What It Takes to Pass the SHRM Certification Exam

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Nicole: Preparing for the SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) or SCP exam can feel like a full-time job on top of everything else HR professionals already manage. Research shows successful SHRM certification candidates typically spend at least 80 hours preparing for the exam. For many HR professionals balancing full-time work, family responsibilities, and everything else on their plates, figuring out how to study can feel just as challenging as the exam itself.

Welcome to a live conversation of Honest HR, where we turn the real issues facing today's HR departments into honest conversations with actionable insights. I'm your host, Nicole Belyna.

The SHRM-CP and the SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) exams test far more than memorization. Candidates are expected to understand behavioral competencies, HR knowledge domains, and complex situational judgment scenarios that reflect real workplace decisions HR leaders face every day. To help us break it all down, we're joined by Charles Glover, SHRM's Director of Certification and Assessment Products. Welcome to Honest HR, Charles.

Charles Glover: Thanks for having me. Glad to be here.

Nicole: It's my pleasure. So I want to start with the basics. What are the key differences between the SHRM-CP and the SHRM-SCP certifications?

Charles Glover: That's a good place to start. This is one of the biggest misconceptions, and hopefully we'll address some of those along the way. A lot of times we get questions at conferences or in conversations with individuals because they want to know which exam they should take based on their experience and knowledge to date.

While we know many of them are aspirational — they want to take the SCP — we really want to explain not only what the differences are, but how they are designed and developed. So I want to take a step back into the research that goes into defining what is SHRM-CP versus what is SHRM-SCP, and what are the knowledge and behaviors that those HR professionals embody day to day, and how does that apply to their testing experience to ultimately be successful on the exam.

All of our work is based on a global practice analysis. We recruit global SHRM-certified CP and SCP certificants, and they partner with us through focus groups and eventually global surveys so that we can get the most up-to-date information recurringly to validate what is the SHRM SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge® — the SHRM BASK — which is what the CP and SCP exams are built on.

So we are trying to define from the CP experience what early-to-mid-career HR looks like in a nutshell. What are those operational, day-to-day things that HR professionals are doing and agree on globally? That way, no matter where you're testing from, you have an equal and fair opportunity to take the test, and you're not going to see something that would be foreign or unfair to you.

The SCP exam is developed with more strategy in mind. What are HR directors and CHROs doing, and how do those responsibilities differ? We hear a lot of people saying that the SCP is really just a more difficult version of the CP with the same content, and that's not the case. We really want to help candidates understand what type of work they're doing — whether it's strategy-level work or more operational work — and then, based on that and some other factors, give them the best recommendation to be successful and ultimately pass the exam.

Nicole: Great. I appreciate you breaking that down for us. Can you explain the structure and the purpose of the SHRM SHRM Body of Applied Skills and Knowledge®, or SHRM BASK? You mentioned that in your last response.

Charles Glover: Teeing myself up. So, as I mentioned, the SHRM BASK is the foundation of the exams and all of our prep. A lot of times we bring this up as one of the first questions we ask someone, whether they're preparing, whether they've taken the test and unfortunately didn't pass, or whether they're upskilling to take the SCP exam.

Many times they say, "I don't even know what the SHRM BASK is. I've never heard of it. Tell me what this document is." And I will say — it's free on our website. Anyone can Google "SHRM BASK" and see the breakdown of what the exams cover.

Both the CP and SCP exist on the same framework that we revalidate through this research effort. At the deepest level, what separates the CP from the SCP is defined by the proficiency indicator. It starts with the six main content areas: people, workplace, and organization — those are your HR expertise areas — and then leadership, interpersonal, and business, which are the behavioral competencies.

Everything you see in the SHRM BASK is what could be covered on the exam. If it's not in there, it won't be covered. That makes it probably the most important document individuals use to start their prep journey, develop a study guide, and use it as a mirror to see what their individual strengths and opportunities are. Everybody comes to the exam from a different place — you could be a specialist or a generalist, depending on what you specialize in. The SHRM BASK is the most comprehensive document that outlines what the exams cover.

Nicole: Okay, great. So how does the SHRM BASK guide candidates in understanding the key competencies and knowledge areas required for certification?

Charles Glover: At the deepest level, there is a combination of two areas defined by the key concepts and those proficiency indicators I mentioned. We use the key concepts as a way to define and give examples. If we use talent acquisition, for instance — what are operational HR professionals at the CP level doing in that space? They're doing the day-to-day recruiting. They're conducting interviews. They're using strategy information that trickles down to them to source and find the right candidates for the right roles.

Whereas CHROs and directors are setting the strategy, defining maybe three to five years ahead who the organization needs, and creating a plan around what future talent acquisition looks like. The BASK embodies and defines all of that through the how, the what, and the why.

