Hello, everyone. Welcome to today's video.
Have you ever wondered why project managers, in spite of being PMP certified, fail in the
job interviews?
So a few weeks ago I published this video on my YouTube channel which talked about the
nuances of getting a job after your PMP certification.
And quite interestingly, that video evoked quite a few comments, discussions and
controversies regarding topics like Is the PMP certification a scam or a marketing
gimmick by PMI in collaboration with the employers?
What's the use of PMP certification if being a good project manager is what that matters
in the end? I mean, you can become a good PM without a PMP certification as well, right?
Also, people asked, are there too many PMP certification holders in the market now?
And is that why the value of PMP certification is getting diluted?
And the most interesting query was why does REA teach about passing the PMP exam?
If by being a PMP, I will not be able to get a job?
Is Ray out of his mind?
Does Ray know what he's talking about?
Etc., etc.?
Now I'm really happy that all of you engaged with this video so well and ask these
questions. And I do understand that these are very valid concerns that PMP aspirants or
even existing PMP certification holders might be having.
So today in this video, I'll be answering to all of these queries in two simple, easy to
understand points.
And as a final takeaway from this video, I will also tell you the key reasons why
project managers, in spite of having PMP certifications, perform horribly in job
interviews and fail to get a job and quite unfortunately, they keep on blaming the
certification, PMI or the employers for this situation.
So if you are an aspiring project manager or already a PMP certification holder getting
ready for a job interview, please give this video alike.
Make sure you watch the video till the end and let's get the discussion started.
Okay, So reason number one, why, in spite of having the PMP certification, you can fail
the job interview of a project manager.
Now, the answer is simple, guys.
Knowingly or unknowingly, you may have provided incorrect information in the work
experience section of the PMP application.
Or let's say in other words, you have got the PMP certification without meeting the
eligibility criteria of the exam period.
Now, how is that possible?
Let me explain.
See, guys, we all know the work experience eligibility criteria for the PMP exam, right?
That PMI asks for at least three years or five years of work experience as a project
manager before applying for PMP.
Take a look at this snippet here, and I am quoting what PMI says Experience must include
leading and directing projects.
Now, why do you think that PMI has mandated this eligibility criteria?
There has to be a reasoning behind it, right?
That's because PMI as an institute doesn't want professionals who are not having core
project management experience to write the PMP exam because that way the certification
doesn't provide any value to the person and the credibility of that certification gets
diluted. Now here is where it starts to get interesting, guys.
Passing an exam is much, much easier than becoming a good project manager, right?
I mean, to become a good PM, you need to apply the PMP principles and philosophies,
which the PMP exam teaches you through its curriculum in real life, in real projects.
Right. Now, that is something that needs to be cultivated over years to build that
capability. I mean, it's quite simple, guys.
Being a good exam taker doesn't necessarily mean that you are a good project manager.
And because of this reason, guys, quite unfortunately, this eligibility criteria of
the PMP exam gets abused the most.
Now, I hope you know this, that PMI applications are based on trust and personal
ethics. Pmi trusts that you will provide correct information when you apply for the
exam, which I think should be treated respectfully.
However, I can give you numerous examples of PMP aspirants who disregards this trust
factor and tries to circumvent this eligibility criteria to get their PMP
application approved so that they can write the exam.
So let's try to understand this with an example.
For the sake of argument.
Let's say Sam is one such PMP aspirant.
Sam have not done any real projects in his career.
He doesn't have any core project manager work experience at Max.
Sam has just piggybacked on some other project managers, maybe somewhat supported
the project managers in admin works and in the PMP application.
Sam has crafted the essays in such a way that the work experience reported puts him in
the light of a project manager.
Now, most of the time the PMP applications are not audited right?
Based on trust, PMI will accept what you say.
So Sam is lucky.
His application is not audited and he gets approved to write the PMP exam.
Now, Sam knows that he can study very hard.
He does that. He studies 14 to 15 hours a day, practices from the best PMP resources in
the industry, and he passes the exam.
Okay, Well, congratulations to Sam.
Sam updates his CV with the letters PMP.
Does parting with his friends since he's a PMP now and applies for jobs and manages to
get quite a few interview calls.
Now this is where Sam starts to get into trouble.
In the interview, when the interviewer asks questions about core project management
tools, methods and principles, all of Sam's answers are theoretical from the PMBOK.
And that should be right, because Sam has fooled the application.
He has never been a project manager.
But interviewers are smart.
Within minutes, they understand that Sam has not done any projects in real life, never
manage the roles and responsibilities of a project manager.
So basically he might have the.
B certification.
But Sam has never been a project manager.
And of course, Sam gets a rejection from the interview.
Now, honestly, guys, you tell me who is responsible for this situation.
