions of them. I have no specific one to suggest. But I have a very clear challenge to you. Do 800 to 1000 questions, minimum. Not 200, not 300; one thousand questions. And you can do this in five blocks of two hundred or you can do 20 per day. You start with, no timing. But then over time you start trying to understand how much time you spend on each question. Why am I telling you this? Because an exam is an exam. It’s like driving a car and getting your driver’s license. The day you are going to the exam, it is not comfortable, right? Being tested. You are, I would say a little bit nervous. And this will happen with you on the day of the exam. So, by mimicking the exam you first, will check if you are not missing any topic you should study. And you will be prepared for that type of question. By practice you would start saying: “I have seen this before.” oops, I have seen that before. This means you are at a good point. And if you do that you will be far more confident when you sit for the exam. So, this is what I wanted to share with you. And I want to wish all of those who are keen to get the PMP this year, do it. Trust in yourself. Because it is great that you clear this, and next year you start a new year with fresh ideas to go on and to learn different things. Instead of just sitting on something and waiting until forever to get it done.

Thank you very much and I wish you all the best and good luck with the exam.