Sandra M. Reed - PHR/SPHR Exam For Dummies with Online Practice

PHR/SPHR Exam For Dummies, 2nd Edition with Online Practice

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .

Trademarks: Wiley, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and may not be used without written permission. SAT is a registered trademark of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY : WHILE THE PUBLISHER AND AUTHOR HAVE USED THEIR BEST EFFORTS IN PREPARING THIS BOOK, THEY MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES REPRESENTATIVES OR WRITTEN SALES MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR SITUATION. YOU SHOULD CONSULT WITH A PROFESSIONAL WHERE APPROPRIATE. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM.

For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit https://hub.wiley.com/community/support/dummies .

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com . For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com .

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020950196

ISBN 978-1-119-72489-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-72479-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-72490-2 (ebk)

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 4
4. Chapter 8
5. Chapter 9
6. Chapter 14
7. Chapter 15
8. Appendix

1. Chapter 2
2. Chapter 7
3. Chapter 8
4. Chapter 9
5. Chapter 22

I wrote this book for all the HR professionals who are intent on leaving no stone unturnedon their quest for the PHR or SPHR designation. It rounds out the edges of thepreparation process, seeking to keep you on track and focused on the steps necessaryto pass.

PHR/SPHR Exam For Dummies, 2nd Edition, also is a reminder that its not about what you know at this stage in the process, but rather what you dont know that requires your full attention.

This book is for the tenacious and the curious and the self-deprecating, possibly because Ifind humility an attractive trait in individuals getting ready for a tough test. Those traits can keep your mind open and your eyes alert. Resolute curiosity can force you to grab a thread and follow it all the way to the end, which is the absolute best way to master and apply the information that youre about to discover while getting ready for these exams.

The focus of PHR/SPHR Exam For Dummies is to orient you, the experienced HR professional, to the task at hand: getting ready to become professionally certified. With pass rates low and nerves high, this guidebook takes you on your preparation journey, serving as a resource to get you organized and introduce you to key elements of these tests. In no other preparation resource will you find

• An advanced discussion of the exam content outlines and their importance
• A review of how the knowledge and objectives work together
• Information on how to use the internet to enhance your efforts
• A study of the HR Certification Institutes (HRCI) website ( www.hrci.org ) and the exam content outline for content markers

Furthermore, adult learners tend to do better when they understand how information applies to them. In this case, taking a 50,000-foot view of key exam concepts and exam preparation activities allows you to take control of the exam prep process. As with anythingworth doing, a haphazard, unstructured approach to preparation wont serve a positive outcome. Just as a true career isnt an accident, neither is successful certification it takes both planning and strategic execution.

The primary purpose of your exam preparation activities is to successfully pass a fairly difficult test. For this reason, I include two sample tests in this book one for the PHR andone for the SPHR. These exams are similar to the one that youll see on test day 175 questions directly related to the exam content outlines. Although I provide bubble sheets for easy use, also consider putting your answers on a blank piece of paper so you can use the tests again.

Assumptions are simply things that I think I already know about you that guided my decisions on what to include in this book. For the PHR and SPHR exams, they are as follows:

• Youre an experienced HR professional. Because exam eligibility is based on years ofpractical experience, even with a bit of education, I know that you know the basics of HR.
• Youre preparing for an exam, not looking for HR in a jar. This book is about what you need to do to prepare to take a test about HR. It doesnt teach you all you need to know about the field of human resources. In fact, the purpose of this book is to guide you to multiple resources for exam preparation.
• You have a baseline knowledge of business and management principles. Corporate America, small businesses, and nonprofits all have shared HR and business needs. I assume that youre a working professional in one of these categories and understand business terms such as strategy and organizational structure.