Of course it's Sam, right?
In spite of not being a project manager, not having the core roles and responsibilities of
a project manager, he lied in the PMP application to take a shortcut for the
interview. And this is one of the main, main reasons why PMP certified project managers
are rejected in the interviews.
Now, this is my sincere request to all of you that if you don't have a project manager
work experience, or at least if you have not led projects actively as a project support
officer or as our associate project manager, do not apply for the PMP exam.
And by actively leading projects, I mean leading teams, leading budget, managing
schedule, managing risks, engaging stakeholders, everything.
Oc If you have not done all of these in your career, you do not meet the eligibility
criteria of the PMP exam period.
Your benefit out of the PMP certification will be a big fat zero.
So now you will say, Okay, Ray, I understand all of that logic and principle, but I am an
entry level project manager and have just started in the domain of project management.
I don't have all those experiences which you mention.
What should I do?
Yes, that's a very valid argument.
So for that I have made this video on entry level project management certifications.
Choose one from that list, get it done.
Get the required work experience of leading and directing projects for at least three
years or five years as the case for you may be, and then go for the PMP certification.
This is when you will really see the power of the PMP certification, because the bottom
line is very simple guys.
If you abuse the certification, the certification will come back and abuse you as
well. So do not be pennywise pound foolish OC, Try to take the PMP certification as an
investment in your career and do not resort to such foolish shortcuts to just expedite
the process. Now let's move on to the reason number two why PMP Certified Project Managers
fail job interviews.
Now, for the sake of argument, let's say you are a very righteous person.
You do not take such shortcuts or such backdoor policies.
You have been a PM.
You have got the required experience of a project manager.
You fill up the PMP application.
That way your application gets approved, you write the exam, you pass it with flying
colors and now you are a project manager holding the PMP certification.
So in this scenario, what can be the reason that you are not able to crack job interviews
or you are not able to see the benefit of the PMP certification in your career?
Now, for that, I have talked about quite a few reasons, quite a few evident mistakes,
which project managers often do when looking out for jobs.
In this previous video, which I published a few weeks back.
So if you have not watched that video yet, I would urge you to go ahead and watch that
video first. However, based on the questions of few of you asked on that video, I think
that it's very important that you understand the contribution of PMP certification in your
job search.
And what's that key skill which interviewers look for in project managers with or without
the PMP? Again, let's try to understand this with an example.
Let's say Amazon posts a job to hire a senior project manager.
Now there are 250 applications which the HR receives for the role.
So the HR doesn't interview all the 250 candidates, right?
They need to have a filtering criteria to do the shortlisting.
One of them is relevant work experience.
I talked about that in this video and another key one is relevant certifications.
And this is where PMP comes in.
So if you have relevant work experience and PMP certification, your probability of
getting shortlisted for the interview increases exponentially.
If we look at this pyramid, 250 candidates applied for the job.
How? Rid of them, let's say had relevant work experience and only 15 of them had
relevant work experience and PMP certification and the HR calls these 15
candidates for the interview.
So you see, guys, how the chances for you to get an interview call increases with your PMP
certification. And this is the precise reason why you should get PMP certified to
get as many interview calls as possible for the role you are looking for Now.
Once you are at the interview table, what matters to the employer's guys?
Your emotional quotient matters more than your intelligence quotient.
That means it matters more how you have used tools and techniques in project management to
drive business decisions, not how many project management tools you know to use.
It matters how you have led and kept your project teams energized and not whether you
know that, say, the five steps of performance ladder for team building.
Taking another example, it matters how you personally have led conflict resolutions
within stakeholders or team members, not what the PMBOK talks about conflict
management in theory.
And finally, it matters how you have assessed, managed and mitigated risks with
respect to cost, schedule or scope in your projects, rather than just knowing, let's
say, the triple constraint analysis in project management, because that's theory
guys. So you see guys where I'm coming from, being a project manager is more than just
having the PMP certification.
If you draw an analogy to a person climbing a mountain, having the PMP certification as a
project manager is like having all the right gears for climbing up to the peak, right?
For example, oxygen cylinders, mountaineering shoes, trekking poles, etc.
They definitely provide you with a competitive advantage.
However, those are not the only items need to climb up to the peak successfully.
Right? You need stamina.
You need practice, be on a proper diet, have a good exercise regime.
Right. Similarly, although the PMP certification provides you a major
competitive advantage in your career, there are other skills such as leadership,
negotiations, direction setting, etc.
that defines you overall as a successful project manager and will definitely be some
of the key skills which you will be evaluated on during a project manager
interview. I hope you found the video useful.
If you have liked the video, please press the like button and I will see you in another
video like this on this channel very soon.
Bye bye and have a nice day.