PHR Exam

blw · April 2003

Well, I am testing next Saturday as some of you may be. Any advice or any horror stories about your PHR/SPHR testing experience? Tks, Barbara

Whirlwind · April 2003

I took the SPHR exam ten or so years ago. I paid for the expensive prep course and the exam fee myself, so I had about $1000 invested in it. I felt well-prepared going in, but the exam was much different than I expected. It was harder than I anticipated, but the main thing was that it didn't seem to match up with the study material very much. So -- I walked out of the exam in a daze thinking, "Well, I just flushed a thousand bucks down the toilet." Turns out I passed with an overall 85%, so the moral to this story is: Don't let the exam freak you out! Have confidence in your background and preparation, and work through the questions with as little anxiety as possible. The questions seem to be structured to have one obviously wrong answer, one "sorta" wrong answer, and two answers that are reasonable, so just expect that. And GOOD LUCK!

HR in PA · April 2003

I completely agree. I too paid for the prep course and materials. I studied the materials in great detail memorizing as much as I possibly could. When I went to the exam, I realized that I wasted a huge amount of time. The exam did not cover the study materials at all.

The majority of my exam was based on experiences and case scenarios. I also passed the exam, but wish I would have know going in how much time and money could have been saved.

On a lighter note, the course materials were an excellent set of reference materials that I still use today.

Good Luck!

Rockie · April 2003

Actually, I took a 12 week course which was expensive, but I really learned a lot from it, so not a waste of time. As far as the exam, I had built it up in my mind that it was going to be really horrible, but it was not as bad as I thought I passed it with a 100% score (Just kidding! - but somewhere in the 85% range).

Good luck. You will survive.

Zanne · April 2003

Good luck!

I took a preparation course through a college and found that one teacher didn't have a clue. Lucky for me, his area was an area that I had been working in.

I passed the SPHR - but my hardest area was the union law. If you don't have much experience in that - you may want to read through those things.

Zanne

JKK · April 2003

Good Luck - I did the PHR December 2002 - and agree with what everyone here has said.
It was harder than I expected and does cover all areas of HR: Compensation, Labor, Law, Recruitment, Pensions, Employee Relations, etc.
I had done a College course and the lecturer was great, but more importantly he kept giving us practice exams, and yes there is always one question that is very wrong, one sort of wrong and two possibilities.
Basically, I answered all the questions I knew straight away and then went back to the harder ones. Then I asked for a toilet break, washed my hands, cleared my head and then went back and re-looked at every question and answer. Some I altered because I had read the question incorrectly but basically I was pretty happy with my answers - this all took about 2 hours and 45 minutes. Then I handed in my paper and worried until I got the results.
Yes I passed also, so long as you have a rounded knowledge of HR you should be fine.
Once again, good luck

psrcello · April 2003

I took the SPHR exam in December of 2000. I used the SHRM Learning System, combined with about 15 years of hands-on experience. I actually enjoyed taking the practice exams on the computer - I feel that gave me the final edge I needed for the exam. The most challenging questions were the "case study" ones, which required that you bring several different areas of knowledge together - rote memorization didn't help on those questions!

Best of luck to you on the exam!

Sunny · April 2003

I took the PHR last December and passed respectably. I studied only from materials passed along from Allena on the SHRM Certification board and from SHRM White Papers and other material I looked up when I hit a subject I was unfamiliar with (mostly in OD). I did not find the test "tricky" and it only took me an hour to run through it. I think that if you depend upon your working knowledge and common sense you will do just fine. Most of all, try to be as relaxed as you can. Good luck - I'm sure you will do well.

blw · June 2003

I passed!!!
Thanks for your prayers and good wishes.

HS · June 2003

:DD

...and there will be dancing in the streets!

Congrats

LeeR · June 2003

Congrats! Welcome to the club.

PHR Exam

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