[Lessons Learned] How Jennifer Smith Passed Her PMP Exam

Hello everybody, thank you for joining us today. So today we have Jen Smith joining us. She just recently had passed her PMP exam and she's here to share her lessons learned with us. So I'm super excited to welcome Jen. So Jen, yeah, start telling us about your experience and how you got PMP certified.

So I actually took a PMP course I would say maybe in April of 2018. It was a 4-day course, kind of a crash course, and it was very intimidating. I wanted to start my PMP career, and it actually took a couple of years to just make the decision and go ahead and do it. When I took that course, it was like, oh my goodness, I have to learn all of this stuff. There's like 756 or so pages in the PMBOK, and I was like, how am I going to consume all of this after I learned that you have to take the exam from memory. So it's kinda like, you know, takes you back to those college days. So I put it off for quite a while because, A, I was completing, finishing my MBA program, and I just put it off because it was intimidating. But then I finally just went ahead and submitted the application, and I submitted my application in June of 2018. Of course, you have a year time span to actually take the exam. After I completed my MBA program in October, I decided to, okay, now it's time to focus on the PMP because that's going to expire soon. Considering that I did not have a plan, I decided to just go on YouTube and see what others have done. to try to just come up with some type of strategy before I execute the exam, because I didn't know that the failure rate, the first-time failure rate, is pretty high. And I just figured one of the reasons why it's high is because maybe life, you know, people have multiple things going on, and then they just don't know how to study for it. So I went and then I found a couple people on YouTube. Some of them had Some good techniques, but nothing that I would think would work for me. And then I found Exam PM, and I watched the videos, and I saw how you basically broke down the knowledge areas and the process groups. And I was actually able to learn all 47 of those within probably 15 minutes just by repetition and practicing the formulas that you had. I said, okay, I'm sold. I'm gonna go move forward and go ahead and purchased your course, and that was in January. That was in January of this year because I decided then I need to just go ahead and schedule the exam so I can stay focused and study and move forward. So that's what I did. I went ahead and took your course, and it just so happens that when I scheduled the exam, it was about 6 weeks, about a 6-week window, and I was able to really consume the information because of the way you broke it down with the videos, with the white papers that you have, with the tools and techniques, all types of things, the formulas. It was just a plethora of things that you had that actually made it easy for me because I'm a mom, I'm in the military, I have a full-time job, so I really don't have a whole lot of time to just sit there and study all day long. But the way that you broke it down, Even with the Excel sheet where basically I could go in and track myself to see at what week should I have completed this and what timeframes. I thought it just fit my schedule so well. So that was the main reason why I went with you all. It really helped. I passed the exam the first time. I did use other— like I used a couple apps to just basically test my knowledge and it just worked out perfectly. So thank you so much for— Creating Exams PM.

Oh, thank you so much. That's so kind of you to say that. That's so nice of you. So from the time that you registered in January, it took you 6 weeks to pass the exam, right?

So there's a caveat to that. So the day before, I actually scheduled the exam February 28th. On February 27th, My child got sick with the flu.

Oh no.

And then the following day was my exam, so of course I had to reschedule. So it gave me an additional 2 weeks because I actually took the exam March 13th. I just, I was kind of in the mode where I had everything in my head and I just wanted to get it over with. And I got sick too, and I said maybe it was a blessing in disguise because I was really anxious and a little bit stressed.

Yeah.

But I've noticed that that additional 2 weeks, it just— I didn't study as much. I actually scaled back a little bit and just started doing the apps. And I started doing the apps and just testing my knowledge because I learned everything from your course. And so I use those apps to test my knowledge and it was very, very helpful. The day before the exam, I didn't study at all. I actually just slept. Yes, the day before the exam. So yes, it was, it was, it was perfect. But the way that you outlined the work, oh, that was, it was very helpful.

Thank you for that. So I know you're busy, you're a mom and you have work. So how did you make time to study, like on a day-to-day basis? You know, when did you make the time to actually sit down and do the work?

So I would, I would usually do the work in the evening. So I would follow the, the outline that you had in your Excel sheet. I actually tried to follow that, and I would just set aside maybe 2 or 3 hours a night to go through it. And then on the weekends, on the weekends is when I would get most of my studying in, because that's when I had the time. But in between, like, I just made some note cards. I printed out the papers that you created to just go through things. I would go back and— so the simulation exams, I made sure I took all of those. I actually took all 5 of them because it just helped with that repetition. And that's pretty much what I did. I just, whenever I could find time, I would.

Yeah, yeah. And, you know, you highlighted a good point. That's a good point in that you spent years trying to figure out, do you want to do this or not? But when you actually sat down and you studied for it, it only took less than 2 months or less to actually do it. So it's a short-term sacrifice and you get that extra credential to your name pretty much for the rest of your career. So I think it's still a really great return on your investment, right?

