Anne: Career Planning Based on Certified Skills Vs ‘A Great Eye’

When I joined Victoria’s Secret, then a maverick and stellar retail startup with 187 stores, my educational background was of little interest to the founder. If I could figure out a way to continue going back and forth to the Wharton Executive MBA Program every other weekend, while working 80 hours a week minimum; living/working in both New York City and Columbus, Ohio; and scheduling regular international travel — well, it would be wonderful for me to finish that Wharton MBA in Marketing.

However, my other skills were the ones that Victoria’s Secret valued.

My first VS assignment was to launch a cluster of 20 home shops within existing VS stores did not involve typical credentials. It resulted from my having strong entrepreneurial skills, a great “eye”, an enthusiastic personal recommendation to VS leadership from another woman being recruited for my position that I was perfect for the job, and the reality that I had three retail shops the VS team and Mr. Wexner could visit.

I’m not sure we even knew what a Project Management Professional was at Victoria’s Secret, although we began using them to create our complex technology infrastructure.

Confidence Is Great: Also Cultivate Skills

The first day that I sat in my new office as Director of Product Development at Victoria’s Secret three years later, I was terrified. If ever an assignment could benefit from advanced project manager skills, it was this one. In-house product development units were not common in the retail industry — as opposed to those owned by designer businesses and clothing manufacturers.

The GAP launched their landmark in-house design and product development unit in 1986, lead by Lisa Schultz. Lisa also had “good eyes”, she told TIME magazine, interviewed in June, 2001 as one of TIME’s 25 Most Influential Americans.

That first day, I didn’t even take a plant to my new Victoria’s Secret office. I shut the door and stared at four blank walls for several hours. I’m laughing to myself now, as on that day, I couldn’t speed over to the PMI Institute online or Google “Help me. I’m in way over my head here. How do I build a product development unit for Victoria’s Secret?”

Mid-afternoon, our president Grace Nichols knocked on my door and then opened it. I was sitting on my desk — not at my desk —but sitting on my desk, arms folded. The lights were very low and mellow, inviting enlightenment from the career goddesses out in the universe.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m screwed,” was my answer. “And so are you.” Clearly, we had a very open, honest, and mutually-supportive professional relationship.

“You’ll figure it out,” she smiled, leaving without offering a single suggestion or word of encouragement but those four. Grace was right. I did figure out how to create that first product development unit at Victoria’s Secret — and in such spectacular fashion that it became a model for the other divisions’ brands.

Today’s World Demands Knowledge-Rich Minds

In today’s world, I have high regard for the skills of project management professionals and most definitely would work to earn my own PMI certification as a younger woman. Social media makes it seem even easier to become a successful business and marketing creator today — with confidence, vision and ingenuity.

The truth is far more complex — even for talented people like myself. There’s a growing skills shortage in STEM careers, and recruiting highly-qualified professionals to them is now an existing paid consultant initiative at AOC. Today’s focus on project management is a natural extension of that existing initiative.

I don’t care financially if you take a certification test in project management or not, because I have no revenue attached to your decision. But I do care about your futures in our challenging world — both women and men. As you might expect, we have the usual dearth of women employed in project management.

Recruiting and Retaining Women in Project Management

The 2018 Major Project Association gender balance report summarized the situation, “Whilst companies may be recruiting significant numbers of women at apprentice and graduate level they are not staying in great numbers; they are not getting involved in major projects; and are not achieving leadership positions. This is a problem.”

The 2019 McKinsey ‘Women in the Workplace’ report is discouraging. And this assessment comes before the challenges of childcare and homeschooling in our COVID-19 world fall primarily on women’s shoulders — at least in America, which struggles to contain the outbreak in the name of individual freedoms.

I’ve said repeatedly, as an accomplished professional old enough to have seen major changes in the business world, I am very concerned about the career futures of Anne of Carversville readers — in and out of the fashion and design worlds.

We are entering a period of epic change — as if old rules weren’t already obviously worn out. Within this professional commitment to advancing your careers, AOC shares key facts about obtaining increasingly important certifications in the world of project management. ~ Anne

Common FAQs That You Should Know about PMI PMP and Dumps

The PMP or Project Management Professional is the gold standard of professional badges, and no one can deny it. More and more professionals are going for PMP certification for very obvious reasons. For instance, Certbolt Practice Tests it was declared as the fifth-highest paying badge in the world. Also, the PMP holders handle the three-fourths of the high-performing projects, because this certification helps every project manager utilize a whole new set of skills at a global level. Passing the PMP test is a difficult achievement. There are many things that one should know and many pointers that one should keep in mind before attempting the PMP test. This is why we have curated some of the most common FAQs related to this PMI PMP badge.

What Is PMP?

Offered by the Project Management Institute or PMI, the PMP certification is a globally-recognized professional management badge. Click Here to Read More on This Links about the accreditation designed to take the career graph of project managers at the whole new level.

What Domains Are Focus of This Test?

The PMP test lays the focus on the below-mentioned domains of leading a project:

● Initiating;

● Planning;

● Executing;

● Monitoring and controlling;

● Closing.

● Project Management Professional

Is This Exam Difficult?

Yes, it is. It is one of the most diligently designed and lengthy professional assessments that one can ever go for. This test consists of 200 questions that need to be answered in 240 minutes. However, it’s not the number of questions that you should be worried about. It’s the nature of the tasks that make it a tough trail to follow. The questions aim to assess your conjectural and practical application of many exam key concepts.

How Much Does It Cost?

The PMP is not a cost-effective assessment and one must know it beforehand. If you’re not a member of the PMI, Certbolt PMI PMP Certification Practice Test it will cost you $555 while a PMI registered member has to spend $405. But, to become a member of the PMI, one has to spend another $139. The membership renders various other benefits. If you failed in the first attempt, the retaking of this test will cost you $275 (for a PMI member) and $375 (for non-PMI members).

When I Can Retake My PMP Exam?

Upon failing the PMP assessment in the first attempt, a candidate can retake it two more times in one year.

Where I Can Sit for My Test?

The PMP test can be taken at any of the approved Pearson VUE Testing Centers, which are present worldwide. The information on testing centers is available on PMI PMP Project Management Certification Practice Exam Questions and through the Pearson VUE website. In addition, a candidate can appear for his/her assessment from the comfort of his/her home as the PMI PMP is available in a proctored mode.

Do Dumps Help to Prep for PMP?

Yes. Dumps are a great way to understand the crux of the test subject matter in a short period of time while helping you learn PMI PMP Project Management Certification management skills. Reliable dumps available on trusted platforms are designed by experts and contain verified information. Hence, you can bank upon them.

Final Words

The PMI PMP is more than just a professional badge. It’s a way to excel in your career while learning a whole new set of in-demand, marketplace skills. So, get your head straight and clear your doubts on the exam pattern, format, and accurate dumps to use, and make this credential all yours.