Is there such a thing as over preparing for the PHR?

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You can always overprepare. I heard somewhere that any more than 200 hours of studying and you might start overthinking answers and your performance actually drops

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Yes.

More people fail the PHR by under preparing - but like anything else you can over prepare.

If you have been disciplined in your preparation and taken as many practice exams as you could you should be fine. Last minute cramming doesn’t work. It’s more important to get a good nights sleep 2 nights before the exam. (Why 2 nights before? Because you have that base and if you struggle to sleep the night before you will be fine. If you were counting on a good nights sleep the night before and for whatever reason you don’t get it - it will impact).

Map out the ride to the test center. Budget extra time so you’re there a little early.

You got this

Yeah more than 10 minutes is over preparing.

I do not think over preparing is a bad thing. If anything, it builds confidence. I would just balance it with practical understanding, not just theory.

Ill go with this.

For me, the short answer is no. When I took the test circa 13 years ago (right around the SHRM/HRCI split), it was long, vague, and difficult. So much material that was on the test, was not in the study package that I purchased.

One lesson that I learned having been through several graduate programs, certification exams, and other forms of examinations, was that you have to get a multiplicity of information to succeed in the endeavor.

Each test-prep provider has their framework of what they think will be on the test. Just like each degree program at different universities emphasize certain aspects.

Therefore, I recommend that, and, if you’re going to dive in, might as well get exposure to the upper-level materials as well—namely, SPHR and SHRM-SCP.

As long as you can keep it all compartmentalized in your head.

Watch YouTube videos, and maybe even buy a couple of different prep courses (keep it all affordable).

Lastly, don’t think that the PHR or SHRM-CP designations are the end-all. They’re actually dime-a-dozen, just like bachelors and masters degrees are now. Hiring managers yawn at the designation, and regularly say that companies are looking for the SPHR/SHRM-SCP at a minimum.

Always looking for the unicorn hire.

Nevertheless, what you’ll do in the intentional over-prep is push-through and cover advanced material so you will have fluency, mental modeling, and familiarity—later on.

Better to show up to the party over-dresses than under-dressed—is my philosophy.

I can go on forever.

Good luck!

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