PHR Certification
PHR Certification: Are You Ready for the Challenge?
PHR Certification is a prestigious designation, and having this title on your resume can have a profound impact on your career with your present employer, your appeal to recruiters and other employers, and your current and future salary expectations. As a Professional in Human Resources, you will command more respect in all areas of your career. First, though, you must pass the test of certification. This is the hurdle that stands between the ranks of the ordinary HR person and the PHR. Make no mistake; passing the exam and achieving PHR certification is not easy.
In fact, countless numbers of hopefuls fail the exam every year. It is a rigorous and demanding test and doing well on it requires an in-depth mastery of all aspects of HR management. Oddly enough, your biggest enemy when it comes to getting your PHR may be overconfidence. Most people simply do not understand just how challenging the certification test is and delude themselves into thinking that they are well prepared to take the test and achieve a high score. In fact, if you were able to interview every person who failed his or her PHR Certification last year, you would find that each and every one of them expected to pass.
In fact, education and testing experts have found this problem of poor performance based on overconfidence to be so common that they have given it a name: the Dunning-Kruger effect. It occurs in all forms of academic and employment testing, and it has been discussed in professional literature for quite some time. It seems the problem is that those who are too confident do not put in the necessary time and study to correct their deficiencies because they do not perceive themselves to have any. Meanwhile, those who lack confidence recognize their shortcomings and compensate for them by spending adequate time studying. This phenomenon baffles many people at first, because our culture emphasizes the value of strong self-confidence. However, the Dunning-Kruger effect is quite real, and when it comes to PHR Certification, overconfidence may be your greatest enemy.
PHR Exam FAQSs
1. What is the PHR exam?
It is the certification test that must be passed in order to earn the title of Professional in Human Resources, distinguishing the holder as being in the top ranks of HR managers.
2. When is the exam given?
The PHR is given during two windows each year at designated testing centers all over the U.S. The spring testing window runs during the months of May and June, while the winter session is open during the months of December and January. Test takers must schedule their exams well in advance, and it is advisable to schedule as early as possible, as available testing center slots start filling up fast.
3. How much does it cost to take the exam?
There is a fee of $300, which includes a non-refundable application fee of $75. The only exception is California, where the fee is $325.
4. Who is eligible to take the PHR exam?
Anyone who has at least two years of relevant, high-level experience in managing human resources may take the exam. These two years do not have to be consecutive, and they do not necessarily have to be recent, although candidates with recent HR experience generally do better on the exam than those whose experience is dated. If you are unsure whether your HR experience qualifies, there is a list of approved job titles you may consult in order to be sure. Your experience must include supervising or original or creative work utilizing advanced HR skills, or both.
5. How difficult is the PHR exam?
The PHR exam is very difficult. It has the distinction of having one of the lowest passing rates among recognized, widely-used standardized tests, and it appears to be getting more difficult to pass every year. In recent years, the percentage of people passing the PHR exam has hovered around only 60 percent, sometimes going as low as 56 percent.
PHR Study Guide: A Necessity, Not a Luxury
A PHR study guide truly is a necessity for anyone who will be trying to earn his or her PHR certification in the near future. If you are serious about becoming a member of the top ranks of HR professionals in the U.S., the small investment in an excellent study guide will almost certainly be one of the smartest purchases you will ever make. Compared to the cost to your career if you fail to pass the PHR, the price of a study guide is insignificant. If you consider the raises you will never get, the promotions (and even higher salaries) you will miss out on, and the phone calls from recruiters dangling lucrative job offers you will never receive, it is obvious that you need a PHR study guide.
In addition to the huge stakes that are riding on your PHR score, consider another stark but undeniable fact: nearly half of the people who take the PHR exam every year wind up failing. If you doubt this, you can verify it for yourself; the published pass rates in recent years on the PHR average around 60 percent. In some years, that rate has dipped as low as 56 percent. That is getting pretty close to being a 50-50 proposition. Few other tests have this low a passing rate, which underscores just how difficult the test is. Attempting to pass it without a study guide is simply asking to fail.
This is not to say that you need to spend a couple thousand dollars on a hyped PHR seminar. Many people go that route, and many of these same folks are part of the 40 percent who fail the exam. These seminars are based on the idea that a person can cram his or her way to success on a grueling test like the PHR. That theory was discredited long ago by testing and educational experts, but many people keep falling for it. No, the best approach is to get a PHR study guide and have a regular, systematic approach to study and review in the weeks before the test. There is no need to spend hours a night for months prepping; just a few hours a week is all it takes if you have a quality study guide. It may not be the glamorous, hyped approach, but as usual, slow and steady wins the race. Get a good PHR study guide and maximize your chances of passing.
Earning SPHR Certification Can Significantly Raise Your Salary
Is earning the SPHR Certification worth the time and effort it takes to pass the certification test? Many people might not think so. It is conventional wisdom that in most cases, earning the PHR is enough to get a person into the upper echelons of HR positions and salaries. People who take this view tend to believe that earning the SPHR title is little more than window dressing. It is nice to have on your resume, but it does not do very much to improve your career. However, as in so many cases, the conventional wisdom is wrong-earning the SPHR Certification can be a tremendous boost to your career.
Why is that? Well, probably the biggest reason is that the PHR has become common. It was not that long ago that having the title of Professional in Human Resources made someone a stellar job candidate or was enough to entitle them to promotions and raises. It was an esteemed designation, and it conferred prestigious benefits to the holder. Those days are long gone, however. What happened with the PHR is what tends to happen with all certifications in all industries and fields. What begins as a luxury eventually becomes a necessity. When few people had any kind of professional HR designation, having even the basic one was a feather in one's cap. As more and more people earned the title, however, it soon became a necessity to seek further certification in order to keep ahead of the field.
These days, the SPHR has become a must-have certification. It truly will help a candidate get a promotion, gain employment, or stand out from the field because this type of certification is much rarer. It is also very difficult to acquire. In most cases, it takes years of high-level HR experience, a college degree, and the ability to pass the grueling SPHR exam. Not many people are up to the challenge. In fact, nearly half of all people who attempt the SPHR test fail it. This disparity is reflected in the higher average salaries that SPHRs earn compared to other HR managers. So SPHR Certification is definitely worth the time and effort it takes to earn it.