It’s over team, we did it. I passed two senior professional certification exams this week: The SHRM-SCP (Society for Human Resource Management – Senior Certified Professional) and SPHR (Senior Professional in Human Resources).
I started studying for these exams back in February and initially had only intended to take one, the SHRM-SCP. They are equivalent in many people’s eyes as far as professional credition goes, but they have slightly different focuses on a similar body of knowledge. In the end, I figured I was studying the same core things so I might as well go for both — that way if someone does have a bias towards one or the other, it doesn’t matter to me (there is plenty of opinion within the profession!).
A 12-week study plan. A thick book. Lecture videos. Audio Tracks. Flash cards. So many practice tests. More listening to audio tracks, over and over.
These are exams that test on such a breadth of knowledge that it’s impossible to know precisely what to study for and you’ll inevitably run into things that you didn’t study for. I have so much memorized knowledge that I’ll probably never use. Quick — someone quiz me on the names of the major union labor laws!
At the senior level, these exams are more situational and critical thinking-based than straight memorization. It’s more about how you apply knowledge and best practices, how you align with strategic business goals, and how you advise on troublesome workplace topics.
As prepared as I tried to be — again, a 12-week study schedule . . . probably over 120 hours of study time invested — I still felt like I was failing while taking the exams. Especially with the SHRM-SCP. The situational judgment questions are a beast and choosing the ‘best’ answer feels very subjective. I was racing through all these practice exams but for the real thing I went slowly, I reviewed everything. I used most of the three hours and forty minutes allotted (and you can’t have water to drink in the room with you). I can only go fast when I’m confident in my answers and, team, I was not confident in my answers for this exam.
When the exam ends, and before you see your initial results, you have to go through a quick post-exam survey. My chest was audible beating out of my skin as my anxiety spiked. I was sure I failed and I’d have to tell all those people who thought this was an inevitable pass for me that I didn’t succeed. But I passed. And when I exited the exam I slid out of my chair and onto the floor of my guest room and nearly cried with feverish relief.
With one pass, some of the pressure was off for the SPHR exam this morning (bright and early for me at 8 am, and you check in for these exams 30 minutes early). And part of me felt more confident in the SPHR exam — it certainly aligned with my study material more closely than the SHRM-SCP. But as I went through the questions I had plenty of doubts. Where was that confidence of the practice quizzes? These questions felt hard to understand at times . . . they say both of these exams would be difficult for people who speak English as a second language and if you saw the questions you’d see why. “Plain English” means something different to test writers.
But I passed. It’s over. I went for a walk afterward and took a break before working this afternoon. The exam this morning feels days away. I don’t think I’ve really processed it yet, but I will. I’ll celebrate with a drink at Hatch tomorrow and with a Mother’s Day outing with my mom this weekend.
With Love,
Natalie