PMP Certification: A Step-by-step Guide for Beginners in 2022

Project management means the use of the right techniques and skills for achieving the objectives of a project. The most important responsibility of a project manager is to finish the project on time and send it to the client. He has to make sure that the project should be completed within budget by securing all interests of the client and stakeholders. It is becoming difficult for a project manager to meet the challenges due to growing competition, the use of modern technology, high pressure, tight working schedules, and maintaining quality parameters. Thus, it has become necessary for a project manager to get the PMP certification for growing in the field and meeting the challenges.

Project Management Professional Certification

Project management professional certification is a certificate issued by a project management institute to the project managers after passing the exam. The certificate ensures the achievements, skills, and experience of the project manager.

Reasons to get Project management professional certificate

Why should you get a professional management professional certificate? It is the first question that should be in the mind of a project manager before he/she starts preparing for the exam. The reasons for which a project manager should get a project management certificate are given here:

• A project manager having a project management professional certificate would become eligible for more jobs.
• Many companies require a certificate if a project manager has to sign a contract with the company. Some companies such as information services, finance, professional service, manufacturing, will only hire PMP certified project managers to meet the additional challenges and give better performance in the global market.
• A project manager can get a high salary after getting a certificate. There is a 20 percent hike in salary for a certified project manager as compared to the non-certified project managers.
• A PMP certification ensures that the project manager has expertise in project management and he can handle the company’s project proficiently.

Eligibility for PMP certification

If you want to register for PMP certification, you should have the following credentials:

• You should have a degree of four years
• You should have a minimum of 36 months of experience in the project management
• You have experience of a minimum of 4500 hours working in the projects as a project manager.
• If you do not have a degree of four years, you should have the following qualifications:
• You should have experience of 5 years in the project management
• You should have worked for a minimum of 7500 hours for the leading projects as a project manager
• You should have 35 contact hours of formal PMP training course.

Step by step guide for getting PMP certification

A step by step guide is given here that can help you in getting a PMP certificate for enhancing your skills:

• First, you must check your eligibility for getting a PMP certificate. The second step is to start the application process. You have to follow the given steps:
• You have to visit the pmi.org website and sign up to create your professional profile
• Next, you have to attend formalPMP certification training for 35 contact hours
• You can also apply for PMI membership if you want to get special discounts for scheduling the exams. If you have a membership, you can get access to online publications and resources for getting the latest study materials. It is an optional thing but it is better if you have it.
• Now, fill in the application form online within 3 months and submit it. It may take 5-6 days to get a confirmation of the acceptance of your application.
• After getting a confirmation, you have to make the fee payment for the last step.
• You can choose the appropriate exam date as per your preparedness and can choose the nearest test center.

You should know the cost of getting a PMP certification. It varies depending on if you choose a paper-based test option or a computer-based test option. The paper-based test option is available for the candidates who stay more than 300 miles away from the test center or if the PMP exam is conducted by a company.

Schedule for PMP certification

You have to make proper planning and get in-depth knowledge for scheduling your exam. You should have enough time to prepare for the exam and understand the pattern, standards, and norms given in the PMBOK. You may need 3-4 months to prepare for the exam depending on different factors such as the nature of your job, how much time you can spare, and your circumstances. You can get 3 trials in a year to clear the PMP exam.

Tips to prepare for the PMP exam

Candidates have to prepare extensively for the PMP exam.  Candidates can get access to enough study material that is available online and offline for exam preparation. A few tips are given here that can help candidates to prepare for the exam:

• You should get enough study material and should know the topics you need to cover for the exam. It will give you a better understanding to find the right study material for the exam.
• PMBOK guide is the base to start preparing for the exam. You should study the PMBOK guide and its Appendix to know the different topics. You should make a schedule to cover the different topics in the given schedule of time. You should try to understand the concepts and try to concentrate on the important topics to get long-lasting results.
• Many PMP training institutes conduct free PMP preparation workshops to help registered candidates. You can attend such workshops to check your preparation. The other benefit of attending such workshops is that you can meet other candidates preparing for the exam and know your weaknesses in the exam preparation.
• You can also find online PMP simulators that are specially designed using similar concepts and standards to test the candidates. You can get familiar with the exam pattern and will feel comfortable during the exam day.
• You can download electronic flashcards to prepare for the PMP exam.
• You should have access to different PMP discussion forums that will help you to take part in online discussions. You can discuss with others and get more knowledge.

Conclusion

Candidates have to answer 200 multiple choice questions of different types such as short, knowledge-based, formula-based, etc. You should have proper study material and thorough knowledge of the topic to achieve a good score.