Student Profile: Shilpi Gupta, PMP

I serve as a Project Manager in an IT company and have 5 years of project management experience. My innate talent for being able to quickly build a rapport with the clients comes in handy and helps me navigate the ups and downs of the project lifecycle easily.

Before being a manager I worked as a developer for 5 years and just a few months as a developer in my first job, and I realized this is not what I wanted to do, working closing with my manager and having a natural talent to lead people I understood I was more interested in being a manager. I left my first job at less than 2 years’ experience to do a management course.

After my MBA, I spent the next 3 years preparing and molding myself to be a good manager. I must admit I learnt a great deal by observing my managers, I used to fantasize what I would and would not do once I became a manager.
I love reading fiction and travelling to the mountains in my spare time.

In my opinion, reading the PMP handbook is the first step in the PMP journey. Like me, if you too have started with no professional guidance then the Handbook can be like your guidance counsellor.

A week before the exam is the most critical time. Revise in this week, from your notes, if you have prepared them. Keep taking PrepCast simulator exams, short ones of 50 questions each if not the whole 4 hour exam, it keeps rejigging your brain and make sure to understand where and why you are going wrong, if required, read and understand about the improvement area from PMBOK. Another thing I highly recommend is meditating at least 15-20 mins every day in this week, it will help you to stay calm during the exam.

All the best to future PMP aspirants and if you are yet to select a simulator for your PMP preparation, go for PrepCast without a second thought!! It helped me clear in my first attempt with 4 ATs and 1 T.

Shilpi Gupta, PMP