Achieving PMP wasn’t by choice, but by pressure, I will admit. Pressure, coming through expectation, and scores of others who accomplished it now and then; within the organization and rest of the world. The thought of going through an examination gave me jitters.
“I passed PMP!” every time on the internet, I came across this ecstasy, the question would surface up. It would ask me in the eye “When will you don PMP? “Some day...” would be my answer, half heartedly.
Often, the question popped up, and I made attempts to push it away. But it never left me. Till, finally, I decided to take the plunge. First step, became a PMI member. And then, as you would have imagined, I was back to school. With more than forty hours of job every week, it was hardly possible to focus on the studies. The two sisters Saturday and Sunday became my friends. They helped me prepare for the hottest project management certification these days. Be it at home, or in train, Rita’s PMPPrep was always with me.
The concepts were easy to learn, since, as PMs, most of the processes we followed in projects. So, why was it still terrifying? Selecting the right answer out of 2. Why 2? Because, one could, with little effort identify the 2 wrong ones from 4. It was then, choosing 1 of the remaining, that was challenging! But Rita has really mastered the art of designing questions. They teach you how to not get trapped in a situation!
Time ticked away, the thought of failure did visit me now and then. “So what?”, the voice within would shout out and say “You will anyway pull of the PMP….Poora Money Paani (main)…ha haJ . Realized, I had a good sense of humour too…
Well then, let’s fast forward. Here I was in the Prometric Centre – or, was it a battlefield? Shot at one, then two, three…one by one all questions. Last hour was gripping. Every second raised the heart beat. After all, it was more than ten years that I appeared for a paper. Click, the last one answered and the screen went blank!
And, the moment I thought the result was there, it was, alas, a survey form L No options, uninterestingly went ahead and, there, finally when PASS exploded, my heart was steady. What a relief!
It was a learning experience, especially certain concepts and chapters which I wasn’t much familiar with. I hope I can use it to perform better in my PM role.
The centre maintained a cool temperature, as if saying to every candidate “Be Cool”. But, I will still recommend them to lower it………for, by the time you complete the exam, it turns freezing cold!!
