Failed PHR/SPHR (HR Certification)? Here's Your Recovery Plan

Pro tip: Keep your failed results report. It shows your scaled score between 100 and 499, the passing score of 500, and a bar chart of relative performance in each functional area. HRCI states the closer the score is to 500 the closer you were, and provides the functional area chart specifically to help you target a retake, while cautioning that it is not an official domain score. Second Chance Insurance is nonrefundable and void if you never sit the first exam, and eligibility created by Second Chance Insurance cannot be extended with the 60-day Exam Eligibility Extension.

• Applying for the SPHR on job title rather than on HRCI's experience rule
  The SPHR needs four years of professional-level HR experience with a master's degree or higher, five years with a bachelor's, or seven years without a degree. HRCI runs random audits and will move an application to ineligible status if the documented experience does not meet the rule. An ineligible application is refunded less the 100 dollar application fee.
• Studying the PHR blueprint and sitting the SPHR
  These are different exams with different content outlines. Leadership and Strategy is 33 percent of the SPHR and has no PHR counterpart of comparable size; PHR's Employee and Labor Relations at 20 percent has no standalone SPHR counterpart at all. Download both outlines and study only the one you applied for.
• Treating the PHR and SPHR verbs as interchangeable
  PHR responsibilities use implement, support, administer and manage. SPHR responsibilities use design, develop, evaluate and lead. The same subject appears on both exams at different altitudes, so on the SPHR the correct answer is usually the one that changes the system rather than the one that resolves the incident.
• Assuming the exam gives you a break
  HRCI exams contain no scheduled breaks. On the PHR you have 120 minutes of testing time and on the SPHR 150 minutes, and an unscheduled bathroom break comes out of that time plus the security rescreen when you return. On OnVUE you cannot leave the webcam view at all without the proctor ending the session.
• Ignoring the 25 pretest items
  Both exams contain 25 unscored pretest questions that are not marked and are scattered at random. That means the PHR feels like 115 items but is scored on 90, and the SPHR feels like 140 but is scored on 115. Never assume an unusually odd question is broken, because you cannot tell which items count.
• Studying employment law as of the date you bought the book
  HRCI states in both content outlines that candidates are responsible for knowing the HR laws and regulations in effect at the time of their exam. Check current thresholds, salary tests and agency guidance at dol.gov and eeoc.gov in the final month rather than relying on a textbook printing.
• Letting the 180-day eligibility window lapse
  Eligibility runs 180 calendar days from application approval and the exam must be both scheduled and taken inside it. If it lapses you reapply and pay all fees again. One 60-day extension is available, but the form must be submitted at least 10 calendar days before the window closes and any booked appointment must be cancelled first.
• Buying Second Chance Insurance after applying
  Second Chance Insurance can only be bought at the moment the exam application is submitted online. It cannot be added later, it is nonrefundable, and it is void if you never sit the exam. It also does not shorten the 90-day cooling-off period before a retake.
• Booking OnVUE without running the system test
  Online proctoring requires your own device, a downloaded testing application, disabled pop-up blockers, a room scan and a webcam check-in. Candidates who discover a blocked download or a failed camera check at appointment time lose the fee. HRCI also warns that OnVUE offers very limited accommodation options, so candidates needing accommodations should book a test centre.
• Answering multiple-response items without counting
  HRCI's multiple choice, multiple response items state how many options are correct. Selecting fewer or more than the stated number costs you the item outright. Read the count before reading the options.

• Computer-based at Pearson VUE
• PHR: tactical/operational focus
• SPHR: strategic focus
• Study HRCI Body of Knowledge
• Use HRCP or Mometrix for prep
• Recertify with 60 credits