Tips for PMP Exam: Before and During the Exam

Md. Abdullah Al Mamoon, PMP

Congratulations to all registered PMP Exam Participants!

I wish you all an excellent exam and hope to see you onboard with your PMP Credential - the most prestigious recognition in project management profession in particular and definitely highly credible in the entire spectrum of professional domains. Based on my personal experiences and also shared knowledge from Ida Harding, one of the most experienced Council Leads in 'Leadership in Project Management Community of Practice (LiPM CoP)' of PMI, I have prepared the following tips and suggestions which I thought would be helpful:

Just Before the Exam:

1. Get a good night’s rest!

2. Avoid getting involved in last minute cramming sessions

3. Have a good high protein breakfast:

• A good breakfast may help calm the nervousness in your stomach and give you energy.
• Research shows strong differences in student performance on tests related to the amount of protein they ate for breakfast. This effect of breakfast on performance holds true even in the afternoon.
• Don’t overeat though – it will make you sluggish. Also, avoid greasy and acidic foods. 

4. Leave your books at home.

5. Flipping pages at last minute can only upset you. If you must take something to review just before the exam, take a brief outline you know well.

6. No Calculator allowed. During test you use a calculator on computer screen

7. Go to the exam with a positive attitude.

8. Allow enough time to get to test site without hurrying.

9. Arrive at the test site on time – don’t be rushed. Try to go into the exam alert and calm instead of tense and anxious.

During the Exam:

1. Take time to relax before & during the exam

2. Take several deep breaths and relax your shoulders (especially before beginning the exam)

3. Let your hands rest limply

4. Stretch

5. If you get nervous:

• Try to relax yourself by deep breathing or muscle tensing/relaxing
• Think to yourself “this will be over in 4 hours” and I will reward myself 

6. Read each question carefully before making a response.

7. Misreading the question is frequently the cause of a wrong answer.

8. If question (or options) is complex, look for subject and verb:

• Reread all questions containing negative words such as “not” or “least”
• Be especially alert to the use of double or even triple negatives within a sentence, as these sentences must be read very carefully to ensure full understanding
• Check for qualifying words such as “all”, “most”, “some”, “none”, ”highest – lowest”, “smallest-largest ”

9. Check for key words such as input, output, tool, technique, initiating planning, executing, controlling and closure.

10. Read the question, ignoring the answers. Decide what the answer should be, then look for that answer. Less chance that you will be misled by the options.

11. Now, re-read question, look at each option carefully and eliminate those that are not correct.

12. Select the one that is most correct.

13. Keep track of time

14. Computer tells you how much time has elapsed, how much time you have left, how many questions you have answered, how many you have marked, and how many are unanswered.

15. Set up a time schedule:

• Roughly estimate amount of time for each question
• Set time goals so that you will not run out of time
• Allow time for review of the exam
• Seeing that you are keeping on schedule
• Will help to relax you

16. Answer all questions in order without skipping or jumping around

17. As you go through exam, leave no question blank

18. Don’t count on returning later to answer it - you might overlook it or not have time

19. Make a guess and mark the question to return to later

20. Before turning in exam, make sure you answered every question

21. Identify doubtful answers so you can return to them

22. Subsequent questions may stimulate your memory and you may want to reevaluate your answer.

23. Don’t linger too long on any one question. This may make you nervous. Get a running start in taking the exam. Make your best guess, mark the question, and move on. Then come back to it later if you have time.

24. Don’t look for tricks. Reading more into question than there usually results in wrong answer

25. Don’t be a head banger. If you think the answer PMI wants is “C”, choose it

26. No time to argue - don’t waste time quarreling with a question

27. Don’t talk yourself out of the right answers by thinking too long or hard about your choices

28. Don’t cling to the idea that your first answer is always the correct answer. Studies show that students change from wrong to right about twice as often as they change from right to wrong. Just make sure you can verbalize why you are changing answer.

29. There is no advantage to finishing the test early. Take your time and don’t make errors

30. Use any extra time to edit and proofread answers. You might have made senseless errors you can pick up second time around

31. Go back over the exam, re-looking at doubtful items

32. Be cautious about changing an answer without a good reason, which you can put into words.

33. There are no special points for finishing early!

Once again good luck with the exam! Please free to share your feedback if any.

Email: abdullah.mamoon@hotmail.com