SPHR Certification Tips for Every HR Professional Needs to Do to Succeed
What Does the SPHR Certification Mean?
Gaining thorough HR experience, developing test-taking strategies, setting aside hours of study time, making use of practice tests, and even preparing your body for the physical stress of test-taking are all critical elements in taking the SPHR Certification and passing it the first time.
Organizations seek out SPHR certified professionals for their proven responsibility for HR field goals, extent and depth of knowledge in all HR disciplines, and knowledge business issues beyond the HR function.
Passing the SPHR Certification Exam
The Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification exam is tough. However, making use of experience in HR, learning to approach tests strategically, studying ahead of time, taking advantage of practice tests, and preparing your body physically for the stress-free of test-taking are tips to aid you in getting in passing the SPHR exam the first time around.
Earn and Use Experience
If you are late to the HR field, then it is safe to say you have a bit of learning, experience, and commitment before you are ready to take a certification exam such as the SPHR Certification exam. The SPHR exam is experience-based.
To change to take the test, you must attend one of the following criteria:
- Four years of professional-level HR experience plus a master’s degree or higher
- Five years of professional-level HR experience plus a bachelor’s degree
- Seven years of professional-level HR experience plus a high school diploma
The SPHR certification questions are prepared towards competency rather than memorization or rote knowledge. Leaning on one’s real-world work experience to pass the exam is therefore expected and required.
The exam tests your skills, knowledge, experience, and knowledge of applications relating to a full field of strategic HR planning and policy-making procedures in HR management. It then proceeds beyond that to discover if you can secure experience in the HR field in terms of business applications and principles.
Read: SPHR Certification: Description, Competencies and Duties
Tips to Take SPHR Certification
1. Approach SPHR Questions Strategically
Although the SPHR Certification exam is not like other exams, there are still important steps to approach every question and solution. While typical exams lead to test for IQ levels or amounts of information held, the SPHR exam is testing your HR experience by presenting everyday HR difficulties for you to solve.
Skimming through SPHR questions, quickly selecting the multiple-choice answer that best fits, or going with your gut sense and taking the first answer that pops into your memory would not work here. With this in mind, toss out your preconceived notions of test-taking strategies and gear up for a new kind of approach.
First, read the questions and possible answers slowly. Reread them if necessary. Reading through the questions at a slower pace enables you to analyze the situation and determine what is being asked of you. Once you understand the question, read the answers, and mark out the incorrect choices.
Second, when it comes to solving the question and making the absolute decision regarding the solution, test takers to remember what the test is all about. It is not about the general HR rules and concepts. It is about the use of a variety of levels within the HR and business field. Keeping this in mind will help direct you in the way you answer the questions.
Remember, the SPHR certification exam’s goal is to prove your HR management abilities in and outside of the HR field. Think like an HR manager and a CEO when choosing your answers. The key is to look at the question from a general management point of view, not confined to HR alone.
Read: PHR Exam and SPHR Exam: Why HR Certification Should You Take?
2. Study Ahead of Time
Even though the SPHR exam is experience-based, you will require to study ahead of time to become familiar with the particular concepts, applications, and scenarios the test will present to you. Eubanks says he logged more than 115 hours of study time over five months in preparation for his exam.
Instead, a month of preparation and reading merely set the foundation for the real study time needed to pass. There is no immediate solution to preparing for the SPHR certification exam. If you are ready to take this level of an exam, you have to be prepared to put it in that level of study time. Attending a prep course online and reading through the help guides will not be enough.
Instead, use multiple methods of studying, such as creating flashcards, making practice tests, and reading several different SPHR study guides. It would better if you considered joining an SPHR study group, serving SPHR conferences, and enrolling in your local SPHR chapter.
3. Take the SPHR Practice Tests
When it comes to taking the actual test, make sure you pace yourself. The SPHR certification exam time is three hours and consists of 175 multiple-choice questions. Taking SPHR practice tests will help you know what to expect in regards to questions and answers, but it will also help you learn to go at a steady pace and use your time wisely. As with other testing formats, if you are unsure of an answer, do not spend too much time on it.
Instead, mark the question and return to it later. If you spend too much time on any number of questions, you may not finish the test. Also, take multiple practice tests from different publications and resources. If you keep taking the same practice test, you will end up answering the questions based on memory, not thought process, and strategic application.
4. Prepare Yourself Physically for SPHR Certification
Preparing yourself physically for a test day is also essential. There is a lot of truth to those ideas, especially when it comes to preparing yourself physically for test day. You have already spent months training your brain to process applications and problem-solve for the best solutions. Do not blow your hard work and preparation time by not getting adequate sleep the night before. Rest. Allow your mind to stop working overtime.
If you study right up to test day, make sure you leave time the evening before to step away from the overnight cram sessions. Get at least eight hours of sleep. Get up early enough to take your time getting ready. Allow yourself the luxury of a well-balanced breakfast. Take water with you to the testing center to keep yourself hydrated and alert. Arrive early for the test so that you’re not rushed or anxious before you even begin.
Summary
HRCI Certification is a spontaneous action by a professional group to establish a system to give attention to professionals who have met a stated level of training and work experience.
SPHR Certified individuals are usually issued an HRCI certificate attesting that they have met the credentialing body’s criteria and are allowed to make the public informed of their credentialed status, generally through the use of initials after their names.
