Hi friends,
You won’t be seeing a celebratory MVP renewal post from me this year. I am incredibly fortunate and grateful to have been a Microsoft MVP for the past five years. But earlier this year, as I began the annual Microsoft MVP renewal application, I noticed something troubling. As part of the application, renewing MVPs acknowledge and agree to several statements including one I hadn’t noticed before but read with a new perspective this year: employees of public sector jobs, such as local and Federal governments, were ineligible for the MVP program. Since I recently started working in the public sector, this revelation set off a chain of events that led to a significant shift in my professional journey.
When I reached out to the MVP Program support team for clarification, their response was straightforward:
“Hello, If you presently work for the US Federal Government, you are not eligible for the MVP Program. We thank you for your work and we invite you to reapply if this status changes in the future.”
After five years of being an MVP, I felt this brief response needed more depth. A simple “thank you” and a suggestion to reapply if my “status changes” (i.e., leaving a job I love) didn’t adequately address my concerns. I was encouraged to review the MVP Program Agreement, and the ticket was closed without any confirmation that my issue had been resolved. The agreement itself was vague as well, stating:
“To participate in the Program, you must be: (a) age eighteen (18) or older, (b) an individual person (not a corporate entity), (c) not a government or public sector employee, (d) not a Microsoft employee, (e) not a Contractor currently engaged in work for Microsoft, (f) regarded by Microsoft as a community influencer and technical advocate by virtue of online and offline contributions in forums, user groups, speaking engagements, projects or other publicly-accessible venues, and (g) have made impactful contributions to Microsoft technology communities in the past twelve months. ‘Contractor’ in this Agreement means an individual who is employed by a third party that is approved as a Microsoft supplier and is engaged in project-based work for a predefined price and timeframe.”
These over-generalized seven words didn’t explain why working for the public sector was prohibited. I sought further clarification by opening a new ticket, but never received a response. It was at this point that I knew my time as an MVP was over and shared the news with my LinkedIn community:
I am disappointed, but fortunately, another three letters had been on my mind for a while: PMP.
I’m fortunate to work with some incredibly inspiring and hard-working individuals who encourage me daily. Bolstered by their support, a colleague of mine and I decided to tackle the PMP challenge. We aimed to apply our years of project management experience to the program and become certified Project Management Professionals. We also hoped to learn new ideas and methodologies that we could implement in our existing processes to streamline and improve transparency, particularly in our Power Apps and Power Automate projects.
After detailing years of project management experience, completing 35 hours of training, answering hundreds of practice questions, and dedicating several study days, I finally sat for the 4-hour PMP exam and I used every minute I had. This exam consists of 180 questions, where multiple answers are often good, but one is always the best according to PMI. I was incredibly relieved and excited to learn that I had passed with scores of AT/AT/T (two above targets and one on target). Just 24 hours later, I was officially a PMP, and I’m thrilled about the new skills and ideas I can bring to my current and future projects.
Though I may no longer have MVP behind my name, I will continue to contribute to the best community in tech. I will write books and blog posts, create videos, stay on top of my certifications, and speak at conferences and user groups. Three letters don’t define the value of what I do, whether they’re MVP or PMP or anything else that may come along, and I’m immensely grateful to everyone who has welcomed me into their venues, and shared their colleagues, audiences, encouragement, and time with me over the years. I look forward to our continued connection.
Sincerely,
Nate Chamberlain, PMP and MCT 😉
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