TOPIC: I failed my PMP exam! Now What?

Earlier this week, I recorded and uploaded a new video to YouTube. In this video I give my recommendations about what to do if you failed your PMP exam. (The concept also works for PMI-ACP and CAPM).

Such a great and encouraging video!
During my preparation for the PMP exam, I used to read lessons learned from people who had already passed the exam. According to those posts and comments, the most difficult challenge was gathering themselves for the second attempt. We all know the exam requires a lot of studying, so I can imagine how dreadful it might feel to start the journey all over again. That’s why I especially appreciate Cornelius’s advice about putting aside your textbooks. I’m pretty sure that failing the exam isn’t about a lack of knowledge, so you don’t need to study more. It’s really about finding the right approach to cracking the exam questions.

Since you have stopped answering my e-mails, I am posting my questions in this forum. You state that if one fails, just answer all those questions in the database. I have been doing so and average in the 50-60% tiles. Is there a way to do better? Memorize as many question/answer combo's as possible? I find that many questions are regarding the 10 processes, wouldn't it be better to remember as possible? I take 100 point exams everyday and fail: it's getting to the point of insanity of doing the same thing and ... I have spent thousands of hours in learning data science and the same amount trying to pass the PMP. I don't know what to do now.

Ketal,

I don't know who 'they" are, but the forum is the place to go for encouragement. Essentially if you fail the exam, you will need to first make a "gut check" to see if this is still a certification that you wish to pursue. Most think it is as it is important to both them and to their employer (and prospective employers).

First, go through the video that Cornelius posted above. Go through your exam report and identify both the weak areas and strong areas. Concentrate on the weak areas most in an exam simulator until they get stronger, but do not neglect "review" of what you already know well.

Then, reschedule an exam and go for it!

Good luck!

Harry

Hi Ketal,

I agree with Harry, focusing on your weak areas, don't just check the correct answers, but actually study all the answers as they usually provide insights on why you can chose similar but wrong option.
Good luck!
-Elena.

Every day, I am just doing 100 question exams and failing. I average in the 50's and 60's percentage-wise. How can someone remember the answers to e.g. ~1000 questions? Cornelius Fichtner says to put away the PMBOK books but a lot of the ITTO questions are from there. It's been several weeks now but this same routine of insanity as mentioned above of taking 100 questions over and over is not leading me to higher scores. If someone can guide me, I would appreciate that. I have invested MANY hours since April 2023 in studying for the PMP only to fail four times. I have tried in the past of writing down a question with the answer in it in a notebook and memorize these questions only to fail in the PMP. Furthermore, many of the answers cannot be found simply by looking them up: one has to just take the answer at face value and assume to be the correct answer. Thank you.

You're not supposed to "...remember the answers to...1000 questions." You're supposed to learn the material and apply that knowledge to various situations. You're not learning a test. You're learning the process of project management.

There could be a myriad of reasons why you're not getting it.

The first thing to recognize is that the PMP exam is an exam of processes applied to various scenarios. It's up to you to recognize which process or processes are applicable to the given scenario. Those processes are sometimes recognized by key words presented in the scenario description. Unfortunately, I don't have a solid example of those key words. Also, you must answer the questions the way PMI expects you to answer them as you apply the fundamental principles to the scenario. You DO NOT answer questions on you would personally approach the scenario.

There may also be a language barrier involved here. I do not know your native language or the language in which you are taking the exam, but if they are different, that may be an issue as well.

I have read the PMPOK 6 several times when I took the exam in August. Cornelius is saying to abandon the books and focus on his ~2070 questions. Certain questions' topics are not in the books such as crystal and others. To pass the PMP is really a rock and a hard place: they say don't memorize all 49 processes of I+TT+O and yet many questions deal with the finite details; you sir say don't memorize the "1000 questions" and yet many questions are hard to comprehend and in the 90 seconds one gets on the exam, that can be hard; nobody is giving me a good comprehensive outline of how to study and yet I have spent 1.5+ years trying to pass this thing; they say practice makes perfect and yet I have taken many of these mock exams and still stuck in the fail mode. I don't mind spending more blood money on study guides, books, and material but I think after spending >$1200, I should be more careful. Cornelius has stated recently in a personal e-mail I sent him that maybe this exam is not for me. However, I am a NJ-born person so English is no problem and have passed the CPA exam in the past as well as possess other degrees. Many of the questions are just not in the PMBOK's and so I feel tempted to write down all the exam questions I got wrong and try to memorize these sentences such as the "Hint" given for each answer explanation. Let me know of your thoughts because for me spending another $69 for another x months renewal and not seeing progress won't be time and money well spent for me once PMP access ends for me on 12/31/24.

For me, "study all the answers" would mean writing down the "hint"s that are provided and try to memorize them so that if I get the same/similar question, I can remember how to approach the answer correctly. I just wrote in the forum that I have read PMBOK 6 several times before my exam in August '24 and still failed the exam. I have outlined my comprehensive reply below Harry's answer. Could use someone to outline how I should study for this exam. Thank you.

