I recently passed the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam, and I’ve been reflecting on how much preparing for this certification has impacted not just my skills, but also the way I show up in my current role.
When my company brought in a firm to run a four-day PMP boot camp, I signed up mostly out of curiosity. I’ve been managing projects for a while, but I’d never had formal training—it was all self-taught, learned by watching others, or built through trial and error. The boot camp changed that for me. It gave me a structured foundation and introduced me to frameworks I had never studied before. By the end of it, I knew I wanted to pursue the certification. For me, passing the PMP wasn’t just about adding a credential to my LinkedIn profile. It was about gaining external validation that I know what I’m doing and positioning myself as a resource others can look to for guidance.
What I’ve Carried Into My Work
Even before passing the exam, I found myself applying PMP concepts directly into my projects. One of the biggest game changers has been the Agile framework. In my most recent project to introduce a data chatbot to my organization, building in early and continuous stakeholder feedback has made all the difference.
Another shift is around documentation. I now document everything—decisions, changes, work performance data. In a fast-paced environment where stakeholders are juggling multiple projects, this habit prevents things from slipping through the cracks. I’ve even adopted information radiators so that project updates are always visible and easy to find.
The PMP also introduced me to risk management in a much deeper way. I now keep a risk register for my projects and build mitigation strategies as risks emerge. This doesn’t just help me stay calm when issues arise—it gives stakeholders confidence that the team is on top of things.
Beyond Project Management
Studying for the PMP has even shifted how I think about leadership. I’ve learned to adapt my style depending on the project and the team. Sometimes that means being hands-on and leading by example. Other times, it means stepping back, staying out of the way, and focusing solely on removing blockers. That flexibility has made me a more effective leader.
My Study Journey
I prepared with the materials from the boot camp. I’d literally read the 500-slide deck while walking on the stair master at the gym. As I got closer to the exam, I leaned heavily on the practice portal and tested myself with timed exams. One of the best parts of my prep was having an accountability partner, my old college friend Veshawn Ward, who happened to be studying for the PMP at the same time.
The journey wasn’t without setbacks. After underperforming on my first practice exam, I was crushed, and honestly stepped away from it entirely for a month and a half. What got me back on track was my accountability partner, who pushed me to pick it back up. That reminder that progress is rarely linear was huge for me to get over the finish line.
Advice for Future PMPs
If you’re considering the exam, my biggest piece of advice is to focus on the flow of a project, not memorization. You don’t need to know every detail, but you should understand how one process leads into the next and what to do when things don’t go as planned. That’s the heart of real-world project management.
Final Thoughts
For me, the PMP wasn’t just about passing an exam. It’s been about growing into a more confident, structured, and adaptable project manager. I’ve already seen the impact in how I run projects, how I communicate with stakeholders, and how I think about risk and leadership. And I know this is just the beginning. Whether in my current role or in future consulting work, the foundation I built through this process will serve me for years to come.
Brent Claypool 