?Earlier this year, we introduced The Five Steps of Certification for HR professionals, part of a proven formula to achieve success on your journey toward earning your SHRM credential. Last month, we drilled down into the first three steps: sign up, schedule and study. Now we’ll explore the last two steps, sit and sustain (also known as attain and maintain). Earning and keeping your SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP is readily achievable with this easy-to-follow advice—so get ready to move SHRM certification from your “to-do” list to your “today” list.
Sit for Your Exam
You’ve signed up to pursue SHRM certification, you scheduled your exam and you are studying. What now? The thought of having to sit for a major multiple-choice test can be daunting, especially if you haven’t done so in a long time.
Approach the weeks leading up to test day as the culmination of a solid, three- to four-month study plan. Consciously decide to focus your mind on the end goal. Ensure that you are well-prepared and have mastered the subjects you will be tested on. Gain confidence by ensuring your surroundings—places as well as people—support you.
For a comprehensive list of preparation and test-taking tips, consult the official SHRM study guide, Ace Your SHRM Certification Exam (available for purchase through the SHRMStore, or included as an e-book with the SHRM Learning System).
About three weeks before test day, make your family, friends and colleagues aware of your goal and get them involved in helping you reach it. Say no in advance to any invitations to other activities. Remove any barriers that might distract you from your focus. Center your thinking and visualize success.
Arrange an Anxiety-Free Arrival
A couple of weeks before test day, make sure you have everything you need for a smooth arrival and check-in process.
If you’ll be sitting for your exam in person at a Prometric test center, do a trial run ahead of time to determine how long it will take you to get there from your starting point. Try to do it the same day of the week and close to the hour that your exam will be administered. If you’re driving, map out the best route, and when you arrive, find a place to park. If you’re using public transit, look up modes of transportation and schedules for test day.
If you’re taking your exam through live remote proctoring, reread all of the pertinent rules on the Remote Proctoring FAQs page to properly set up both your computer and your immediate environment when you arrive at your chosen location. Read the ProProctor User Guide to ensure that the platform will launch on the same computer you will be using when you sit for the exam, and conduct a system readiness check on it. Arrange for your computer to be hard-wired into your router for the best connectivity possible on test day.
If you’re testing at home, make sure you won’t be disturbed after your “arrival” in the room in which you will be taking the exam. If you’ll be testing remotely someplace else, do a trial run getting there, just as if you were going to a Prometric center.
Double-Check the Check-In Rules
The same rules for identification and security screening apply to both in-person and remote examinees. Review the check-in details for each testing option. Consult the SHRM Certification Handbook section on “Testing Identification Requirements and Rules.” Review additional specifics listed on the appointment confirmation e-mail you received from Prometric when you scheduled your exam.
You will be required to have an original, valid, unexpired, government-issued ID with a current photo and signature. If your ID has expired, renew it before test day, or use an ID from the list of acceptable alternatives in the handbook. The name on your ID must match the name on your certification records, including your exam application and appointment confirmation. If the names do not match, contact SHRMcertification@shrm.org to adjust your records accordingly.
Familiarize yourself with the various protocols regarding personal belongings, writing electronic notes, taking breaks and more. (For example, there are no scheduled breaks during the exam. You may go to the restroom if you need to, but you will not be given make-up time when you return.) Watch this brief video for a good summary.
Taking the Test
If possible, take the day off from your usual activities the day before the test. Make it study-free, too—another welcome change from what you’ve been doing for the past three or four months. Last-minute cramming before you sit for your exam is not advisable. Get a good night’s sleep.
On “T-Day,” enter your testing environment—wherever it is—with a can-do attitude and a winning mindset. Follow the rules for your location. Look forward to celebrating when it’s all over!
All of the content on the SHRM certification exams is based on the SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge (SHRM BASK). Each exam is designed to test your knowledge, judgment and experience at the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP level.
Your exam is divided into two equal sections, each containing 67 questions. There are three kinds of questions: knowledge items, foundational knowledge items and situational judgment items. You will have 110 minutes (one hour and 50 minutes) to complete each half. In total, the exam contains 134 questions and lasts 220 minutes (three hours and 40 minutes).
