The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is offered by Project Management Institute(PMI). It validates a project manager’s skill set on the basis of their excellence for today’s challenging business roles. The PMP is designed by the project professionals for the project professionals so that they can lead a project with efficiency and deliver the desired results.
The PMP requires you to complete 35 hours of training so that you learn all the concepts, ideas, and skills for project management. The examination consists of 180 multiple-choice questions.
It might sound easy to some to prepare for the PMP exam. But qualifying for PMP is challenging and requires dedicated preparation in advance. Even the project managers need to be aware of the latest concepts and methodologies included for the certification.
The Project Management Certification requires dedicated practice and experience so that the candidate qualifies it with ease. Read out the rest of the article below to get to know more about the steps required to prepare for the exam.
Steps to Prepare for PMP Exam
Below are the steps required to prepare for the PMP exam:
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Register in a study course offered by an accredited registered education partner(R.E.P.S)
The PMI has registered education partners working for them. The purpose of REPS is to provide quality education to thousands of PMP aspirants across the world. It becomes easy for the candidates to get a quality education as per the global standard. This removes the obstacle of location which otherwise becomes an issue.
The REPS provides training courses to its students. The benefit of getting educated from these accredited partners is that they provide study content based on the latest guidelines issued by PMP. As such, the syllabus criteria of the exam is also kept in mind. All of these courses comprise various project management concepts, terminology, formulae, and other key areas required to qualify for the PMP exam. Lastly, when you complete the course, they provide you with a certificate of completion. It serves as an important achievement, which also acts as proof of your skillset. You might also be required to submit it for the PMP exam.
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Go through the PMBOK guide
The Project management institute releases the PMBOK guide(Project Management Body of Knowledge) to help the candidates with the PMP exam. This contains the principles, concepts, and ideas that can be applied by the project manager in a project. So for a candidate, it is very important for him to go through the PMBOK guide very carefully. Go through the guide topic-wise. Break down the syllabus into small parts. The key is to read the study topics as effectively as you can. The smaller parts make it easier for you to finish the target of the syllabus. Apart from preparation from PMBOK, it is important for the students to do thorough research on the exam content, the number of questions, syllabus, rules and regulations, marking schemes, etc.
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Prepare a study plan
The study plan acts as a tool to prepare for your exam. For this to work in your favor, you need to divide your complete syllabus into smaller chunks. These small chunks can be your study topics, exercises, practice tests, etc. make sure to allocate equal timeframes to all of your parts. Also, make sure that all of your topics and exercises are covered. The benefit of preparing a study plan is that you never miss out on your preparation, and it makes you exam-ready in a much lesser time.
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Practice mock tests to get ready for the exam
Mock tests serve as an important tool to prepare for your exam. It is the best way to remain aware of your preparation. When you give mock tests, it will make you aware of the topics or some exercise that you need to excel at or in case require more effort and preparation. The benefit of giving mock tests is that they create the same environment as that of the actual examination. It helps in making the candidate familiar with the exam pressure and the exam questions.
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Try Online PMP exam prep workshops
The Exam prep is developed by PMI to help the students qualify for the PMP exam. This exam prep is authorized by PMP and its certification holders. It is a self-paced course that will help you get expertise in project management skills. As a result, you will be closer to qualifying for the PMP exam. It also consists of real-world scenarios to help you understand better and then apply those concepts in your challenging situations. The exam prep also satisfies the criteria of 35 contact hours of preparation. Since this course is self-paced, you do not need to worry about the pace for completion.
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Form a study group
The study group is as important as all other steps required to pre[are for an exam. So find people who are giving the same exam through meetups or social networking websites. It basically removes the monotony of preparing alone. This will help you to connect and network with people across the world and from various professional backgrounds. When you study in a group, you will be able to discuss various topics and thus get help on the ones you are struggling with. So everybody gets help from each other and thus strives to achieve amazing results. As a result, everybody stays motivated and therefore stays on course. The best thing about studying in a group is that it will help to study on a regular basis and makes preparation a lot easier.
Bottom Line
The PMP is one of the best certifications for project managers. Having said that, there are more than 1,000,000 certification holders worldwide. This shows how valuable getting certified in PMP is. Now that you are aware of the exam preparation strategies, what are you waiting for? Enroll yourself in one of the training courses and give your examination.