Candidates aspiring to become certified for either exam can use the BASK as a guide to drill down to those levels and say, "I've experienced this. I've learned this through my education" — whether through an aligned course or working for an international organization. But there may be some things they haven't seen. So it's really a good way to diagnose strengths and weaknesses through that framework and then plan a study course around that.

Nicole: So regardless of level, it's a great starting point to understand the SHRM BASK framework.

Charles Glover: Correct. And if you don't know which exam is right for you, it's also a good starting point. You might think you're more advanced, but that might just be a tenure thing. You might have been in HR for 11 years but actually be doing more operational-level work. So it's a good way to feel that out and make the right decision — because, again, we want people to be successful.

Nicole: That's exactly right. So SHRM certification research shows that successful candidates spend at least 80 hours preparing. How should someone realistically structure that time, especially if they're working full time?

Charles Glover: This is a question we get a lot. We know everybody's busy. Work is more demanding, and there are a lot of competing priorities for an individual's time. One of the concerted efforts we wanted to make more recently was communicating what the best steps are — so that you feel like you have enough time to juggle prep, life, and work, and also feel confident as you move into taking the exam that you've done the work and don't feel rushed or like you're scraping by at the last minute just to meet that exam deadline.

What we always tell people is to start preparing first. Whether the 80 hours is spread across a couple of months or you started your journey half a year ago, take that time to really dig into the SHRM BASK and our prep offerings — whether you go the Certification Prep System route, formerly known as the SHRM Learning System, or some of our other offerings.

Use a combination of materials and take the time to feel confident that you've prepared adequately before you apply. One of the things we find is that a lot of people try to cram that 80 hours in at the last minute and just feel rushed. There are ways to fill it in so you're not trying to dump it all in at once and then have to forego family events, trips, or work projects. We always tell people to use that 80 hours in the best way you can so that it's not competing with the rest of your life.

Nicole: That's good advice. You don't want to go into anything important feeling stressed about the process. It's nice that you can tailor that timeline based on your needs and your lifestyle. I took the exam a long time ago — well over a decade ago — and I had to decide that I didn't want to cram. That wasn't the right approach for me. But I also knew that if I dragged out my studying too long, I would start to lose interest or focus. So you have to figure out what works for you, your lifestyle, and your learning style.

Charles Glover: Exactly. Based on your learning style as an adult — adult learning theory defines multiple ways of learning — understanding how you learn best is definitely something we recommend. Through our research, we've seen that three months out from your test date is really the best time to make a committed effort to prep. Get your calendar ready, mark your exam date, and work backward from there. We don't want people to start prepping six months out and then stop and lose all of that in the gap. The 80 hours is strategically placed as a buffer in that three-month range, which shows the highest rates of success.

Nicole: That's actually a very good tip. So for the situational judgment items, what mindset should a candidate adopt? Are those items looking for textbook answers, or should candidates leverage their real-world experience? What's the right approach?

Charles Glover: We get a lot of questions about how to tackle the situational judgment items. I think there's the most fear and consternation around those items because, although they reflect what we do every day in HR, they seem to draw the most anxiety.

We always tell individuals — and I can't stress using our prep items enough, because they are retired exam questions that give you a real feel for what to expect — they are derived from those proficiency indicators in the SHRM BASK and model practical HR experience. All of the responses you'll see are options you could actually take. As you're reviewing the scenarios and reading the question, you will see things that seem kind of right, or maybe a little better or a little worse.

What you're really looking for is the best, most effective answer. It's not necessarily what you would do in your specific organization. We get a lot of questions like, "Well, I do things this way," or "I know other companies I've worked at do things their way." Obviously, culture and global applicability are involved, and we work hard to strip all of that out through our subject matter expert reviews before the exams go live.

Ultimately, it is a combination of your experience and HR best practice — and that is defined by the SHRM BASK. You might see something and think, "That's not what I would do," but ask yourself: what does best practice tell me is the most effective response to the information presented?

I sometimes hear things like, "I should approach this as if I had unlimited resources." We implore everyone to take the questions at face value. Don't pretend you have ultimate authority or unlimited resources to get to the answer you want. Read it for what it is, answer it with the information given, and don't involve your worldview or other biases — because that will unfortunately lead you down the wrong path.

Nicole: Okay, so just read the question, don't add additional details, and keep it simple.

Charles Glover: That's right. That's what we try to do.

Nicole: Okay. So the exam includes both knowledge items and situational judgment items, with about 40% being those situational judgment questions. What's the best approach for tackling the different question types?

