PMP success feature: interview questions

 Thanks for sharing your exam experience and study tips with the PM community. Your insights will be a great help to the exam aspirants.

Here are the interview questions I wanted to ask you -

1. What made you take up PMP? Did you consider any other certification exams?

Because my present position is as a project manager for the business solutions department in the Airline Industry, I can develop the necessary abilities to flourish in jobs and open up new opportunities in the future ahead.

At present, I am not considering additional certifications other than those offered by PMI followed the PMP, such as the PMI-ACP, etc 

2. What was the core benefit you expected from PMP certification, and how do you see PMP helping you, now that you are certified?

Some of the Benefits of doing a PMP certification, in my opinion, include:

a. Adds value to my career path and my future career.
There are several professional certifications that we can pursue throughout our careers. But, among all of those, PMP certification is the most valuable certificate program.

b. Provides Industry recognition
PMP certification is universally recognized. Many certification programs focus only on a specific domain or geography. PMP, on the other hand, is global and works with any industry and in any location. So, regardless of the professional background and industry.

c. It helps you learn essential skills.
PMP certification has high standards. As such, it is not easy to clear this exam without extensive preparation. Moreover, it requires you to master the practical application of the material. Attaining the PMP credential will include learning several hard and soft skills. It builds the knowledge of fundamental project management processes, tools & techniques, and methodologies. Further, it exposes us to best practices and current trends in project management. We can also learn new tricks and techniques in project management activities.

d. Contributes to higher income and open new opportunities
PMP has consistently been the highest-paid IT certification and is open to new opportunities. Also, the trend indicates that PMP salaries will only continue to grow in the future. Apart from higher-income, PMP certification improves job security. Some companies value the core competencies learned through certification during downtime. Hence, a PMP credential helps you fight a potential layoff better than not having one.

e. Provides networking opportunities
PMI currently has about 1,135,460 (update 31 march 2021) active PMP certification holders across the world. When we sign up as a PMI members, we become part of that club. PMI arranges frequent meetings for members in major cities around the globe. These meetings are also arranged to help the members earn Professional Development Units (PDUs). These units are needed to fulfil Continuous Credential Requirements, also called as CCRs. These are essential to keep the certification for three years.

f. Validates your dedication to the job

There are certain conditions which are needed to be met before getting PMP certified. If we are an associate, we require 60 months of experience to be eligible. On the other hand, a person with a bachelor's degree requires 36 months of work experience. PMP certification has high standards. A potential employer understands that clearing the exam takes dedication to the job. It indicates that you are serious about making project management for the long-term career path. 

3. According to you what is the one thing a PMP aspirant should have/do/use, to prepare well and pass the exam? (any personality trait, any strategy, any particular resource, or anything else)

•  Focus and keep the spirit of maintaining consistency in learning.
• Make the journey of PMP by learning materials and practice questions more fun, for example, by giving yourself a small reward when the mock-test results are better than before.

4. Which study resources did you use for your exam preparation, and how did they help?

• My learning resources are mainly from PMBOK v6, Agile Practice Guide.
• Mock practice with a prepcast and The 50 PMP Exam Prep Questions Everyone Gets Wrong: Master The Hard Questions - Ace Your PMP Exam by Cornelius Fichtner
• As well as some PMP materials from https://www.pmexamsmartnotes.com 

5. What was your approach and study plan?

• My approach is more practical and pragmatic (read the material and practice, iterative, periodic and regular), and 
• My study plan is made in a daily activity table with milestones that must be pursued until exam day. 

6. Can you please share any issues/blockers you might have faced along the way and how did you overcome them.

My barriers so far are laziness and doubt, which impact self-confidence that goes up and down during the study period. 

7. Thank you for being part of PMExamSmartNotes student community! Can you please share if and how did the course/support help?

Yes, thank you for the support from PMExamSmartNotes, helping in discussions and my journey from zero to PMP Certified. 

8. The week before the exam is crucial. How did you spend this week?

 

 Frankly, I'm still struggling with practice questions and mocks even though I've finished all of them to make them more solid and increase my confidence.

But one day before the exam, I did not touch the material and practice at all. I spent a lot of time talking and playing with my family.

9. What was your exam experience? (online / exam hall experience, support from staff, whether you opted for the breaks, level of complexity of questions, any time management approach - anything that can help with exam anxiety :) )

• My exams tend to be quieter, where I've spent almost a year studying for this in total, and I've finished all the materials and mock exams.
• I chose to take the test on-site test centre because I think it is more confident and reduces the risk of things beyond my ability, such as internet connection, electricity, environmental noise, and others.
• In my opinion, the questions are more direct than my mock exercises, but because I am not native English, I still have to read some statements over and over so that my understanding and what is being asked in the questions match the answers chosen.
• I use the "155:80:5" time management technique and guidance, which is my alert in working on the questions to meet the targets and time limits.
• I take all the breaks to freshen up and go to the toilet.
• By refreshing myself to the toilet, even though in the 1st session the time was a bit missed, but I was finally able to focus and concentrate on sessions 2 and 3 by finishing 40 minutes before the end of the time with All above target results in 3 PMP exam domains. 

10. Would you like to share any specific study tips, advice, techniques, or strategies for those preparing for their PMP exam?

Yes, a tip from me for all colleagues preparing for the PMP exam, continue to study, practice, and go through everything happily, so that you don't feel tired and even make learning and practising this PMP a temporary hobby until exam day.

In my opinion, studying the PMP and all certification exams are read and understood, and practised. Because in reality, the realistic question bank will not be the same as the Real-Exam. So only the correct, robust understanding and practice questions will keep us focused and concentrated during the exam. We can achieve the best results of it.