Vivian's PMP success story

Okay, so we're ready to go. We're here with Vivian from West Africa. She has the most amazing smile. Thank you for being with us here today.

Thank you for having me, Alan.

Yeah, it's so great to have you. And I understand it's a, it's a bit of a holiday out there. Independence Day, is that how you call it?

Yeah, it's our Independence Day here in Nigeria.

That's so awesome. That's so awesome. And I also understand that you're able during these times to work from home. So that's, that's really amazing.

Yeah, we get to work from home because of the pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Yeah, very good. So it must be very interesting to be able to work from home. We do have here at Examz PM, we do also remote PM courses for people who aren't able or aren't really familiar with how to work from home, how to manage people from home. So we do have those courses for our students if they're interested. So enough of that stuff. I just want to talk about you right now. So Vivian, what made you take the PMP? What was, what was there for you?

Okay, for me it was more like a personal development The situation. I wanted to know more about managing projects because where I work, I manage projects and I need to understand the nitty-gritty of what was involved, what I was expected to do, how to manage stakeholders, how to manage contractors, you know. So I, I knew that I needed something more to make my job a lot easier for me. So So I decided to go into Project Management Professional, PMP, and I thought of the exam.

Okay, very good. So would you say, like, are you sort of a PM that's starting out, or are you a PM that's been working for a while in the field and you just wanted to improve your skills?

I would say I'm probably starting out because this is like my 7th year.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, I've been working for 7 years now and I've been managing projects. I've been in charge of projects. I've been the lead on some of the projects. If I'm not coordinating, I'm in charge. You know, I work a lot with contractors. I'm in the oil and gas industry, so I have to manage contractors. I have to manage clients, you know, so I figured I needed this certification. to better understand what I'm doing at work and to also give me that boost in confidence too.

Excellent, excellent. And do you find that getting your PMP has really helped you?

Yeah, in fact, when I told my manager I already have my PMP, he screamed and he was like, oh my goodness, how were you able to do that? You know, even under this whole pandemic thing, you were still able to, you you know, sit down and study. So it's, it's been amazing. It's— everyone is like— and it's my first trial.

Yeah.

So everybody's like, we are one of the minorities of people that write the exam for the first time and they pass. Most people write it twice before they pass. And I was like, really? You know, so it's been, it's been an amazing journey. It's opened my eyes. It's like a light bulb to open my eyes to a different world. I'm like, oh my goodness, look at the things that This is the reason why this is done. This is the reason why this is done, you know. So it makes more sense now. Everything is, you know, it was like a puzzle initially, but after the PMP, it's like a puzzle was now fitting into various, you know, spaces. Everything is now coming together, you know, with the PMP certification, you know, writing the exam, preparing for the exam, writing the exam, passing. It's opened my world to a different light. All those pieces are now coming together, glued together. Everything makes sense. I know why procurement acts the way they act. I know why things are being done the way they are done in procurement. I know, I now know why, you know, the reason why your WBS has to be the way it is.

Yeah.

You need to split your jobs, your work packages into activities and all that for simplicity, for you to be able to do your estimation properly. You know, so you don't want to go back and forth with management. Oh, this money is not enough. Oh, that money is enough. You know, so everything just makes sense now. Right. Wow.

That's amazing. It's like, it's like after 7 years of doing a job, how you can have such a different perspective on how it all works and why you're doing that. It's just, that's really amazing. It's very inspiring.

Yeah, it is. It is.

Very good. So the next thing I wanted to ask you is, you know, what is it that you found particularly challenging about taking the PMP? Like, how was it for you going through the process? Can you tell me about that?

Initially, the thought of reading the PMBOK was overwhelming. thinking about reading the pinboard, it was just exhausting for me. I was like, how am I going to even start? Where do I start from?

Yes.

So I think I saw clips of Helena, you know, talking about how you could memorize the table, the strategies you could use to get it done, and some of the mnemonics that will help you. I was like, oh my goodness, I think I should sign up for this course and see what I could do. And then I signed up for the course sometime, I think late February. And then gradually I started reading. I listened to her videos. I followed the procedure. There's this Excel sheet she had.

Yes.

That's what you could achieve per week. And that was like a roadmap for me because I didn't want to seem like I had an open-ended time or duration. I had to stick to that schedule to keep me focused, to always bring me back on track.