Charles Glover: As you're going through the exam, the sections are broken down. You'll get 20 discrete knowledge items, then 27 situational judgment items, and then it kind of piggybacks back and forth. They're not intermingled.

The discrete items are all factually based — you can go to any reputable source and find a universally defined fact. That's how we base those. If you're a student, most of the HR knowledge content should come fairly quickly to you because it's what you've learned and what has remained stable in HR. If anything is no longer relevant, it gets removed.

As for the situational judgment items — it's about 80 discrete knowledge questions and 54 situational judgment items, which gives you that roughly 40/40 split. Those are grounded in HR best practice, and subject matter experts tell us through our research what the most effective course of action is. The discrete items are fact — undisputed HR fact that exists in the world and can be documented and referenced.

The balance always comes back to where your areas of weakness are. Maybe you haven't been an HR practitioner, so the situational judgment items feel more intimidating. Or maybe you've been in a strategy role for 10 years and feel comfortable there, but the book-learning side is where you need to beef up your knowledge.

Nicole: Okay, great. So again, it's about understanding the exam and what to expect.

Charles Glover: Exactly. Know yourself so you know what you need to study. There's never a one-size-fits-all answer, but that's where you start.

Nicole: Well, HR isn't one size fits all, right?

Charles Glover: It's not. But that's okay — that's why we love it.

Nicole: That's right. So the exam is split into two halves, and candidates can't go back to the first half once they move to the second. How should test takers approach this structure strategically?

Charles Glover: Everyone taking the exam will go into a Prometric test center and enter the first half of the exam. They'll have 67 questions to answer in a period of 110 minutes — or one hour and 10 minutes. What they'll want to do is make sure that as they're progressing, they've answered every question. You can go through and flag items, and you'll get an indicator before you leave the section if anything has been unanswered or flagged.

But we always encourage everyone: once you have exited the first section, that's it. It's set in stone. Be extra sure before you click — and there are multiple clicks required, so it's not something you'll do accidentally. Know that you have completed it to the best of your ability.

We always encourage everyone: if you don't know, don't leave it blank. It will be counted against you if you don't answer. Take an educated guess. Try to whittle it down to a 50/50 kind of thing and make the best guess before you move on.

There will also be a 15-minute optional break between the first and second halves, but the timer keeps running. You have a total of three hours and 40 minutes across both halves and the break to complete the full exam. We want to make sure people know not to move on thinking they can go back — that's a very important point.

Nicole: Okay. So at the very least, if you don't know the answer, take an educated guess.

Charles Glover: That's right. Never leave it blank. Flag it, be sure, and come back to it if you can. I know there's a lot of pressure to feel like you have to get to the end — there's always a clock right there on your screen, so you'll know exactly where you're at. But you do have plenty of time.

Nicole: I remember the clock well. So test-taking anxiety is real, and time management is crucial. What strategies do you recommend for maintaining pace and overcoming nerves without feeling rushed?

Charles Glover: We've done the math. You get about 98 seconds per question on every test question. Now, if you sit quietly in a room and time yourself for 98 seconds, it's going to feel like an eternity. Most of the time you don't need 98 seconds — particularly for the discrete questions, which usually take about 20 to 30 seconds to read and respond to.

The situational judgment items obviously take a little longer. There's a lot more information to process, and there are multiple items tied to that situation or story being told. So while you have 98 seconds overall per question, you'll want to budget a little more time for those situational judgment questions — to read them, understand them, and maybe go back. The scenario always appears on the same page as the question, so you don't have to flip back and forth.

Going back to what we opened with — use the practice questions. Take one of our practice quizzes with 30 or 67 questions. We have half-length exam preview options that give you a high-fidelity experience mirroring the first or second half of the exam. See how long it takes you. If you feel like it's taking inordinately long on certain item types or content domains, you'll get a feedback report that identifies your weakest areas. You can then say, "I also took a long time in these — maybe I was overthinking, or I didn't know and had to guess."

Use that in conjunction with some way of gauging your time. Then when you get to test day, it's not new. It's not a unique feeling. You've been there before. You prepared for this.

Nicole: That was a critical piece for me to learn. Once I felt good about the content itself, pacing myself was critical. I didn't want to get caught up in the anxiety of watching the clock or feeling like I was taking too much time or not enough. I had broken down how much time I was taking on average for each question, so I knew that once I got halfway through, I should have about a certain amount of time left. Maybe that's not the right strategy for everybody, but the time piece was something that was making me really nervous. Understanding the time constraints is an important factor, even if it's not something hanging over you.

