Comments on: PHR, SPHR, and GPHR Eligibility Requirements Changing

By: Will

Will — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Hi! I am now sitting at my son’s middle school homecoming dance, when I came across your blog. I thought I would try to surf the web for helpful hints while I am here and away from studying “those modules”for a night.

Thank you all for your comments and insight. I am sitting for the SPHR in December and don’t know if I should be afraid or excited.

If the SHRM system is not the way to go, which book(s) would you suggest I get to conquer this test? SHRM really pushes these modules as “the” key to passing this test.

By: Bill Bartmann

Bill Bartmann — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:48:44 +0000

This blog rocks! I gotta say, that I read a lot of blogs on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,

A definite great read…:)

-Bill-Bartmann

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:29:38 +0000

With these changes could the work experience be exempt level, but one is not classified as an exempt employee due to part-time status and not meeting the salary requirements?

Or even now, should someone in that situation still apply to take the exam if years of experience exceed minimum requirements?

By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:21:11 +0000

I took the PHR on June 30th and passed. I used the SHRM Learning System and found it very helpful. I used only the books and Learnhrm.com that came with the system. The webcasts and supplemental materials were very helpful. I printed the flashcards but I didn’t get around to using them. No one should expect any of the study material to be “worded” like the actual exam. That would make the exam extremely easy to pass and the focus would be on memorization of material and not application of material. Like Jay.lyn said before, I thought the Learning system questions were harder than the actual exam questions. Read, re-read, and read the exam question again and again until the answer jumps off the computer screen. It may not be obvious at 1st but the answer is there.

By: Wes

Wes — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:02:05 +0000

For clarification, I passed the PHR. Sorry for the omission in my first post.

By: Wes

Wes — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:01:07 +0000

I took and passed (according to the preliminary results) on June 30th. Has anyone heard of a situation where someone’s preliminary results did NOT match their official results? I tend to worry about things and this got me thinking. Why have preliminary results when they could be wrong?

By: PM

PM — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:24:04 +0000

Hi,

Can you pls help me in below doubts?
- Is PHR, SPHR, GPHR world recognized certifications for a MBA HR personnel?

- If i do an MBA in HR from a B grade B school and then do one of these certifictions will my industry value increase and fetch me a good job?

- I’m an engineer with 2.8 years of technical exp in software/IT company, so am I eligible for these certifications?

Pls advise.

By: Jay.lyn

Jay.lyn — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:41:03 +0000

I passed the SPHR exam today using the 2009 SHRM learing system. In my opinion, the question in the learing system were harder than the actual exam questions.

By: Kia

Kia — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:50:58 +0000

Like Michael, the 20 seconds or so after hitting the End Exam button were the longest ever! But I passed ans was extremely relieved. I studied, but could have studied much more than I did.

After reading everyone’s feedback about the SHRM learning system or SHRM courses, I can understand why some may feel a bit duped by the test format and/or content. I took an online PHR prep course offered by GMU which uses the SHRM Learning System and the learnHRM site. Most of the material on my exam was contained somewhere within the modules, but a few questions still seemed completely unfamiliar.

Something that I strongly advise would be to google the internet for test taking tips. I did this and foung many helpful hints. It was extremely important to go in there and be relaxed. Second, you MUST read every word of every question very carefully because the questions seem to be worded to potentially confuse you or point to multiple correct answers. Remember that they are looking for the BEST possible answer though. Strike through any answers that are blatantly incorrect to eliminate them immediately. “Mark” any questions that are stumping you or taking too long. You can return to them later and don’t want to waste too much time or become frustrated. I found that a good portion of the answers involved applying your practical knowledge or good judgment. This was an easy test to overanalyze or overthink, so I made it a point to not second guess myself on most answers. Thank goodness it worked! Best of luck to everyone.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:59:49 +0000

Took and passed the SPHR on Saturday. Like most others who have submitted comments, I studied the SHRM Learning Material that I borrowed from somone, although they were 4 years old. I also reviewed some other HR books/SPHR related books.

While I ABSOLUTELY agree that the exam was nothing like the practice exams (of which I took 4 or 5), I can’t say that the Learning System didn’t help. I teaches you the concepts, whereas the Exam really wants you to apply the concepts. I think I memorized too much and didn’t spend enough time thinking about application. Although I passed (I’m still waiting for my actual results) I wasn’t sure how I did when I hit the “Submit” button. Longest 20 seconds of my life.

For anyone considering taking the exam, make sure you spend some time on Mergers and Acquisitions and SOX. Try to think about how to apply the concepts that are reviewed in the Learning System to real life situations.

Finally, don’t get flustered. When the first question came up, I had NO IDEA what they were talking about. Not the way I had hoped to start.

Good Luck.