The Project Management Professional (PMP) Application
For an aspiring project manager, completing a PMP application is a critical step towards earning the coveted PMP certification. However, the process can be daunting. Too many applicants inadvertently make mistakes that can jeopardize their chances of approval.
And the fear of being one of the applicants who go through the audit process can strain people away from even wanting to submit the application.
And I don’t want this to be you. Thats why this article provides an in-depth look at common pitfalls in the PMP application process.
The two most stressful days of your PMP journey will be:
The day you take your exam
The time between submitting your application and waiting for approval.
Now, for the first point, you can take one of my PMP courses.
For the application though, keep reading and I’ll show you why you don’t need to be stressed about the application. And I’ll also throw in a discounted service, just for being a reader of The Risk Blog!
By understanding and sidestepping common errors and using my help, you can easily enhance your application, your confidence, and increase your chances of success.
Understanding the Application Process for the PMP
To understand how to fill out the application, you must understand the process of the application. So, let’s jump right into the application process.
Overview of the Application Process
The PMP application process, as outlined by the Project Management Institute (PMI), involves several crucial steps
Ensure you have the right qualifications
Fill out the application
Submit and wait for approval*
Receive approval
Pay and Schedule your exam
*While waiting for approval, you could receive notification of an audit. PMI will audit the information within your application, validating all information for accuracy.
This sounds simple enough, right? But as we dive deeper into the application, you will see there are nuances that must be followed to ensure you meet qualifications for taking the PMP.
Overview of Each Step of the Process
Eligibility Requirements
There are two eligibility routes to earning the PMP. Both require personal education, a specific amount of experience leading projects, and a 35-Hour PMP course.
High School Diploma
or
Secondary School Diploma
– 60 Months of Experience Leading Projects Within the Past 8 Years
– 35 Hours of Project Management Education/Training or CAPM Certification
Four Year College
or
University Degree
– 36 Months of Experience Leading Projects Within the Past 8 Years
– 35 Hours of Project Management Education/Training or CAPM Certification
Filling out the Application
The entire process includes providing:
Personal information
Detailing your educational background
Documenting your experience
Verifying the required contact hours of project management education.
For applicants, each section needs to be completed with the accuracy and thoroughness which meets PMI’s most stringent criteria. Understanding the process is essential to avoid common errors and ensure a smooth application experience
We will dive deeper into each of these areas later in this article.
Submitting the PMP Application
Submitting the application for the PMP or whatever exam you are taking is a simple process.
Once you know you have the qualifications, have the education, and application details ready, you are ready to submit the application. You only need to login to PMI.org, click on the test you want to take, hit “Apply for [Exam]”.
And, as long as you filled out the details in the checklist below, you should be ready to go!
Receive Approval/Pay and Schedule the Exam
Now comes the waiting period.
This period takes time. But only 5-10 days or generally around 5 business days. So, not terrible.
You’ll receive an email letting you know that either you have been approved or selected of an audit. If selected for an audit, you have 90 days to respond to it with all necessary materials.
Once finally approved, all you need to do is go to PMI.org and schedule your exam. You can schedule either a in-person exam at a local testing center or an online exam you can take at home. Which one is up to you.
Key Components of the Application
As stated above, the application does have specific components you will need to focus your attention on.
Personal information
Detailing your educational background
Documenting your experience
Verifying the required contact hours of project management education.
Name for Correspondence from PMI and Contact information
This is simple. Your name, digits, email, and address.
So simple, you are wondering why I put this on here – Well, I want to be thorough for you!
Name as it Should Appear on Certificate
Pick your name. Make sure it matches what you are going to put on Linkedin and your Resume!
Attained Education
Now things get exciting.
Remember the graph I had mentioned earlier on education and hour needed for the exam. This is where this is evaluated within the application. Dependent on what you put in here will determine how many hours you need to put within the experience section below.
Your Detailed Experience for the PMP Application
Title: This is purely the title of what you did. Like “Concert Planning” or like what I used “Military Funeral Honors”. This does not have to be fancy, just a request title of this experience you are logging.
