HRCP Blog

I’ve seen it time and time again: the nightmares, the flashbacks, the anxiety, and the absolute insistence that nothing they studied was on the PHR or SPHR exam. Okay, the nightmares and flashbacks might be a bit of an exaggeration, but many people who have recently suffered through taken the HR certification exam truly believe that what they studied had no correspondence with what they found on the actual exam.

I can understand the feeling. When I was in my early twenties, I lived in Honduras, Central America, for a year and a half. In preparation for my time abroad, I studied Spanish intensively for nine weeks, and I felt pretty confident in my ability to carry on basic conversations in the language. When I arrived in Honduras, however, I couldn’t understand a word anyone was saying. I thought, “Oh, no, they taught me the wrong language.” Of course, I soon found that I had, indeed, studied the right language, but I needed some time to adapt to the accent and the speed with with the people spoke. I had studied the right stuff. The application of the knowledge was the difficult part.

For many, their experience with the PHR and SPHR exam is similar. The exam seems to be written in a different language. There are more application questions than many test-takers are expecting. The “which of the following would you do first” and “which is the most important consideration” questions baffle even the most seasoned HR professional. In most cases, the topics are not unfamiliar and are included in any decent set of HR certification study materials. The oh-no-they-taught-me-the-wrong-language reaction is due to the nature of the exam questions. When we study, we tend to focus on facts. We review, we drill, we memorize, and we assess our progress by how much we can regurgitate. On the exam we are expected to be able to apply the facts.

True, there will almost always be some topics covered on the exam that we didn’t study. Every time I’ve taken the exam, I’ve been blindsided by one or more questions. In stressful situations, we tend to become fixated on, and remember, the difficult parts, while the easy stuff makes no lasting impression.

So, is there a treatment for HRCI post-traumatic stress disorder? Yes. It’s the same one that worked for me in Central America: hang in there. Fluency comes when facts and application meld.

Disclaimer: I don’t recommend cramming as a viable preparation method for the PHR and SPHR exams. But if you are sitting for the HR certification exam during the current testing window (which slams shut on June 30) and haven’t yet begun to study, you haven’t got time left for much else, my friend.

Scenario: You registered to take the human resource certification exam four months ago. Your study materials arrived eight weeks ago. You’ve been busy with other things. Important things. But the exam is now 48 hours away, and you haven’t cracked a book.

My advice:

• Don’t panic. Some people march in and take the exam without studying a lick and pass on their first try. Not many people, but some. One thing is for sure: anxiety won’t get you any closer to a passing score. Try to relax and just do what you can in the time remaining.
• Focus on the essentials. Scan your study materials for the key concepts. You probably won’t have time to read every word, so make a reasonable list of things you want to know for the exam. You might want to give special attention to the areas covered in the exam that are not part of your current job. For example, if you don’t work in a unionized environment, spend some quality time brushing up on labor relations.
• Know the models. There are several models on which many other theories and concepts hang. Make sure you understand them thoroughly. I spent some time carefully learning the systems model for training just before going in to take the SPHR exam, and found that it helped me in answering at least three questions correctly.
• Brush up on the laws. Federal legislation is so important in the human resource field, and that importance is reflected in the PHR and SPHR exams.
• Review the terms and definitions. You did it in school. It works here, too. Study the glossary terms. If you don’t know a term’s definition, it is difficult to find the right answer on the exam. The HRCP Program includes lists of key terms in each unit and a set of flash cards with more than 500 terms and definitions. Other HR certification prep materials have similar study aids.
• Don’t overdo. You can only stuff so much information into your brain in a limited amount of time. Be sure to take regular breaks for meals and exercise. Your study time will be more productive if you do.
• Sleep. It is tempting to sacrifice sleep for study, and truthfully, at this point some sacrifice might be necessary. However, sleep is an important component in memory. It is during REM sleep that things are committed to our long-term memory. And caffeine is not a substitute for sleep. Getting a reasonable amount of shut-eye will help you more on the exam that drilling yourself on job evaluation methods.

My college track coach had a favorite saying, “Practice doesn’t make perfect; only perfect practice makes perfect.” That was certainly true for running the hurdles. I couldn’t expect to improve my hurdle form by repeating the skill incorrectly. The only way to perfect the skill was to practice executing the skill correctly. Again. And again. And again. Does this principle hold true in preparing for the PHR and SPHR exams? My coach would say, “Yes! It is a universal principle.”

