For years, Guilherme Ozores Pires, PMI-ACP, PMP, had one professional goal: joining one of the world’s major energy companies.

Based in São Paulo, Brazil, 34-year-old Guilherme began his career in civil and geotechnical engineering—not project management. But while working as a field engineer for a vendor on a major project, he found himself coordinating more than eight teams and suppliers, working alongside the client’s project management team and managing costs, schedules, stakeholders, communications and alignment.

That experience helped him recognize something important: He was already doing the work of a project manager, even if he didn’t yet have the title. Working closely with project professionals on the client side gave him a clearer picture of project management as a career and where it could take him.

Guilherme had the experience and was already leading projects. But when he set his sights on those companies, getting through recruiter filters proved difficult.

Then everything changed.

After earning his Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification—and his PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® certification less than a month later—recruiters started calling. Interviews followed. Within six months, Guilherme had accepted a senior project engineer role at the company at the top of his list: Siemens Energy, one of the world’s leading energy technology companies, whose technology supports roughly one-sixth of global electricity generation. There, he manages large, complex power transformer projects that support critical energy infrastructure.

Along the way, volunteering with the PMI São Paulo Chapter and being selected as a PMI NextGen Outreach Committee volunteer helped expand his leadership experience and connect with project professionals around the world.

We spoke with Guilherme about how he discovered that project management was already part of his career, the credentials that helped open new doors, why relationships matter more than ever and why he believes continuous learning is one of the best investments project professionals can make.

How did PMI Study Hall® help you pass?

One weekend, I decided to take my first four-hour mock exam on PMI Study Hall® and scored 79%. The next day, I completed another one, and then another one the following day. It became a real saga—79% on all of them.

That Sunday, I scheduled the actual exam for the earliest available date. I will never forget the feeling of leaving the exam completely exhausted, receiving the paper and seeing that I had passed with an overall Above Target score.

It was an indescribable feeling. I honestly don’t have the words to explain it. One of the happiest moments of my professional life. Hard work and sacrifice pay off.

How the PMP can create career opportunities

Before earning your PMP, you had one big career goal: joining one of the world’s major energy companies. What changed after becoming certified?

This is where everything took a huge leap and stepped up. The week after passing the exam, I started applying for positions at companies where I was genuinely interested in working, and recruiters started calling. To my surprise, the results came much faster than I had expected.

Before earning the PMP, it had been extremely difficult to pass the initial recruitment filters. After becoming certified, I started receiving positive responses and invitations to interviews.

Just as importantly, or perhaps even more importantly than the new opportunities, the PMP renewed my self-confidence. I believe that the combination of greater confidence and access to new opportunities was essential for the next steps in my career.

Looking back, what skills did the PMP help strengthen?

The PMP preparation process strengthened several areas of my project management knowledge. For me, the most important part was seeing how closely my soft skills aligned with what the exam expects from a project manager.

It reinforced the importance of connecting project decisions with business needs and understanding the complete project lifecycle, from the initial commercial concept through final delivery.

It also strengthened my perspective on stakeholder management, understanding expectations, communicating effectively and delivering the best possible outcome within the circumstances you have.

The PMP also reinforced my sense of "good is not good enough" and ownership. You are in charge. You are the project manager. You assess the situation and make the decision.

Earning the PMI-ACP after the PMP

Less than a month later, you earned your PMI-ACP. Why did you decide to keep going?

At the time, I was considering transitioning into the technology industry and energy. I thought developing deeper agile knowledge could be an important step toward achieving that goal and thinking about the future of project management.

I read that the PMI-ACP could be a natural next step after the PMP. In practice, the PMI-ACP is much denser and goes significantly deeper into agile principles and practices. I earned the PMI-ACP less than one month after earning my PMP.

How do the PMP and PMI-ACP complement one another?

If you genuinely want to challenge yourself, I believe the PMP and PMI-ACP are one of the best certification combinations available. I see the PMI-ACP as a strong complement to the PMP, particularly for professionals who want to invest more deeply in agility and who work with complex projects, not necessarily only in software.

Even when you work in a predominantly predictive environment, studying for and earning the PMI-ACP can add valuable new skills to the way you operate.

The PMI-ACP significantly improved the way I collaborate with teams and manage stakeholder relationships in scenarios involving high uncertainty in complex situations.

Using project management certifications in complex projects

Today you're a senior project engineer at Siemens Energy. What does your role involve?

Today, I work as a senior project engineer, which we internally refer to as a project manager, at Siemens Energy within the Grid Technologies business.

I currently manage more than a dozen large power transformer projects. These are highly complex pieces of equipment weighing more than 200 tons that perform a vital function in substations and in the global energy system. Beyond protecting project margins and managing the routine activities required for project execution, I am also responsible for building strong relationships with our customers, going the extra mile for them while defending Siemens Energy’s interests.

This is the part of the role I enjoy the most—relationship, partnership—and it is also where a project manager invests a significant amount of energy.

One very important point is that project managers usually have no formal authority over these teams. We need to influence and lead thousands of highly talented colleagues across the factory and around the world, bringing together teams across Siemens Energy—from supply chain, quality, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, and commercial functions to senior leaders at the director and C-suite levels, along with many other stakeholders.

How has an agile mindset influenced the way you lead complex projects and collaborate with stakeholders?

An iterative and incremental approach can be applied to stakeholder relationships. In agile mindset, the team should always be involved and decide together. This kind of mindset helps a lot in complex environments, even when working in predictive like where I am right now.

The priority is to keep stakeholders informed about what is being done, even when we are navigating an environment filled with uncertainty. This is my preferred way of working with customers, partners and other stakeholders. Even when uncertainty is high, the environment becomes manageable and navigable when communication is continuous and progress is made visible.

Giving back through project management volunteering

Volunteering has also become an important part of your journey. Why?

What truly lights me up is being able to use my knowledge to elevate someone and support their growth, either personally or professionally. That purpose is one of the main reasons why I volunteer with PMI, both globally as a NextGen Outreach Committee member and locally with PMI São Paulo Chapter.

When I see that something I shared has helped another professional grow and succeed, and I receive a message or a call saying that I contributed to an important personal or career achievement, nothing compares to that feeling. Sometimes, all someone needs is a real opportunity.

The most important project management skills for the future

Everyone talks about AI. You say the most important skill for the future is something else. Why?

Relationship skills. Relationships are vital to project management. Projects are made by people, for people and we should never forget that.
Of course, AI and the ability to evolve in this complex environment are also important. AI can help us analyze information, reduce time spent on tasks and create many new opportunities. The possibilities with AI are limitless. But there is one thing AI cannot replace: people. So, people must always come first.

Advice for earning the PMP and PMI-ACP

If someone is thinking about earning their PMP or PMI-ACP, what would you tell them?

Go for it! Earn the PMP first and then begin preparing for the PMI-ACP immediately afterward. They complement each other extremely well. I believe the best time to pursue them is one after the other because the agile content you studied for the PMP will still be fresh in your mind.

Finally, what advice would you give someone just beginning their project management journey?

My advice, especially to the next generation, is not to feel pressured to have everything figured out from the beginning. Explore, learn and pay attention to what genuinely motivates you. When you find that direction, step up and take ownership. Do not wait for a title or formal authority to lead. Build trust, bring people together, learn from mistakes and keep moving things forward.

Tools support delivery, but people make it happen because no matter how much technology and AI evolve, they can’t replace trust, empathy and genuine human connection.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life until just a few years ago. So, welcome. You aren’t alone.

Tags: Career Development | Project Management Certifications | Agile

Related Insights

You May Also Like