Yes, yes it was, and I would definitely recommend this course to anyone if they would My biggest recommendation with the PMP, because it is a bit intimidating, or it can be, especially if you, if you're unfamiliar with how to study or study practices, or if you're a very busy person. But I would definitely recommend to take the 4-day crash course because it just gives you a foundation. And then take your, take your course and just use different types of, I guess, Because I use different sources to just test my knowledge, knowledge, because you do get different— how can I say this— the questions that are generated for one app will be completely different from the questions that are generated from another. So you get to basically cross-reference and make sure the information is the same, but you get to test yourself.

Right.

Because you don't know what the PMP exam questions are going to be, but it gives you that— you're able to really test yourself by going back and forth. So I think that's good. But your course, I'm pretty sure it's the number one reason why I passed.

Thanks for saying that. So, and what was I gonna say? Oh right, what did your actual exam date look like? So when you're walking in, you know, how did that process look like and how did you find the actual exam?

So I had no idea that PMI, they really take that exam very seriously regarding the security aspect of it. Really, like, I wore glasses. I wear glasses. I have on contacts now. They actually took— I had to take my glasses off and they actually looked in them to make sure there were no security cameras. And I was like, man, this is like really serious. It was— the facility was good. Once I got to the desk, of course, it gives you a high-level overview of the structure of the exam. And then once the exam came up, actually, I took the entire time. I took the entire 4 hours because I did take the recommendation to jot down the formulas, jot down the 47 processes. And although I really didn't look at it much, it was there for me. That does take up some time, but— I think it's helpful for people if they have a problem like retaining information. So it's very helpful. It just so happens that I really didn't use it much because I just had it because I practiced it so much. I will say I scored above target for the initiating, and then the rest of them I was within the target. So, which was good. Either way, I was happy. I was just happy that I passed. And then I guess the most exciting portion of it all for me was when the person— I forget what you call them— but when I came out and I was just on the inside trying to contain that I saw that I passed, he was like, congratulations, you passed. And then he asked, he was like, well, which exam did you take? And I said the PMP. And he was like, And that was your first time? And I said, yes. And he was like, well, kudos to you. He said, that is the most repeated test that we have at the facility. Yeah, so it was a very smooth process. Actually, to be honest with you, they let me take the exam 2 hours earlier than I was scheduled because I just showed up just to be there on time. I didn't wanna fight traffic or anything. And they let me take it right away, so that was a bonus.

That's awesome. And how did you find the actual questions compared to the practice questions that you took?

You know, I think they were very— they were on point. So your practice questions, they were— because you have to really pay attention with the PMP questions, and I think the questions that that are in your exam simulator match them very closely, not verbatim, but regarding the critical thinking aspect of it.

Yeah.

So it really does test your knowledge, and your questions were on point with that, because there were quite a few things that I may have missed during the lectures, and once I got to the exam, and I was like, oh, okay, well, let me go back and highlight and reread, and I was really glad that I did that, because it was very similar, it was a very similar structure, so you all did You've done a very good job with that.

Awesome, thank you. What's next in your career now that you're PMP certified?

To get an actual PMP role. That's what I'm working on right now with the company that I work for. My boss is actually assisting me with that. I mean, I've done the work, so now I'm just ready to really step into that role and move forward. I'm excited about that.

So what role are you currently in?

I'm a process engineer. I'm a process engineer and a Scrum Master, actually. I'm kind of doing both.

Okay. And then you want to move into a project management role?

Yes, I want to definitely move into a project management role. I like the whole developing, continuous improvement aspect of it. I'm looking forward to that. I like working with multiple people to help bring something together and then see a tangible result. It's something I'm very passionate about. It's part of the reason why I have the career that I have within the military, because it allows for just that.

Right, right, right. And any other lessons learned that you want to share with people who might be going through the same journey as you?

Stay focused. Short-term pain for long-term gain. I would say that. Definitely stay, stay focused and and be committed. One thing that I've learned, actually, this is what, um, something that was revealed about me. I really wanted to get the PMP so bad. I've actually studied probably more for this exam than I have when I was in college or for my MBA, actually. I really buckled down and took the time to study, and I was actually impressed with myself at, um, With how much I actually— I was so focused. I mean, I didn't— I wasn't really going out, and I would tell people, hey, I have to study. I can't talk to you right now. My little boy, there's this, um, they have this like, um, adventure play, something like that. I would take him there, drop him off, so I would have those hours to study. So it was, um, it takes commitment. It takes commitment and dedication. But again, as long as you stay with it, you stay focused, you carve out that time to do it, you will You will definitely succeed and pass on the first try.

Yeah, awesome. Awesome. Okay, well, thank you so much for sharing all of your experiences with us. This is awesome. Thank you again for joining us.

Thank you. I appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck too, you know, with ExamsPM because this is definitely worth it.

Thank you.