So, how do you practice perfectly for the human resource certification exams?

1. Assess skill. The best way to evaluate your preparation for the PHR and SPHR exams is to take practice tests and analyze your results. A good assessment test is as useful in your exam preparation as the trained eye of my track coach was in my hurdling endeavors. You should use a test that gives you detailed feedback (not just an overall score), such as our online practice test, so you can see which questions you missed.
2. Diagnose errors. As you analyze the results of your practice exam, do more than just look at your scores and which questions you missed. Try to figure out why you missed each question. Was your knowledge of the topic inadequate? Did you misread the question? Did the question trick you? Did you over-analyze the question?
3. Refine your skill. After you have identified your weak areas, take steps to improve. Study the topics where your knowledge appears inadequate. Improve your test-taking skills. I have provided a number of test-taking tips in previous blog entries.
4. Practice. Practice. Practice. Answer as many practice questions as possible using your improved skills. It is best if you can respond to questions in a timed format that simulates the conditions under which you will take the actual PHR or SPHR exam. We have practice tests on our website, and you can find practice tests in a number of other places as well. All of the good HR certification prep study programs come with practice questions. Ours includes 400 online questions.

In yesterday’s blog entry, I discussed the December 2006 – January 2007 pass rates. HRCI doesn’t publish a “fail-rate,” but, sadly, it’s easy to calculate: 37% (PHR) and 45% (SPHR) didn’t pass the exam. What do you do if you are among that gloomy group? Will you try again?

You’ve probably heard that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing but expecting a different result. Am I suggesting that re-taking the exam is insane? Maybe. If you do “the same thing” to prepare this time around, you really can’t (sanely) expect a different result. So, what should you do differently?

• Review your results. The detailed results provided by HRCI can help you identify areas where you may be weak. Be sure to put extra emphasis on those areas as you study.
• Assess your study materials. Were the topics included on the exam adequately covered in the study materials you used? You might consider obtaining more or better study aids.
• Examine your own preparation. Were you sufficiently diligent in your study? Did you put in the time and effort to learn the HR body of knowledge?
• Practice, practice, practice. Work on improving your test-taking skills. (See yesterday’s blog entry.) I’ll offer specific test-taking tips as the spring test period approaches.

The December 2006 – January 2007 PHR and SPHR exam testing period produced the lowest pass rates achieved in the past five years. The pass rate on the PHR exam was 63%, and 55% of the SPHR candidates passed their exam. I don’t know what the reason for the declining pass rates might be. Are the exams getting more difficult? Is the cutoff for passing set higher? Are less-qualified individuals taking the exams? Are people going into the exams less prepared? Can we somehow blame it on global warming? Whatever the real reason (or reasons), the only thing you can control is your personal preparation. Here are two things you can do to increase your odds of passing:

1. Study hard. With not quite two-thirds passing the PHR exam and barely more than half passing the SPHR exam, HR certification is clearly not a cake-walk. Make sure you know your stuff. And do more than just read the study material. Make sure that you really know it, that you can explain it, calculate it, and most of all, apply it.
2. Practice, practice, practice. You’ve heard the saying: Practice makes perfect. The best way to prepare for the PHR or SPHR exam is to practice responding to questions in a timed format
   that simulates the conditions under which you will take the exam. We have practice tests on our website, and you can find practice tests in a number of other places as well. All of the good HR certification prep study programs come with practice questions. Ours includes 400.

More than a decade ago, when our company was still in its infancy, my husband suggested that we create a set of flash cards to accompany our HRCP Program. I told him it was a dumb idea, that HR professionals, who are (almost without exception) grown-ups, would not use something so juvenile. “Aren’t flash cards rather third-grade-ish,” I believe was my reply. Turns out, I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Thousands of people have since used our HR QuikStudy Flash Cards to prepare for the PHR and SPHR certification exams. So, I have had to admit that my husband was right (about this, anyway). More people than I could possibly have imagined have used our flash cards to learn and review the terms and definitions relevant to the HR field. True, not many of the PHR and SPHR questions are purely definitional, but if you don’t recognize a term (such as “QDRO” or “false positive”), you’ll struggle to correctly answer the question. So, learn those definitions! If you don’t get help here, please, get help somewhere.

