How do I fill in PMP experience?

How do I fill in PMP experience?

Learning Mudra, Category - PMP

After making your mind to partake the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam, the next essential step is to fill the application form. In case you have no prior experience of filling an online form it might look daunting as the website asks for numerousinformation before entering them. We are already aware that you are required to meet the eligibility criteria before partaking PMP exam in terms of education, experience and training. It becomes essential to enter such valuable information without making any blunders. This article will make sure that this step doesn’t restrain you from becoming a PMP certified Project Manager.

Minute details matter

Let’s begin with the essential information you are supposed to have when you apply for the exam. With right knowledge and information you will be able to put together an effective PMP application, increasing your chance of success. The application form is available on PMP website which asks you to fill information about project management education to make sure that you meet the eligibility criteria. After starting your application, you are provided 90 days to complete the application form, after which the process takes 5 more days to review the application to ensure whether the applicant is eligible or not. Once you get thumbs up to move forward with application you are required to pay the exam fee.

In case, your application gets selected for an audit, one need not to worry until and unless the information provided is genuine and accurate. For more information on application process and important facts about PMP exam, you can visit PMI website and look for PMP handbook as the process is extensively explained.
To get your copy, click here.

Some things require extra attention

One might struggle in filling the PMP experience hours which is one of the prerequisites. As this is the hardest part of application it needs extra focus, you cannot afford to mess this up as the section depicts whether you are eligible for the exam or not. The application form asks for complete details along with:

• Work experience.
• The title of project.
• Name of the organization under which the project was completed.
• Job title.
• Methodology used.
• Size of the team.
• Project Budget has to be filled in US Dollars or USD.
• Date of projects, in case of ongoing project you can select the current date.
• A description of 200-500 words explaining the project objective and roles and responsibilities performed by you.

It is important to note that one can add more projects to the application in case of surpassing the required experience. However, inadequacy of required experience hours would not allow you to move forward with application.

Start it right

To provide more clarity on the eligibility criteria, one can visit PMI website or just get an idea from the information discussed below.

• a.) In case of having, a secondary degree or High school diploma, you are required to have 60 months or 5 years of project management experience.
• Whereas, a graduate with a four year degree is required to have 36 months or 3 years of project management experience.
• In case of having a GAC accredited degree, you are required to show 24 months or 2 years of project management experience.

In case your projects dates are overlapping, do not worry! As it is not a problem, many project managers handle multiple projects at the same time. However, it is important to note that the overlapping time counts as elapsed time. For instance, if in a month you managed 3 projects, the elapsed time will still remain a month.

The other important thing is trying to limit report hours to 40 hours a week. In fewer circumstances like a big delivery milestone, you might have extended your working hours which is understandable. However, if you have not extended working hours over 40 hours a week in a very long time, you should be able to justify the reason by providing a written documentation to PMI.

Be concise

PMI recommends you to document your experience in concise manner, using up to 500 words. Look at it this way, it gets tedious when someone has to read 2500 words of description. So it is not that easy, you will have to prioritize the relevant stuff which goes on that description. You need not to write about the knowledge and skills you gained but yes what sort of role you played becomes relevant for your application. There are few keywords suggested on the application form put them to use. Until you reach the total number of months, keep entering project description and dates.

To end with, one must understand that it is not the type of project or specific industry PMI is looking for. All they want to know is what role you have played in the project and how you meet the requirements. However, it is not suggested to use acronyms which are not related to the business. It is suggested to use terminology used in PMBOK guide as far as you can.

Hopefully, the article helped you clearing all doubts.