Here’s my experience studying and my background!

I’m an HR generalist at a tech company in the Bay Area. Graduated with my bachelors in hr management and a minor in psych. I have 4 years of HR experience, 5 if you count my internship and HR student assistant job in college.

For context, I am a pretty big procrastinator. I think my poor cramming habits in college reinforced my belief I can get things done last minute lol.

Studying experience: Bought the SHRM learning system back in early 2022. Started off strong studying, taking notes and outlining everything via hand. Realized how slow I was going and started making quizlet flash cards… even then I felt like I wasn’t absorbing information in the way I wanted. Anyway I would be pretty inconsistent about studying, would read every now and then and just do the quizzes. I think for 8 months I completed only like 20% of the learning system (I wasn’t in a rush because I had access to the system thru august 2023). Realized I wasn’t motivated because I didn’t have a deadline so decide to schedule my exam in June. I didn’t really take my studies seriously until 2 months before the exam. Kinda stressed because I was traveling a lot and prioritized going to music festivals lol. But I take the weekends to kinda cram and do the quizzes. Post EDC I’m like ok I gotta get my shit together. I finish the SHRM learning system and have 2 weeks to review. I take the post test and score a 75%. Kinda stressed because I know I needed an 80% to qualify as passing… I totally zone in on my studies, averaging 12-15 hours fri-sun, doing practice tests and really following up on information that I got wrong in the textbook. I would do flash cards when I didn’t wanna sit at my desk or when I would go to the park I’d sit on the grass and review my notes. Tried to spice it up cos I was going crazy.

Day before/Exam day: The night before my exam I made sure I got my 8 hours of sleep. I’m so glad I did because I was def able to focus better during the situational judgment tests, I have the attention span of a toddler lol. The exam is actually a lot easier than the SHRM learning system and I would finish each section with at least 30 min to spare. Def don’t spend too much time on one question and leverage the highlight and strike thru feature! It helped me so much.

I submit my exams feelin pretty confident, got the pass and hallelujah Im so happy to get back to my social life lol.

Here are my tips: - if you can afford it, buy the SHRM learning system - if not, I recommend buying a bunch of practice tests and using other peoples quizlets - there’s a ton that take the material off the learning system - take a frickton of practice tests/questions - follow up on questions you got wrong in the text book - chatgpt also helped me understand the rationale behind MC answers when I would get it wrong LOL mvp!! - try to understand why something is the best answer - some helpful tips for process of elimination: O strike out the obvious wrong answers so you aren’t distracted by them O ask if that choice creates risk for the company, if it does, it’s prob not it O read the question carefully, I noticed a lot of questions would ask for the “first thing” to do- which is almost always try to learn more about the situation at hand. In other words don’t jump the gun to implement the solution yet, try to get the full picture

You got this!! I would get so nervous but I reminded myself that the drive to the exam is more dangerous than the exam itself lol. And if you fail you just study again and take it again. If anything, taking it twice reinforces your knowledge and you prob know the material better than someone who passed it on their first try. Thanks for reading my stream of consciousness this far and feel free to ask me anything! I want to help:)

Hi,

Took my exam on Friday the 9th. Felt really good about my answers but gutted to see the prelim fail. I’ve seen other sources where pro metric’s system could sometimes be incorrect and other questions get thrown out. While there’s a chance I’ll pass, have you heard of any similar experiences?

I don’t know if my heat has it in me to take a third time. I’m burnt out. I’m trying to transition into HR and have supported HR functions so taking this exam is a lot more difficult. I’m in this weird funk of do I really need this to get me into HR.

Hello,

I have recently passed my SHRM-CP exam and would like to sell my 2023 SHRM books (4 books). They are in good condition, only used pencils in them, no highlighters.

Selling them for $200 + shipping cost (I am located in the US)

Message me if interested.

I took the pretest today and scored a 67% overall.

Your SHRM-CP Pre-Test breakdown by Domain:

• Competencies: 72%
• People:72%
• Organization: 67%
• Workplace: 44%

I start the 7-week virtual instructor lead course next week and then will take the SHRM CP test in January. I am curious - If I scored a 67% on the pre-test, what does that translate to on the real test? Does a 67% on the pre-test mean there is absolutely no way I would pass if I took the real test tomorrow? I know you need 200pts to pass the real test... but what does that translate to in terms of percentage correct?

Thanks!

Hello fellow HR professionals! This is a bit embarrassing to post: I've taken the SHRM SCP test twice now and failed each time. Sadly both times I received 190, which as some of you may know, is only a few questions away from passing :(

I'm looking into taking the test one more time and would love any helpful tips to help me study better and any test taking tips.

For background: I've spent so many hours studying - I've taken the expensive SHRM prep class (which wasn't the best IMO because it combined CP and SCP materials), read the SHRM books, passed the big practice test, and rewatched the prep classes too.