Oh, and as for my husband, any woman would be lucky to have him. And not just for the flash cards.

Here’s a question we see frequently: I have some older study materials; will they work in studying for the PHR and SPHR exams, or do I need to buy the current year’s edition?

Well, it depends. (You knew I was going to say that, didn’t you.) Human resource management is a dynamic field with an expansive body of knowledge. Keeping your arms around that body of knowledge is a daunting task. We update the Human Resource Certification Preparation Program every year. A new version of the SHRM Learning System is available each year. Any PHR/SPHR prep material worth its salt is updated annually. We make a lot of changes. But obviously we don’t change everything every year. Some aspects of HR change rapidly (the laws, for example). Other things don’t change much from year to year (like learning theories). In deciding whether you need to purchase the most current version of study materials, consider these two questions:

1. Exactly how long has that old set of study materials been collecting dust? If it is more that five years, it is probably time to get a new set. If the materials are less than five years old, move on to question two.
2. How much excitement do you have about researching the changes that have taken place in the HR field since your old set was published? There are two parts to this research: 1) determining what has changed, and 2) finding the new information. If the anticipation of that kind of sleuthing gets your blood pumping, then sticking with the old stuff might be right for you. If you dread that sort of research (or don’t have time for it), a new set is worth every penny.

Writers are often advised, Know your audience. I suggest the opposite in your preparation to take the PHR and SPHR exams: Know your author.

So who is the author of the PHR and SPHR exam questions? The questions are developed by item-writing panels comprised of human resource professionals who volunteer to write questions. The item-writers are all SPHR certified and are HR practitioners and academicians. You can read more about item writers and the exam development process on the HRCI website.

As you study for the PHR or SPHR exam, try to anticipate what exam items might be drawn from the material you are covering. Ask yourself, “How could an exam item be designed to test this concept?” Constructing your own practice exam items will help you think more like an item writer when you take the actual exam.

Who doesn’t love getting two for the price of one? Studying about learning styles in preparation for the PHR and SPHR exams is a two-for-one deal. First, you learn what you need to know about learning styles for the exam, and second, you identify your own learning style and how to better use your exam preparation time.

There are three basic kinds of learners: visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic learners. Of course, people can (and must) learn in all three ways, but most individuals have one type of learning that works better for them. The following is taken from the HRCP Program (Unit 3 Human Resource Development).

Visual Learners—learn best through seeing

• Overhead transparencies
• Videos
• Diagrams

Auditory Learners—learn best through hearing

• Lectures
• Discussions
• Audio tapes

Kinesthetic Learners—learn best through touching

• Handling objects
• Constructing models

If you are primarily a visual learner, it may help you to study charts, diagrams, tables, and models. You may want to create your own summaries sheets or outlines of the concepts you are studying.

If you are an auditory learning, you would probably benefit from attending a class or participating in a study group. Hearing explanations and participating in discussions will help you understand and remember the material.

If you are primarily a kinesthetic learner, employing your preferred learning style into exam preparation is more difficult. Kinesthetic learners prefer to get their hands on things, to move around, to touch and manipulate objects. You might want to schedule frequent breaks into your study routine to take walks or engage in other satisfying physical activity.

There you go, two for the price of one. Wasn’t that at least as nice as getting a second green sweater or another tube of toothpaste?

One of the great and pervasive myths of human resource certification is that there is an official, sanctioned way to study for the PHR and SPHR exams. We are often asked if the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI) endorses our product. No, they don’t. HRCI does not endorse any product; they are adamant on this point. Here it is in black and white (from the HRCI website):

What is the best approach to prepare for the exam? The certification exam is based on work experience. . . . We do not endorse any products nor maintain information on them.

Is it true that HRCI does not endorse the SHRM learning system? HRCI does not endorse any specific preparation method.

Why is the language so drastically different on the test than the learning material? There is no material that “teaches to the exam”. The two are developed indpendently. HRCI has nothing to do with the development of the Learning System. The exam questions come from HR professionals working in the field.

There are as many ways to prepare for the HR certification exam as there are people preparing to take it. My advice to those heading down that path is to collect as much information as you can about the options available, and make the choice that best fits your situation.