Charles Glover: You bring up a really good point. When you're at home in your own environment, there is no clock — unless you have one. If you don't know an answer, the tendency is probably to look it up, add it to your quiz, and then say, "Look, I got a great result." But you're not being timed, and you're not feeling the stress of being in that environment where you can't easily look something up. The pressure is real. So while you're prepping, do as much as you can to simulate being timed and not having an outlet to search. Bring all of that to bear at the test center, and the nerves will hopefully evaporate.

Nicole: Yep, that's right. So what's your advice for candidates who might be retaking the exam? How should their preparation strategy differ the second time around, if at all?

Charles Glover: This is a great question, and we partner with retake examinees quite a bit. Usually they'll come to us wanting to know why they didn't pass. They actually have an advantage, whether they realize it or not — they know exactly how they did the first time.

Part of the exam experience is that whether you pass or fail, everyone receives what's called an official score report. This diagnoses by the six content domains how you performed. The content areas are very evenly balanced — the highest-weighted content area is 18% and the lowest is about 14%. The score report gives you that mapping so you can see where you performed strongly and where you performed weakly, and then use that as your jumping-off point for your next attempt.

Nobody really has that going in the first time. So this is probably one of the best indicators of where to focus. Go back to the SHRM BASK if you haven't. Take some of our exam previews dedicated to those content areas. Go back to the SHRM Learning System if you haven't engaged with it. When we're having these conversations, it's really about digging into how you prepped the first time and what you're going to do differently this time with the information you now have.

It's always a kind of pick-your-own-adventure, but ultimately you have more information than you did the first time. We try to frame that as a positive and a jumping-off point. Usually candidates are upset, which of course makes total sense, but we frame it as: you have an advantage here that you didn't have before.

Don't disregard the areas you did well in. We sometimes see candidates retake the exam and their strengths and weaknesses flip — they do really well in the previously weaker areas but neglect the areas where they were strong. So use a full, holistic prep approach again, but give a little more attention to those weaker areas.

Nicole: Yep, okay. So use the experience to your advantage.

Charles Glover: 100%.

Nicole: Before we wrap up, I would love to know: what is one piece of advice you would give someone who's feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of preparing for this exam?

Charles Glover: That's a really good question, and it's hard to answer because there are so many ways to approach the exam. It depends on what kind of work you do, where you work, how long you've been doing that work, and how you've prepared. There are so many factors that play into why someone feels anxious.

Sometimes it comes down to reflecting on where you're at and where you want to be in relation to which exam you're taking. Sometimes it's thinking you want to take the SCP but not actually having SCP-level experience. Being honest with yourself — acknowledging that you might not be ready — is important. Your employer might want you to get the SCP, but you want to be successful as an individual HR professional. Take the right exam for your experience and knowledge.

We do have eligibility requirements, so I really encourage people to look at those. They outline the CP and SCP and how the content is defined — from early-to-mid HR to senior and executive HR.

The other piece of advice, which actually goes in the opposite direction, is: don't over-prep. We see a lot of people who just get stuck constantly studying, and they almost psych themselves out because they think they need to bring an immense amount of global HR knowledge into their brain — and that's not the case. The BASK is an expansive document, but there are only 134 questions on the test, so there are only so many questions we can ask. You don't need to devote 40 hours to the workplace domain or some inordinate amount of time to any one area.

Take a balanced approach and map the things you feel confident about — things you've experienced or learned through coursework. Keep a realistic frame of mind. It's probably about 20 questions per area, so don't overly index on the most minute details. In the BASK, we do have a list of references — we're obviously not expecting everyone to go buy all those textbooks, but we give you a sense of where we're drawing the content from. If you're off in some obscure corner of the internet looking up something you've never heard of, that's not it.

Take a step back. Use the BASK as a framework to understand what is and isn't covered, use our prep content, and don't overshoot it. At the end of the day, yes, it is a momentous and very important occasion. But life will go on. You can try again. If you don't feel ready, you can transfer. We have accommodations if you need extra time at the test center. There are lots of options based on your individual needs. We want everyone to be successful, and if you have questions, that's why we're here.

Nicole: Some takeaways I heard: be intentional with your time, understand what kind of learner you are, and build your plan from there — whether that's self-study, taking a course, studying alone, or studying with a group. Identify the timeline you need based on how you learn and how much time you have. And lastly, don't overthink it. It is a great accomplishment, and it feels great to pass. But there are other options, and you can always try again.

Charles Glover: That's right.

Nicole: Well, I appreciate you breaking down all of these details. When you first decide you want to take that step, it does feel like a lot. So I appreciate you simplifying all of those things and pointing out very clearly where the tools and resources are that test candidates can look at. Charles, I want to thank you so much for joining us on this special live recording of Honest HR. That's going to do it for this week's episode. We will catch you next time.