Right.

So I was able to follow her procedure. I watched the videos. In fact, when I finished watching, I watched the videos over and over again for me to have a great understanding. And then when I was now reading her notes, I downloaded the notes. When I was reading her notes, it was as if I was seeing her face in each topic again. It's like I was— I could imagine her, you know, speaking about it, talking about accuracy and the difference between accuracy and— I think that was in quality, talking about accuracy with the bullseye, you know.

Mm-hmm.

It was just amazing. It was stressful because I remember I emailed you sometime and I was telling you, I still need to read the PMBOK after reading this material? And he told me, well, you could just still read the PMBOK for better explanation, but it's still okay, you know. So I didn't read the entire PMBOK, to be honest. I just read her— I watched her videos, read her notes, read some other notes, did this simulation, did other— I finished the entire simulation, everything, the process areas, the knowledge areas, the others. I did everything. I understood it, you know, and it helped me attempt other questions in other simulations that were not from her. You know, it gave me a wider knowledge. I knew how to answer the question. I knew what I was looking out for.

Yes.

And, you know, in between the lines, because they could throw you a lot of information, but then there are certain things to look out for to enable you to answer your questions. Helena really helped me with that.

That's really great. There's a couple of things that I wanted to go back to. The first one that you mentioned was about reading the PMBOK, and I get that question a whole lot because the PMBOK is voluminous and there's so much information there. It's— it just seems overwhelming, like you said. And what I do say to people is that even though our course is, is really self-contained, that you can get most of everything you need from the course, the PMBOK is really a great reference tool. So we do have it in our, in our exams. Like when we do— when you get an answer, that's— it shows at the bottom where we get that in the PMBOK. So if you really need to know, and this is really for the students, if you really need to know more, just go, go to that part of the PMBOK and read about that. And I think that would help a lot of people.

Yeah, I did that too.

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, that's really what I try to say to people. Like, don't go crazy reading through the PMBOK trying to memorize everything. Although some people are, you know, they want to. And that's okay too. But if you're the kind of person that, like me, that doesn't like to read through the PMBOK over and over again, then it's really a good, good opportunity. And the second thing you really mentioned that I thought was important was when you're in the exam simulator, do all of the questions, you know, and, you know, do the best you can and keep doing them until you really get—

Yeah.

You can see in the question What is it they're really looking for? What is that—

what is that—

I wouldn't say perfect answer, but the best answer.

Best answer, yes.

Yeah. Did you, did you notice a lot of those questions where, oh my God, like, these all sound like they could be right?

Yes, I came across a few, you know, and then Helena's simulator had the questions were more like questions from the PMBOK that you have to know the answer. Otherwise, you're not gonna— if you don't read it, or if you don't read the PMBOK, or if you don't read her notes, you won't find it. It's not something that is made up. It's something that is standard, you know. So it's just— I mean, I always tell people, I've been telling people, if you don't read the PMBOK, you can't pass. If you don't read the materials, if you don't get the material to read, you can't pass because you can't know what the answer is. need to get into that whole PMP world for you to really understand, okay, this is what this question is. You know, I remember a colleague of mine wrote this exam before I did. She— I think she wrote hers in February, and then she gave me a sample of the questions, and I couldn't figure out what the answers were. I'm like, how did you get this answer?

Yeah.

She said, because you need to study. You need to really study For you to understand the question, to help you navigate through the answers. And that was what I found out at the end of the day.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. You have to apply yourself and really work at it. I think one of the things that people could— or traps people could fall into, especially if they're very experienced PMs, is like, oh, I know this, you know, this should be very easy for me, right? I think that that's kind of a trap, and if you don't really study and take it seriously, it's not going to work for you.

One has to be very intentional about it as well.

Yeah, yeah, very intentional. Yeah, you mentioned that too, the study guide. Yeah, sorry, I'm gonna say one more thing about the study guide. I'm glad it worked for you. Everybody who does the Elite Course has the study guide, so it will show you Just for our students, it'll show you all of the different topics and the things you need to do and the relative dates or days that you should do it. And that will really keep you on purpose, on task, to get this done in 6 weeks. And would you say personally, like, that that's a very achievable goal for people?

