TOPIC: How I succeeded on the PMP, first try.

Hi PMP aspirants!

I had a colleague, who was already a PMP and he convinced me to become a PMP too.
He supported me during this period which is really helpfull if you have someone who understands how much studymaterial it is to go through, and to encourage you. People who don't know nothing about PMP sometimes think it is a little course to learn, which it is not.

It took me 4 full months studying! The Application list took me 2 full weeks for gathering all the data of the projects I have done and the courses I have followed + informing my previous managers about my pmp studies and the possibility that they might be contacted in case of an audit.
Then I started with the podcasts of Cornelius, the PM Prepcast. I really loved this way of studying because the PMBOK guide was hard for me to keep me focused at the office. Much easier to stay focused with the PM Prepcast! I followed the path proposed by Cornelius, created my personal studyplan, went through the main chapters and then did the test. I was surprised with the good scores of the tests and it kept me going! Then I finished all the other detailed lessons in the chapters. I also subscribed for the Exam Formula guide. Now I was sure I would not miss a formula or forget to memorize one. I printed the guide and dragged the formula table with me all the time to memorize it when i had a free moment. As soon as I got the message of PMI that I was eligible, I planned the exam.
Then I bought the book of Rita Mulcahy, the PMP Exam Prep..it was easier to understand compared to the PMBOK guide and the exercises and test exam questions in the book were very helpfull. After reading this book I downloaded the PMP Exam Simulator of Cornelius Fichtner.
This was a very close simulator like on the exam and I practised speeding up my time in answering questions and improved my results. I always had a score in the 70-ties and tried to improve this after each exam by checking my results of good and bad answers. It gave me a clear detail on which item needed more study and so I went for these topics to the PMBOK guide which i could now better understand;, after the podcast and the book of Rita. I did 7 test exams of 200 questions, and my results improved after every exam. I did not get 80 percent, on the mixed questions exams, but 78% was my highest score and for ITTO's I had 91%. I had 2 exams left but did not have time anymore before the exam. December 19, 2013 was my exam.
The day before I planned a sauna visit because I thought that would give me relaxation and a good night rest..unfortunately my daughter kept me awake during the night and my night rest was pretty short, only 4hours. (dont try this at home! )
I was tired and went pretty stressed to the exam. The questions were difficult and I ran behind in time during the test so I marked certainly 10 questions, for sure the ones that needed lots of calculations, to come back later and proceeded with the others.
Only I did not have time to go back to the marked questions and I finished the last question right on time and the system started processing the results. I was really surprised that I passed because it didn't go smoothly, for my opinion.
But I did and I was so happy I could cry. I studied a lot so that is certainly ground rule n°1 to pass! Like Cornelius says: Practise, Practise, Practise....!!!! (And a good night sleep of course! )
Good luck to all of you and stay motivated during studying, it is really worth it!

Happy NY, and thumbs up!
Elke