Organization Name: Simple enough. Put the name of your organization like “Forty-Four Risk PM, LLC”
Job Title: Don’t freak out if you didn’t have a job title that matches “Project Manager”. If you were an Engineer, just put Engineer. It’s less important what your title was and more important on what you did
Functional Reporting Area: This is a drop down, you will pick from:
Customer Service
Finance
Human Resources
IT or IS
Marketing
Operations
PM Dept or PMO
Research/R&D
Sales
Training/Education
Not Applicable
Other
5. Organization Primary Focus: Another drop-down with selections of:
Aerospace
Armed Forces
Automotive
Construction
Consulting
Energy
Financial Services
Food and Beverage
Government
Healthcare
IT
Legal
Manufactoring
Mining
Pharmaceutical
Telecom
Training/Education
Non or unemployed
Not Applicable
6. Approach/Methodology: What this project Traditional (Waterfall), Agile, or Hybrid?
7. Project Team Size. Drop down, just pick the total size of the group that worked on the project with you.
8. Budget. Another drop down that starts up to $1M – so picked what your budget was. If you are military, there is a “Classified” option for budgets used overseas.
9. Project Dates: This is an important area. As i stated above, your experience needs to correlate to your education. If you need 36 months of experience, you need to ensure that this and your other experience sections add up to the right length in time.
10. The Project Description: This is a “high-level description that summarizes your experience and includes the project objectives, outcome, your roles on the project, and your responsibilities and deliverables” (Directly from application). Make sure your response is between 200-500 words!
Experience Summary
Once you fill in you dates and experience, there will be an automated “Experience Summary” for you to track where you are with meeting your experience requirements.
Exam Information
Don’t worry, you are not scheduling your exam yet. You are purely putting where you plan to take the exam and making your final attesation about the truthfulness of the information in the application.
And you are done with the application!
Just remembers every piece of information you put into this application serves as the foundation for PMI’s evaluation of your eligibility for the PMP exam. Be accurate, be truthful, and track everything you include! (More on why in below)
The Common Mistakes on the PMP Application
Mistakes are easy, especially when you do not know what you are looking for. Below are some of the more common mistakes people made when filling out and submitting their applications.
Inaccurate Project Descriptions
One of the most common mistakes during a PMP application is writing vague and inaccurate descriptions of their project management experience.
For PMI to assess your qualification, they need to understand that you have the proper project management experience. This makes it crucial to clearly describe roles and responsibilities for each of their projects.
You should avoid using general or non-specific terms. Instead, focus on project management terminology for the specific tasks you performed, the challenges you faced, and the outcomes you achieved. This clarity helps PMI understand the scope and impact of your project management experience.
Overestimating Project Management Experience
A easy pitfall is overestimating your experience in project management roles.
While it might be tempting to embellish your responsibilities, this can easily lead to inconsistencies and, in audited, could lead severe repercussions.
You need to accurately represent your experience within your PMP application. Align your work to PMI definitions and standards, showing that you have the experience, not mastered it.
Critical to remember, if you are audited, you will need to get verification on the hours for each of your projects. Which is one thing you do not want to get caught lying about.
Doing so, you will ensure your true qualifications are represented and that you are ready for the PMP exam!
Incomplete or Incorrect Contact Hours
Documenting your 35 contact hours of project management education is a critical part of submitting your PMP application. I’take too common that people make a mistake here by either underreporting or incorrectly documenting these hours.
An aspiring project manager should ensure that their education meets PMI’s criteria through a PMI-Authorized Training Partner and Authorized Training Partner-Instructor. This qualification is certified by PMI and ensure that instructors have all necessary information to run a PMP course.
PMI verifies all education and contact hours. So when filling out this information on your application, be conscious of what you are putting. Most instructors will assist with giving you their name/course name for input into the application.
And your course should be a 35 hour PMP preparation course. This is a required course to reach the 35 hour contact hours for the exam!
Tips for a Successful PMP Application
Easy to use Template of the PMI Application
To help aspiring project managers earn their project management title, I provide a great template for filling out the application.
This documents illustrates how to correctly document your experience while aligning your roles and responsibilities with PMI’s expectations.
