Job seeking candidates all over the world are now being drawn to certification programs for better and guaranteed opportunities at various private and public sectors like planning, construction, software, banking, etc. Project Management Institute offers various certification programs based on several purposes and qualifications, and not to mention course curriculums. CAPM is one of them. CAPM is the acronym for Certified Associate in Project Management. It is a certification process that is headed by Project Management Institute based in London. It is a part of the range of certifications they offer for the people working in project management besides others like PRINCE2, PMP, etc. This certification is opted for by candidates that are aiming for better job scopes and opportunities in project management fields irrespective of the years of experience they might have or have not gained. Aspirants both with and without any experience can go for this certification test, although the qualifications for both the group are a bit different. The exam fees come costly, but the resume comes embellished with outstanding jewel after this certification process.
The test consists of 150 questions, out of which 15 questions are pretest questions. PMI allows a total duration of 3 hours for solving the paper.
Prerequisites required for appearing in the test- The qualifications that an applicant must have to appear for the test are again based on the experience he or she holds. An applicant with no experience at all must have a secondary degree like a high school diploma or equivalent along with twenty-three hours of project management education, while the experienced applicants need to possess a secondary degree along with 1500 hours of project management hours. Project management education generally refers to the credit hours of formal education on project management a candidate is required to obtain.
Syllabus: – The syllabus of CAPM certification consists of five groups. Group 1 is initiating; group 2 is planning, group 3 is as it executing, group 4 is monitoring and controlling, while group 5 is closing. These five groups are related to project management. The syllabus also contains ten knowledge areas, which are as follows. Area 1 is project integration management; area two is project scope management, area 3 is project time management, area 4 is project cost management, area 5 is project quality management, areas 6 projects human resource management, area 8 is project communications management, area 7 is project risk management, area 9 is project procurement management and area 10 is project stakeholder management.
Medium: – The test is conducted only in the English language, although PMI offers aids for the other 13 languages.
Marking scheme: – The cut off for selection is usually based on the 135 questions beyond the 15 pretest questions. There is no negative marking in the test.
Tips for cracking CAPM certification test:-
- Undertake a reliable training course online or offline. Select courses based on their credibility. PMI also offers various training materials. Avail of the materials and be thorough with them.
- Read the PMBOK guide book available at an affordable cost on Amazon.in and Amazon.com. Familiarize yourself with every nook and cranny of the guide.
- Go for any book that suits you, covers all the topics with applications and explanations, provides real-life scenarios of project management, and contains solved/ unsolved sample questions and sets. You may prefer to buy Kindle editions as they come cheaper and a bit precise.
- Once thorough with the 5 groups and 10 knowledge areas, go for time based solving of model question papers. Pay keen attention while reading the questions.
- Get hold of the amenities required to take the test like laptop or personal computer, webcam, etc.
- Check for stable network connectivity, proper functioning of hardware before attempting the exam.
- As there is no negative marking, try to attempt all the questions to the best of your knowledge.
- In case you do not know the correct answer to a question, try eliminating the wrong answers.
- Solve the questions you are sure of at first. Go for the difficult ones later if time is sufficient.
- Submit within time and hang in there till you hear the bells of success.
Retest: – If a candidate fails in the first attempt, she or he can take a retest again after depositing a sum of US Dollars150 approximately for the second time.
Validity: – The certificate is valid for only five years, at the end of which the aspirant might have to take a retest in order to avail of a new certificate. There is an option for members to collect Professional development units for every 3 years in 15 numbers to regenerate the validity.
CAPM certification is the right choice for job seeking or change awaiting aspirants to go for. Good luck!!