I have read the PMPOK 6 several times when I took the exam in August. Cornelius is saying to abandon the books and focus on his ~2070 questions. Certain questions' topics are not in the books such as crystal and others. To pass the PMP is really a rock and a hard place: they say don't memorize all 49 processes of I+TT+O and yet many questions deal with the finite details; you sir say don't memorize the "1000 questions" and yet many questions are hard to comprehend and in the 90 seconds one gets on the exam, that can be hard; nobody is giving me a good comprehensive outline of how to study and yet I have spent 1.5+ years trying to pass this thing; they say practice makes perfect and yet I have taken many of these mock exams and still stuck in the fail mode. I don't mind spending more blood money on study guides, books, and material but I think after spending >$1200, I should be more careful. Cornelius has stated recently in a personal e-mail I sent him that maybe this exam is not for me. However, I am a NJ-born person so English is no problem and have passed the CPA exam in the past as well as possess other degrees. Many of the questions are just not in the PMBOK's and so I feel tempted to write down all the exam questions I got wrong and try to memorize these sentences such as the "Hint" given for each answer explanation. Let me know of your thoughts because for me spending another $69 for another x months renewal and not seeing progress won't be time and money well spent for me once PMP access ends for me on 12/31/24.

So, I wrote down all the ?'s I got wrong from the 18*100 question each or 1800 total questions from the past month. Let's see how many I can remember. Any thoughts?

Ketal,

I cannot emphasize enough that it's not about memorizing questions and answers. The PMP exam is not a grade-school exam. It's a professional certification and the exam tests your knowledge of the material and it's application to various and diverse project management scenarios. It's about understanding the process project management.

Good luck

Ketal,
I understand how frustrating it must have been to put so many hours into studying and then fail the PMP exam. Harry and Elena stated
that the PMP exam is not about memorization, and they are correct. It is about knowing and understanding Project management skills
and techniques, the PM and Agile methodologies, Leadership/Coaching, the principles, and when to apply these to a project.

I just passed my exam, and like you, I failed many of my prep exams on two different simulators. What worked for me, and my test
scores began to climb after this practice, was reviewing every single exam question I took, no matter if I got the question
correct or incorrect.

For each question, I began reading the detailed explanations and the details surrounding every answer within that question. By reading
the incorrect answers, I eventually began to comprehend the questions better, which allowed me to eliminate two and sometimes
three answers based on the question scenario.

Understanding precisely what the question asks is critical to passing the PMP exam. I watched three essential videos at two
different times during my studying: PMI Mindset videos 1, 2, and 3 before I began my PMP studying and the day before my exam.

These videos taught me how to break down the PMI test questions. By combining this new skill I learned from the video with
reviewing every question and answer to every question I took, I began to understand how to pass the PMP exam.

With all your studying and preparation for the exam thus far, you must know enough PMP material to pass the exam. I suggest
reviewing the 1800 total questions from the past month and understanding why you answered the questions the way you did
– not if they are correct or incorrect but why you answered the question the way you did – what’s your reasoning for the way you
answered the question. This will not be easy; it may become very frustrating, and you may seem like it is not getting you
anywhere, and you are getting nothing out of this (this is how I felt). Persevere and you will pass your next exam.

Do not give up because you got this.

Maybe I/you can call me/you. I would really like if someone can guide me. If it is a question of memorizing more of the 49 processes, I will try that or the different parts of the project charter or so, that is fine to remember. However, certain if not most questions are so complex that one really has to understand them and that in 90 seconds or less on the actual exam. Many questions on the practice exams, I would just pick the one that made most sense as I could not understand at all what the question was asking. Otherwise, it's now going to back very hard for me to remember the 900+ or so questions I got wrong and wrote down. Help from someone like you could really help. In February of this year, I paid someone off youtube, $80 for an hr session and his strategies didn't help. Thank you.

Furthermore, several people have told me to study the results and focus on where I need to bring my scores up. For example, for the Tuckman concept of forming, storming, etc., it's not as simple as understanding what traits would qualify for each stage or the various examples of what would consider as risk mitigation or risk transfer. In addition, these questions in this website are not open/shut that one can look up in the PMBOK. For now, I guess I will read and read these 900 questions because it will be close to impossible memorizing them all as there is other info to remember. Thank you.

Hey Ketal,

I can definitely relate to your frustration. It sounds like you’ve already got a solid grasp of the concepts in PMBOK 6, so maybe it’s time to switch things up a bit! Sometimes, exploring different sources with a fresh approach can help shift your perspective and make the material click in new ways.

When I was stuck at a low percentage of correct answers for several weeks, what helped me break through was watching some in-depth explanation videos on YouTube. The way they broke down sample questions really clarified things for me, and I noticed a significant improvement in my scores afterward.

Hang in there! Sometimes, all it takes is finding the right resource that resonates with you.

How can one get a higher score other than read and re-read the PMBOK's which Cornelius frowns upon. I had to stop and review all the wrong questions I got in the 18 exams I took. The only way I felt to somehow "remember" them all was to write them down and sort of remember them for a lack of a better term. That is what I am doing. Nobody is really helping me on this site, only interested in taking my money every time I run out of time and want to renew membership. The owner just said simply that if I am putting all this effort and not passing that I should give up which would be easy to do.