Well, it depends on the individual. Okay, not everyone is Everybody has a— their reading skills are different, the pace are different, the circumstances are different. For me, Yes. I'm married with 4 kids. I have to take care of my husband, I have to take care of my children, I have to take care of the home, and still study, and still go to work. So it was a lot of— it was demanding, very, very demanding. So because I— because of the COVID-19, I think I had a little more time, and I had to capitalize on that extra time I had. I got because of the situation, you know, so I had to capitalize on that. So it depends on individuals. Yeah, you could actually do it in 6 weeks, you could do it more than 6 weeks, but it's just relative. It's relative. Yeah.

Yeah, no, that's a really good point. Everybody does have different circumstances. And wow, I mean, like 4 kids doing that at home?

Yeah.

I gotta take my hat off to you. There's no way I could do that.

During the PMP period, my routine was wake up in the morning, get the kids ready, and the kids were having virtual classes too. So I had to put them through their virtual classes. My husband was helping me with 2 kids. I was doing for 2 kids. He was also working at home. He was working from home too. And then I think I start— I began to study From around 3 PM. You know, in between, I dash to go make meals for them, and then my proper study time starts from 9 PM when I begin to do simulations, and I stay up from 9 PM to about 2 AM the next morning. That was my regular schedule till I wrote the exam.

Oh yeah. Every day?

Every day plus Sunday. Yeah, it was A stretch, but I had to do it because that was the only time I had. I didn't have the time during the day.

Yes, yes.

So I had to utilize the nighttime, right?

Right.

Yeah, I had to utilize nighttime.

So, oh my God, that's amazing.

After the PMP exam, all of a sudden it now seemed like I had so much time on my hands, but then I was grappling for time.

Wow. So did you do the at-home exam or were you able to get out and do it at a test center?

Surprise! I did it at home here, right in my living room. Yes, Pearson VUE.

Yeah, well, did it— was it good? Like, I did another interview with a fellow a couple of weeks ago, and he said it worked pretty well for him. Like, did it work well for you?

Yeah, it worked pretty well. I think I logged on 30 minutes before time, like the instructor.

Yeah.

I did all the systems check, everything was A-okay, and then somebody, Steven, I think, sent me a chat that he was gonna call me, and he called me. But prior to that, you know, we had to do the taking of pictures of where you're taking the exam, you know, the side, the behind, the front, send it to them, do your check and all, you know, like the self-checking. Then I think my TV was my— okay, Steve said he saw a blank thing on my wall. Was that a television? I said yes. So he said, okay, then I needed to cover it up. So I said, okay. Oh yeah, I covered it. When I covered it, I told him I had covered it. He said, okay, I should show him through the webcam. I showed it to him through the webcam. He said, okay, that was fine. And then he said, okay, he was not going to set me up. For my exams, and that was it.

Wow.

And they uploaded my exam, and I sat through it for 4 hours. Although there was a break. Yeah, there was a break after 100 questions, but I didn't want to go for the break.

You didn't go for a break?

I just wanted— I needed to just get the exam done and over with. I was like tired. So I sat through the whole exam for 4 hours, and when I was done, I clicked Finished. No, I was prompted, are you sure you're done? I clicked on it that yes, I was done, and my result came out like 10, 20 seconds. Congratulations, you've just succeeded in completing your PMP exams and all that.

Fantastic, fantastic. Wow, that's such a great story, and thank you, thank you for being with us and spending part of your Independence Day with us today. I think it's so Wonderful. Is there any last word you'd like to share with the students? You know, some piece of wisdom that you might impart upon them for their journey into the PMP exam?

Yeah, for, you know, for students that are planning to write this exam, I implore you to take it seriously, be intentional. It's very, very important. Have a purpose. have a goal that you don't want to write this exam a second time. I mean, you put in so much effort the first time, and let it be the first time. Do it right. Do it— get it right the first time and get it, you know. Just study, put in your best effort, understand the scenarios, understand the questions, you know. Don't just skip through it. Understand your questions. Go over your notes. I had to read like 3, 4 notes, you know. Aside from Helena's, I read a couple of other friends' notes, you know, to see the gaps, to see the lapses, you know, just cover all the grounds. And there is no way your effort will not be rewarded. There is no way you study that you won't pass. Definitely, it's a guarantee.

Wow, wow, that's really great. Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me, Alan.

Yes, you're welcome, you're welcome, my pleasure.