Mandisa is a project manager who was looking for a way to advance her career in project management. She decided to get PMP® certified, and she passed her PMP® in 30 days after registering for ExamsPM’s training. We asked for her lessons learned and this is what she had to say in her own words:
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[/one_fourth_3_first][three_fourth_last] 1. Why did you want to get PMP® certified?
The PMP® certification is a crucial asset for career growth and recognition of a professional skill. Especially in the construction field that I am involved in. As a woman in the industry, in Africa, it’s a significant performance equalizer as well.
2. What is your current role? What were some past positions you’ve held?
I serve as a project manager at a property development and construction company. I have also served as an assistant development manager, project officer, graphic design lecturer and designer.
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3. How long did it take you to get PMP® certified?
I signed up 7 Aug and wrote on 16 Sept. I did have previous 4 week PMBOK® 5th edition training, but did not manage to sit before the exam changed to 6th edition. So much of the PMBOK® had changed though!
4. What did your study plan look like? How often and how long did you study per day? Per week?
I know there was the recommended study plan. I realized with my short timeframe and hectic work commitment, I had to leave at least 1 week for the simulations. I ended up finishing off the study material on the Monday of the final week and worked on the simulations.
5. What study material did you use?
The videos and handouts from ExamsPM, all the course tests and 3 of the simulation tests.
6. What tips and tricks would you give someone who is currently going through this certification journey?
Revision time is extremely important. Pace yourself and practice as many of the simulations as possible. Even though I only saw one question from the simulations in the exams, it prepared my mindset (I say in retrospect).
7. Walk us through your actual exam date. How did you find the actual exam?
I wrote the paper based version. I arrived early to settle down. We signed in and I wrote all the formulae and process chart data immediately. I did not want to look at the paper before that in case I panicked. This helped as I forgot some things during the exam and I referred to what I had written down.
I focused first on all the questions I understood and then went back to the other questions. I also made sure I was on track with 50 questions per hour as my gauge (with room for skipped questions!). I won’t lie, I left the exam room semi-stunned because I could not predict the result. It was paper based, so I received my results a week after writing. I AM PMP® CERTIFIED!!!
8. Can people connect with you via LinkedIn?
Yes, search for Mandisa Saurombe, or you can find my profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandisa-saurombe-5422b7b8/?originalSubdomain=zw
Congratulations again Mandisa! We are so happy for you!
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