Student Profile: Jessica Jones, PMP

I moved to the United States from Great Britain in 2010. Since then I have worked in industries as diverse as hospitality, non-profit and finance. I have been focusing on IT project management for the last four years and currently, work as an information systems PM for an insurance agency. I realized project management was for me when I noticed how many projects I was organizing outside of my day job! I have helped to organize fundraisers and weekend-long events for over 200 people, not to mention several cross-country and international moves as a military spouse. Project management is one of those great skills that has applications in almost any situation.

Reading the A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) prior to your exam is daunting, but essential. Project Management Institute (PMI)® uses some very specific terminology in certain areas that can be key to understanding questions in the PMP® exam and answering them correctly. I combined a read-through of the PMBOK® Guide with a study guide and the PM PrepCast. The variety helped break things up a bit and gave me several different ways to understand the PMBOK® Guide material. For me a single read-through was sufficient, but others may prefer to go through it more than once.

I have the following tips for the week prior to your exam:

- One week out, do a final mock exam. This will let you know which areas to focus on in the coming week. Don't try and do one the night before! You'll only stress yourself out.
- Don't over study. I did an hour max each evening the week prior, and concentrated on my focus areas from my last mock exam.
- Get plenty of sleep. Your brain needs rest. Four hours of concentration is a lot.
- The night before, make sure you have everything laid out that you need - two forms of ID, your confirmation number, etc. Know the route to the exam center and how long it will take you in traffic, then allow extra time on time of that.
- Breathe! If you find yourself panicking or tensing up, stop for a second and take a deep breath. It really does help - and besides, you've got this!

Jessica Jones, PMP