TOPIC: Follow My Tips As I Finally Passed the PMP Exam on June 8th With 2AT 2T 1BT ( Third Attempts!) !!!!

I have made it after 2 unsuccessful attempts . PMP exam is a though exam and don't take it lightly as I did during my preparation. And, that is the reason why I couldn't pass during those two times. My goal is for everyone to pass the PMP regardless. I am going to share some lessons learned that have helped me in becoming a PMP certified today. First of all, I want to thank all the staff at PM PrepCast for their hard and dedication work. PM PrepCast mock exams are NOT easy to cram based on my experience. I have purchased the PM Exam mock simulators back in February 2018. However, I was in rush of passing the PMP because PMI was going to change on March 26th. BOOM! I tried to spend hours of study with no such success and I was rushing a LOT because I did not want to let the exam change on me. Guess what? I still did NOT pass neither and I was depressed because I wanted to pass, but that did not happen in my situation. And, worst case scenario I attempted the second time with no time for revision and study. Therefore, I scheduled the exam on March 23 = I STILL FAILED)...

I completely stop my strategy and I have made myself a promise to take my time as much as I could so that I couldn't repeat the same mistakes again, right?. .. Please see below the tips that have helped me to pass the PMP as follows:

I made it after almost 3 hard working months of non-stop preparation. Everyone has their own way of studying but here are some tips from my own experience.
- Prepare at least 5-8 hours daily to focus on the PMP preparation (the best study materials that you can use are either Rita or PMP Exam Prep Simplified by Andrew Ramdayal on Amazon, and the best book on the market when it comes to PMP). This is what I would recommend as it worked for me. Use Andrew Ramdayal book because it makes you understand the PMP exam better and the way PMI wants it and that is what you need the most. I could not understand Rita book at all. It seems Rita book works for everyone else, but for me that did not work. The only book that worked for me was Andrew as I mentioned above.
- Read the PMBOK and understand each word and line by line without memorizing. But, try to understand the tools that are integrating with most of the knowledge areas and process groups.
- Focus on Integration knowledge area at the last. When you read the PMBOK and please do not start with Integration first. Thus, it would better if you can start from Scope Management or any knowledge that you feel you are most likely comfortable with. However, there is no SUCH short cut with PMI. You cannot prefer one knowledge area over one another and you need to embrace all of them, too.
- Understand and study the tools and techniques from Integration, Procurement, Human Resources , Stakeholders, and Quality
- Read only and try to understand the tools and techniques from Communications, scope management, risk , Schedule management, and cost management.
- Use the PMBOK and other study materials together when you are preparing for your PMP exam. Do not loose confidence in yourself when you are studying. Because there are some days your brain can do so much, and there are some days you need to allow your brain time to get back up. That strategy works well for me, too.
- I take almost 3,000 questions on mock exams from well respected brand on the market such as PM PrepCast package, PmZest, PmTraining, and GreyCampus.
-Please download the PMP Exam Mentor on your mobile or device to practice and study project framework, process group, formula, flashcard, knowledge area, glossary, tip, and of course the simulator exams, too. Very important and it will help you to digest the PMP content easy.
-Don't get discourage if your score is below 70% on the mock exams. I actually dot not agree with PM PrepCast about their benchmarking because I feel like it is really unnecessary . Let's try to say for instance, why does it make sense to score 80% when PMI asks for 65%, right? I guess it because some want you to exceed the benchmarking.
- My scores from Pm PrepCast are the worst compare to everyone else. I constantly scored low from 45% to some 71% and at the most. I never got anywhere above %75.
-Read the lessons learned here because PM PrepCast dedicate to the true PMI knowledge and you will find some keys that are very good to help you fill the gaps, because I feel like that helps me also to prepare for the real PMP exam. Ironically, I can say that %30 from those that took the PMP exam makes impact on everyone. I benefit from this web site and that's why I am doing the same like others, too.
- Use PMZest mock exams as your last for at least 2 or 3 weeks before you are ready to take the real PMP exam, and don't take Pmzest at the same time with the other simulators that I have mentioned above.
-I repeat Pmzest will help you prepare as your final stage before you even know it. I took some lessons learned from Anmol Sinha on youtube about the way PMI actually makes us to understand their way and how to solve those complex questions.
-Please practice is the key and also put confidence in yourself. If I did it today it's because of all the tools, tips and assistance that I received from everyone contributions.
-During my final preparation I have studied at least 8-12 hours a day because I did not want to fail the exam on my third attempt, in which I have accomplished.
-Do not feel ashame of your mistakes because it will help you find the real gaps that you need to work on or improve. By the God grace I am now a PMP certified it's because I dedicated myself to pass this tough exam. You need to mentally prepare for the PMP because there is no luck about passing the PMP if you do not invest time, effort, dedication, practice and etc....