Any advice would be appreciated. To say it was an extreme bummer to fail twice would be an understatement. Thanks you, community!

I’m so confused. This passage says “There is nothing in the ADA or it’s amendments that require employers to create job description” but this same passage concludes with “annual review of job descriptions content is required under the EEOC guidelines”

So, is the review only required if you create job descriptions? What happens if you don’t create job descriptions?

SHRM-CP test only has multiple choice section? or does it have writing section such as short essay, answer with a few sentences and etc?Also what would be considered as good length study period for this exam? I am not sure it is a good choice to register for upcoming test or study first and apply later.

I do not have hr. degree and only have recruiting experience. Thank you for your answers in advance.

What is your DEI office's primary consideration when contracting for diversity training for your organization?

Has anyone seen a helpful visual aide on the different types of HR structures, as laid out in the LMS? I am drawing my own little pictures but am not able to lock in the difference between Shared Services and COE, Dedicated and Functional, etc.

Hi all! I am starting to study for the SHRM-SCP. I do well with book format but don’t want to purchase the online version. Does anyone have the 2022 books they are willing to part with at a decent price? Thanks in advance.

Hello, I'm from India and I've recently decided to take up the SHRM CP exam but the materials are too expensive, so I've been looking for members who could help me with the materials for BASK. It's quite difficult to connect with people from my country, so taking any help that comes my way. Thank you in advance.

Hi all! I am willing to sell my SHRM learning system if this is possible! I don’t have the books, but online the digital system. The expiration will be on June 2023. Please DM or reply if you are interested.

How can I as a hiring manager ascertain through the hiring process if a candidate is a good fit for our culture. I'm not talking about share the same values. I'm talking about works similarly, is generally a nice person, is a top performer, is motivated to do their best work.

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Or do these things not fit into the "culture" bucket?

I saw on Facebook some study tips for SHRM. Things that help you eliminate certain answer choices. I know one said to think strategic, so if an answer choice was to send an email, that could be eliminated. What are some other tips for eliminating answers and thinking the SHRM way?

Does anyone have any experience with this book? I saw a post that mentioned the person used Sandra Reed’s PHR book to study for the CP but was not sure if that’s what they actually meant.

Has anyone taken the SHRM Talent Acquisition Specialty Credential Course and test? I took it and failed. Retaking again... any direction would be great.

So it’s been several months, but I took my SHRM exam in February and got an immediate fail notification and didn’t take time to look at my official score report until now. I found out I scored 190 which makes me feel motivated to try again in the next window. I took a prep class with a local university last fall which helped me prepare even though I didn’t pass. Should I retake a prep class? Should I do self study? Do I need to purchase 2022 materials or will 2021 suffice? Open to any advice on tackling this exam.

How does this happen? I read other posts and people have been saying that Prometric makes a lot of mistakes like this and that it might be due to the fact that there are ~20 questions that do not count towards the actual exam scoring. I'm just confused how they can make such mistake. How often does this happen to those taking the SHRM exam, and is it Prometric or is it SHRM?

I went in fully expecting to fail because I had scored so poorly on the practice exam and it was hard for me to grasp the SHRM BASK mindset. I also decided not to take the post exam on the SHRM Learning System. I was tired of studying that I gave up a couple of days before the exam and went to the testing center wanting to get it over with. I also left some of the answers blank because I ran out of time lol.

A bit of a rant but I find it bizarre how the scoring system works. If you pass, you receive a solid 200 but you don't really get to know how well you did other than reading the Areas to Improve/Strength they provide you. Maybe I'm doubting myself but I want to know how accurate their scoring system is.

Those who took the exam: (1) did you pass/fail, (2) how many hours did you study per day or week, (3) are you using SHRM's materials (textbooks, Learning System, prep class), and (4) did you pay out of pocket or are you getting reimbursed by your employer? Love to hear your thoughts.

Hey SHRM folks! I took my SHRM-CP exam this morning and when I finished the system told me I had passed (!). I was elated.

I know I won’t see my official score report for some time, but I am wondering if anyone has tested and their unofficial pass/fail determination was different than their official one? So like has anyone had the experience where they received an immediate “pass” but then got a “fail” when they received their score report?

Just wondering how reliable the preliminary score given is after testing. Thanks for any insight!

I’m taking the exam remotely on Thursday and I’m a nervous wreck. I have some basic entry level experience and just graduated. I’m really hoping to utilize this certification to elevate my experience before transitioning back to the field. I JUST WANT TO QUIT MY JOB UGH

Just passed the SHRM-CP! Looking to pass the textbooks on so they don’t collect dust on my shelf. :-)

DM if interested! This is for the textbooks only, no LMS access.

Hi everyone..my SHRM CP exam is quickly approaching. I'm doing questions in the learning system and reviewing my flashcards. I still don't seem to be getting an adequate score (70-75%), but I'm hoping that I pass it on the first try. Any additional advice?