Timing Is Your Friend
Don’t worry if the check-in process takes longer than you expect. The clock does not start ticking until you actually begin the exam. Once you start, just answer the questions and keep going.
Be conscious of the time, but don’t overly focus on it. The vast majority of examinees finish the test with no need to rush at the end. Make the clock your friend, not your adversary.
That said, you must complete the first half of the exam before moving on to the second half, because you will not be able to go back. (For example, if you tag items for review while working on the first section, attend to them before you exit.)
SHRM is committed to your success, so let’s expect that you will pass the exam. Congratulations on earning your SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP credential!
Sustain Your Credential
Now that you’re SHRM-certified, sustain your credential through recertification. Attain, then maintain. Move your mindset toward lifelong learning. Acquire the attitude of forever going forward. By advancing your education, your organization and your profession, you’ll also advance your career, your confidence and your opportunities.
It is just as important to plan your recertification journey as it was to plan your certification journey. You’ll find all the details of how to go about it in the SHRM Recertification Requirements Handbook.
SHRM recertification requires credential-holders to earn 60 professional development credits (PDCs) within three years. Each three-year recertification cycle begins on the day you earn your credential and ends three years later on the last day of the month in which you were born. (Example: You become certified on June 1, 2023; your birthday is Dec. 24; your initial three-year recertification cycle ends on Dec. 31, 2026.) You’ll enter the PDCs that you earn in your SHRM Certification Portal.
Recertification is easy to achieve because there are many options available for earning credits. Qualifying activities for which PDCs are awarded fall into three categories: Advance Your Education, Advance Your Organization and Advance Your Profession.
- Advance Your Education. You can earn all 60 of your required PDCs per three-year recertification cycle through continuing education—instructor-led or self-directed, experienced in person or online. In addition to the numerous SHRM educational programs (seminars, webcasts, e-learning, etc.), conferences, specialty credentials and SHRM Foundation certificates that award PDCs, there are thousands of professional development programs available from SHRM-preferred recertification providers who are pre-approved to offer PDCs as well. There’s even a list of books you can read and report on to qualify for credits!
- Advance Your Organization. You can earn up to 30 PDCs per three-year recertification cycle by completing work projects at your organization (involving 40-plus, 80-plus or 120-plus hours of work) that align with one of the nine behavioral competencies or 14 HR functional areas described in the SHRM BASK. Think synergistically: Participate in a SHRM educational program (and earn PDCs), then apply what you learn to complete a project at your workplace (and earn more PDCs).
- Advance Your Profession. You can also earn up to 30 PDCs per three-year recertification cycle for various activities that contribute to the continued development of the HR profession, including creating and delivering presentations; research, writing and publishing; doing volunteer work on HR-related initiatives for nonprofits; joining HR-related membership organizations; and more. Eligible activities are listed in a drop-down menu in your portal account.
Additional Features of the Recertification Program
Some qualifying recertification activities may be free of charge, but most require fees. This is another reason to develop a plan for maintaining your hard-earned SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP credential.
Fee-based activities usually charge lower rates for SHRM members than for nonmembers. In addition to such discounts, when you have a national SHRM membership and use the same single-sign-on e-mail address for qualifying SHRM activities, SHRM will automatically record those PDCs in your portal account for you—one less thing to think about.
You must complete your requirement of earning 60 PDCs before your three-year recertification cycle ends on the last day of your birth month. But if life gets in the way, it’s possible to renew within a short grace period and pay a late fee.
You also have the option to recertify early, as soon as a year after the beginning of your three-year recertification cycle. Many SHRM-certified professionals who are very active recertify early, with the added benefit of extending their next cycle.
You can also carry over up to 20 PDCs into your next three-year recertification cycle.
Check out all the nuts and bolts of these features in the Recertification Handbook.
SHRM looks forward to supporting your professional development as your career partner for many years. For questions and information, e-mail shrmcertification@shrm.org or call 1-800-283-7476 Option 3 (or 1-703-548-3440 Option 3).
Nancy Woolever, SHRM-SCP, is vice president of SHRM certification.
