Gaining a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification will see benefits to both you individually, and to your organisation. Not only can it drastically improve your career prospects by demonstrating your commitment and skills; according to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey, 80% of successful and high-performing projects were led by certified project managers.
Now, more than ever, is the perfect time to upskill. So, how do you prepare for your PMP exam from home?
Formal training course
While classroom options are not currently available due to the ongoing pandemic, you can complete an online formal training course from a good education provider such as The ILX Group, which is registered with PMI with the provider ID 3490. Our accredited training is your best option for passing your exam first time, retaking the PMP exam costs money, and poor training costs time.
Our online course offers 12 months access to our PMP learning material, full tutor support and a PMP exam simulator.
PMBOK Guide
Owning the latest edition of the PMBOK Guide will give you access to the most up-to-date information for the exam. Project management evolves, and the current PMBOK guide is the sixth edition. This will equip you with the most relevant knowledge available.
If you didn’t get the PMBOK Guide as an optional addition when purchasing your course, you can buy it from our bookstore.
Familiarise yourself with the exam
Make sure you research what’s on the exam. Learning about the PMP 200-question exam format is just as important as learning the course content. Understanding the types of question and knowledge areas will enable you to study accordingly.
Study plan
What type of learner are you?
Not everyone benefits from the same type of learning. Figuring out what works for you is important for succeeding. Don’t wait for something to start working for you. Instead, actively seek a method that helps you retain the information needed the best. Read up on the different types of learning style. You might fall under a few categories.
Plan
Set realistic goals. Telling yourself you’ll read the PMBOK Guide back to front in one sitting is an unrealistic ask of yourself. If you set unachievable deadlines, you’re more likely to get disheartened when you begin missing them. Treat your learning journey as a marathon, not a sprint.
Don’t rush yourself. Make sure you spend the time to fully prepare, as this will save you the time and aggravation of a resit.
Take breaks
It’s important to ensure you allow yourself some downtime, it should be worked into your plan. There’s no point trying to get an overworked brain to take anything in. It’s more productive to take a break and come back to it with a fresh mind than it is to try and persevere for prolonged period of time.
Practice tests
Practice makes perfect, so take advantage of our exam simulator. Completing mock exams are a sure way of highlighting the areas your knowledge is lacking to help you prioritise your time ahead of taking your exam.
Project Management Institute
You must apply to the PMI before you can the sit the exam. There are some formal pre-requisites that you must meet to be eligible. You can read further about the criteria and the PMP procedures in their PMP Handbook.
Communicate
Social media is a wonderful tool. It has the ability to connect you to a whole network of people experienced or studying in the same qualification. LinkedIn has many project management groups that allow you to post any queries or share some study tips with others, which is ever more important in this new virtual world. You might not be able to share a classroom with fellow learners, but that doesn’t mean you’re alone.
Everyone is different, so be patient with yourself and your learning. Gaining a PMP qualification is a lot of work, but is highly rewarding, so take the time to plan your PMP journey.
Purchasing an accredited course will give you access to a wealth of multi-media rich content and exam help. It may seem a more costly option, but will give you access to all the materials you need to pass the exam, saving you money and time in the long run.