Broken down to fit all the sections mentioned earlier, my application template allows you to gain insights into what a successful application needs. While allowing you to avoid the common mistakes through writing and reviews prior to submission.
And when you use my template, I also offer other resources to assist with any possible audit issues.
Proofreading and Verification
For anyone who has written anything in professionally, you know that proofreading is vital.
This is critical for your application. You need to ensure all details are accurate, no inconsistencies, dates align, and there are no errors with their roles and responsibilities or contact hours.
It’s also beneficial to have a colleague, mentor, or coach review your application. This gets someone with an unbiased and fresh perspective looking at your work and catching any overlooked issues.
Seeking Professional Help from Project Management Coaches
This brings me to where coaching can help with yourPMP application.
Finding a coach who can provide you direction, guidance, and advice on your applicable is invaluable to this process. Coaches specialize in understanding PMI’s requirements and can provide personalized advice on how to strengthen your application.
They can help articulate your experience more effectively, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that your application has no issues, even during an audit.
Investing in coaching can significantly increase your chances of success.
The Role of Professional Coaching in the PMP Application
Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, Shaq – all NBA legends and champions under one coach – Phil Jackson.
Each of these players and teams they played with were all great. They were great because they had a coach who showed them the right way to synchronize their efforts.
Coaching also bleeds into the professional setting, especially for aspiring project managers.
How Coaching Helps the Project Manager During the Application Process
Professional coaching offers targeted assistance, tailored to the unique needs of an aspiring project manager. Coaches guide the applicant through the application process, from understanding PMI’s criteria to articulating their experience.
They provide insights into the nuances of the application, help identify potential pitfalls, and offer strategies for addressing them.
And for me, I offer one on one, on-call support, multiple reviews, and audit assistance.
For the aspiring project manager, this support can be crucial in navigating the complex requirements and ensuring a comprehensive and compelling application. All with the ease of mind in knowing if you are audited, you are not alone!
Detailed Walkthrough of Project Management Experience
My first step is getting you my template. I’m provide experience examples and detailed instructions through a one-on-one call. My goal will be to set you up with a strong foundation in the work we will do together.
I’ll get your feedback on the template, all your resumes, and performance reviews. Using these, I will go through your information and provide detailed feedback on how to improve your experience.
And we will do this as much as we need to until we get to a final, excellent product!
The Project Management Institute Audit Assistance
Project Management Institute randomly selects up to 1-2% of applications for audits (and I’ve heard that can be up to even 10% at times). So, although there is an unlikely chance you will be audited, it is always necessary to prepare.
As I say, “Proactive Over Reactive”, right!
After uploading your application, you should find out quickly if you are selected for an audit.
These audits are not a call out at your experience. They are purely a check. PMI will verify the information you have submitted in your application through a request for validation.
You will have 90 days to respond, which could include copies of project management training, experience and/or PMP training certificates.
Not completing the audit, it will be considered a failed audit, and you’ll need to reapply after one year. Your new application will also be subject to a re-audit.
Reduce the Pressure of Your Application Process
In conclusion, avoiding common mistakes in the application process is essential for project managers aspiring to earn their PMP certification.
By focusing on clear and accurate descriptions of one’s experience in project management, verifying contact hours, ensuring consistency across the application, and considering professional coaching, applicants can enhance their chances of success. The example of a PMP application provided in this article serves as a resource, but should not be used within a vacuum.
As you navigate the complexities of the PMP application process, consider leveraging professional coaching services to maximize your efforts and reduce your stress levels.
Professional coaching offers targeted assistance, tailored to your unique needs, and provides valuable insights into PMI’s requirements. Coaches can help you articulate your project management experience more effectively, identify areas for improvement, and ensure your application is audit-proof.
To help you succeed, I offer one-on-one coaching services designed to guide you through every step of your PMP application. With personalized support, multiple reviews, and audit assistance, you can confidently submit your application and focus on preparing for your exam.
Take advantage of my special offer for readers of The Risk Blog and let me help you achieve your PMP certification goals. Contact me today to schedule a free initial consultation and start your journey towards becoming a certified project management professional.
–Russ
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