Please if you want to pass the PMP exam and I have provided you all the keys above that you need in order to become a PMP certified just like me, too. You can do it because everyone has their own way to become successful in life. So don't let your past mistakes hold your future. Forget about the past and try to focus on your next step for the future. If I do it and you can do it....PREPARE AND GO AND TAKE THE PMP EXAM. Please don't hesitate to let me know if you need further assistance.

I have attached my PMP result report for your review!

Good Luck everyone,
Roberto

What a journey! Thanks so much for sharing.
My exam is on the way and your post inspired me a lot. Still my Precast results are under 60% and I’m not confident enough to take the exam yet.

Could you please tell a little more about PMZest? Is it similar or close enough to real exam style? PM prepcast questions are too long and there always two answer choices for me. But I feel PMtraining questions are a little easy for me and can choose the right answers. I got between 80 - 86%.

For real exam experience, can you share that
* Do you also feel like there are two good enough answers to choose?
* Most of the questions are too long and wordy?
* Do you also receive Agile related questions and direct ITTO question like (What is tools and technique will you use in - - - ?
* How many calculation questions ? (Just estimate)

Cheers!

Hello Leon!

I can help you but you can contact me through my LinkedIn faster communication and I will be more than happy to assist you. Here's my name on there (ROBERTO (DOUYON) MARLEY)...!!
As far for the Agile related questions and there was none. Also, I only had one direct ITTO question. Guess what? I did not care whether my answer was wrong or right... And, I would encourage you to not get discourage because it will make you less motivated. Thus, you need to have a lot of patient while preparing for the PMP. I used to listen to musics with my headphone because it kept me going. I can say based on my own experience, PM PrepCast questions are too long and extremely wordy, too. Please don't let your score hold you back. Most of my scores were between 45% to %71, right? Can you believe it? Absolutely, and will you let that hold you from taking the real PMP. NO WAY!!!! I was in the same shoes like you before, and It was a painful journey for me. But, you are not alone in this journey! I agree when you say PMtraining seems to be easy. Of course, yes, and try to review the answer you got wrong and open the PMBOK which is a good tool to use for clarification. There were only 3 calculations and I didn't even take a minute to guess for the right answer from the formulas I have mastered. In the real PMP exam, you will never find anything from the exam that is actually close to the PMP...That's my opinion!!!!! I would suggest you to try PMZest mock exam now...and you will become soon a PMP Certified. If I did it and yes, you can do it just like everyone else. To be honest, the real exam is not wordy... I answered most of my questions less than 40 seconds...Please you are a little close for your PMP. Again, I am happy to walk you through because PMP is a brutal journey.

Best of luck,
Roberto

Hello Roberto,

Thanks so much for doing this. Your post and your reply truly inspire me!

Apologies for my late reply. I simply missed this coz I'didn't set up noti alert for prepcast to my email.
Yes I feel down and sometimes frustrated when I see the practice exam results. I also tested with pmstudy and result is 75% . I think I need to do more practice test and fill my understanding gap on my weak areas.

Thanks again for encouraging and study tips too. Will contact you.

Cheers!

Hi Roberto,

Congratulations on passing the PMP Exam and for sharing your lessons learned here.

Hi Robert,

Found and followed you at Linkedin.

On second thought, let me ask here to get others feedback if anyone have also tried PMzest before.
I took your suggestion and tested with PMzest. Yes! It is real something. I mean they’re different from what I’ve been studying and practicing.

I got 65% . Questions are short and seems to be easy but vague. I’m totally lost in some of the questions and hard to understand the question. As I’m using their free test, only 20 Qs are available for explanation. I better dive into details to get clear understanding on wrong question area.

In your view, do you think PMzest questions are more close to the real exam? Thank you.

Roberto,
Congratulations! Thank you so much for sharing your story and tips! Your reply truly inspired me.
I failed my first attempt last year and plan to take it again at the end of September 2018. I'm looking for an online class to help me prepare for the test. Did you take any classes? Do you have any recommendations on that? You mentioned two books in your message. How did you upgrade your knowledge from the 5th to the 6th edition? Would you please elaborate on that?
Thank you!
J.D.

Congratulations!!!

I just passed the exam myself, will be sharing my experience soon, LinedIn request sent.

Hi Aurmoy,

Congratulations on passing the PMP Exam! We look forward to reading your lessons learned here in the forum

Congrats!

Thanks for sharing, Roberto. Before reading your forum, I was hesitant to take the exam because I wasn't making it to the passing mark. I was already very confident when I was doing the simulator on PMTraining as I have been passing the tests there several times the last two months, until I started the Prepcast. You're right, the exam isn't as wordy as it is here on the Prepcast, but this simulator combined with PMTraining helped me big time. I passed the exam today.

Hi Analene,

Congratulations on passing the PMP Exam!

Hello Roberto

I am very happy to know that you passed your PMP exam, and have been reading your story and yes... hard work and dedication pays off.

I have my test in 2 weeks, have been preparing for 3 months now...not cutting any corners and sacrificing my family and all the things i was used to doing before.
Like i mentioned i have really done my work, and been preparing honestly, thanks for the tips.