I’ve been creeping on “SHRM-CP Passed” posts for the past year, so I’m excited to finally join and post my own. Feel a huge weight lifted off my shoulders! So many of those posts helped me so I thought I’d share my experiences too ????

Advanced warning that the post is super long. but TLDR: try to get SHRM Learning System if you can and take those quizzes/practice exams over and over again. Know your processes steps. My test also had a lot of q’s on Risk Management, Talent Acquisition, and HR Global Strategy & Effectiveness. For SJTs — they ask a lot of q’s what to do “first” — typically the answer is doing more investigation and gathering more data. Also, SHRM loves anything to do with collaborating with managers and evidence-based approaches. And they prefer in-person solutions/communications. Rarely if ever, have I seen “send an email” as an answer. The exam was a 3/5 for me on difficulty. 4/5 if I didn’t prepare.

• Experience: 3 years, NYC-based. Mostly deal with People analytics, operations, and compensation, but want to pivot into BP & strategy so I thought SHRM would help me more than PHR.
• Study period: 4 months. I had some PTO between March and now, but I tried to study about two hours every weekday after work. A lot of employee relations and compliance-related material was very new to me. Challenged, but learned a lot! If you’re a generalist, you may have an easier time digesting the content.
• Study material: SHRM Learning System. I’m very lucky my company sponsored that because it’s crazy expensive (to me!) I’ve read good things about the Willer, Truesdell, and Kelly prep book and that would’ve been my option if I had to pay out of pocket. But if your company can sponsor the cost of the SHRM Learning System, you should definitely get it! I really think their content, quizzes, and practice tests helped me so much and get used to “SHRM-think” (they say it’s not a real thing, but I disagree lol). I do think the section quizzes are easier than the actual exam, but the post-exam they have matched the difficulty and set my expectations for the real exam. I basically took the exams over and over again as the exam date got closer. Aimed for 88% and above. Also used the notorious Study Guide as my basis for taking notes :) Took waaay too many notes on top of that (blaming it on the US Laws section lol). Also, some concepts are redundant, like processes for change, strategic, L&D, etc. all have the same general steps.
• Actual exam day: I took it remotely with ProProctor and not sure if I would recommend it. Although I feel more comfortable taking the test alone vs. with other people. They’re extremely strict about the environment around you (they mean it when they say nothing on or around your desk area! They made me move a trash can lol). The most stressful part though was having to restart the environment scan over 3x because the Proctor had disconnected. Also, they’re not very quick on matching proctors, so I ended up taking the exam almost 45 mins after the initial appointment time. The whole experience added a bit of additional stress — but that’s just my experience!
• Exam structure/strategy: They have a short 5-mins tutorial on how to use the testing tool. Then the exam is split into two sections, each 80 questions, 2 hours long per section. Once you finish a section, you can’t go back. I made sure to finish each section within an hour so I had time to review all the q’s again. I flagged questions along the way on ones I wasn’t 100% sure of or felt I needed more time to think about. After, I went back and reviewed my answers from the beginning, then just kept the flagged q’s that I really struggled with. Then went back and reviewed the remaining flagged ones. I felt like Section 1 was harder for me and I used the full time. Section 2 I had about 20 mins left. Not sure if it’s because I had relaxed by then though! In the end, there’s a 20 q survey. I tried to get through it quickly though so I could see whether I passed lol. They also provide a 15-mins break but I didn’t take it.
• Exam content & tips: Not too much on US laws, I know people get stressed about it! But I feel like there were only 5 q’s maybe on that? I felt like there was a lot of Risk Management, Talent Acquisition, and HR Global Strategy / Effectiveness q’s. But maybe it’s because those were the ones I flagged to look back on ???? Definitely know your order of processes (generally ADDIE). Lots of SJT q’s will ask what you’ll do “first” in a situation. 90% of the time it’s gathering more data, investigating the situation, etc. I also feel like any answer that involves collaborating/partnering with a manager is usually preferred. SHRM prefers in-person solutions — I don’t think I’ve seen too many answers involving sending emails. Also answers with buzzwords like “strategy”, “alignment” are usually good bets. SHRM also prefers evidence-based approaches as well.
• Difficulty: I would say 3/5. 4/5 if you don’t prep very well. While taking the test I thought I did badly because I’d flagged a ton of q’s on the first go-through. But I’m not a confident test-taker in general. The system allows you to “highlight” q’s and “strike-through” choices you want to eliminate. I think doing both helped me!

I’m mostly happy that I can get my evenings back and not spend it on studying anymore! ???? I was dreading the test date but also was happy to finally get it over with (pass or fail honestly lol). I’m a data geek so I’m really looking forward to seeing the breakdown on my test results — they said they’ll send it within three weeks! Wish I could see the q’s I missed though.

So many posts on this sub helped me prepare and set my expectations — so THANK YOU! Sorry, this post ran long — happy to answer any q’s you may have! :) and best of luck to future test-takers.