I took the SHRM exam for the first time today (and passed 🥳) and wanted to compile a list of tips/tricks/thoughts for those of you who may be studying right now. At the beginning I found myself extremely overwhelmed with the amount of information but ended up finding a study plan that worked for me.
I studied for about 4 months prior to taking the exam. I used the SHRM Learning System (self-led), Mometrix, Quizlet, and PocketPrep, as well as some YouTube videos from HR Exam Prep with Angela and Reddit threads here and there.
My tips:
- use the SHRM Learning System as your main method of studying, particularly if you struggle with the SJIs. It comprehensively covers each knowledge domain and all the competency clusters and includes practice questions. The practice exam was also extremely similar to the real exam.
- Mometrix is good for an overview of necessary knowledge items, but I wouldn’t use it as your main study material. In my opinion, it works best as a secondary source after initially digesting the BASK/Learning System. Their practice tests are also extremely difficult - I took 3 and never got above a 70%.
- PocketPrep is good for honing your SJIs capabilities, but the questions are easier than the ones on the real exam. I did 15-25 questions a day in the last two weeks before my exam just because I was nervous about the SJIs.
- Use Quizlet to study knowledge items. You don’t need to know all of them by heart, just as long as you feel confident that you could pick the right answer out of 4 options.
- Use the acronym READ (Role, Effect, Action, Development) for SJIs. Write it on your scratch paper. What role are you (HR director, HR manager, HRBP, CHRO, etc.)? Who does the problem affect (a single employee, the whole company, a protected group, etc.)? What action is needed (fact-finding, discipline, mediation, etc.)? What does this mean for developing the company going forward? I went through this mental checklist when I struggled with an SJI and it really helped narrow down the answers.
- For SJIs, SHRM likes answers that are: 1) data-driven (employee surveys, focus groups, benchmarking, etc.), 2) strategically-aligned (how is HR tying its operations to the bigger picture), & 3) ethical (I&D, CSR, etc.). They also favor in-person communication over digital communication and communication as a first step before discipline.
- Pick the answer that fixes the problem at the root. Do not slap a band-aid on a problem.
- Do not stress if you don’t know the answer. Pick your best guess, flag it, and move on. There is no use torturing yourself over a question you don’t know. You’ll just waste time and stress yourself out. You are only scored for the answers you get right, so focus on the questions you do know.
- As I’ve seen in a few other threads, my test had a lot of questions about Corporate Social Responsibility, Organizational Development, and Strategic Management. And weirdly a lot about international assignments and ex/repatriation.
- During the test, you might feel like you’re failing it. But you probably aren’t! The questions are difficult and designed to make you second-guess yourself. Think WWSD (What would SHRM do?). The “correct” answer might not actually be what you’d do in practice.
Take a deep breath. Do some positive affirmations. Take a practice test to see where you could improve - the learning system practice test gives you a graph showing your strongest and weakest areas. Do not stress about laws and regulations and all that stuff, I had maybe one question about employment law and I think if you have a basic understanding of it, you’d do fine.
Please ask any questions you may have! Best of luck!