The up side of exam anxiety
Based on the significant spike we’ve seen in people taking our online practice tests in the past few days, I think it’s safe to assume that many PHR and SPHR candidates will be sitting for their HR certification exams in the next few days. We had a call to our office today from someone who was in an absolute panic about the exam. It got me thinking that a few words about exam anxiety might be helpful here:
- Anxiety is normal, and it can actually be beneficial. It helps us get “up” for an event. It heightens our attention and sharpens our memory.
- When you feel butterflies in your tummy (or a wave of nausea, as the case may be), tell yourself, “This is a good thing. This will help me.” Don’t allow the nervousness to escalate to the point that it is detrimental to exam performance. Relax.
- To determine which relaxation techniques work best for you, employ various relaxation techniques when you take practice tests.
- While poor preparation can certainly lead to nervousness, it doesn’t follow that feelings of anxiety mean you are ill-prepared. Even those who are well-prepared can feel nervous.
- Worrying is focusing (obsessing, even) about the possibility of an undesirable outcome. It has no up side. Don’t allow yourself to worry.
Good luck!
January 24th, 2011 at 7:09 am
I personally prefer to feel anxious; it keeps me from being overconfident. I do not like when I do not feel a little bit nervous; I am an excellent test taker however. I have held many different certifications in my life from the security field, including bonding and armed response, to a CDL class A with Hazmat. I have a very impressive success rate; I have only failed two other tests in my life, both of which I never studied for…
I did take and failed the PHR exam, but it was not because of anxiety; when I sat for the test, I felt anxious, but I was confident in my answers. The PHR wording can be a little bit ambiguous though, and I did study a lot of terms and definitions, but was ill-prepared for the wording… so it is best to be prepared, but not afraid. After all, it is not a test where failure takes anything away, but time. Most of our jobs do not hinge on passing although I agree that this is an essential credential and as a member of the SHRM national chapter, I have seen more and more companies looking for a PHR/SPHR/GPHR…
Anxiety before a test reminds us that we are human, subject to the occasional reality-check…