Three Ways To Improve Your Ability To Pass Certifications

Our season of threes continues with a look at three ways to make it more likely for you to pass certifications.  These tests vary a lot in style and content detail.  However, there are three steps I have found that make your success far more likely.  These are not as quick and easy to do as some other items in our series.  On the other hand, certifications are not simple nor easy in themselves.

Use Study Guides To Pass Certifications

This item may seem like a self-evident step to take.  It is.  However, there are a few things these guides give you that are invaluable in taking the tests.  Technical certifications, in particular, are often broad in their topic.  Think about all that can be known about a programming language.  There is a lot of material available for creating a test.  The study guides help you see where to focus your attention.  While these are not always all-inclusive in the document, they do at least show you where the focus should be to pass certifications in the topic.

Amazon List of Certification Guides

Exam Simulators and Flash Cards

The best way to pass certifications is to practice, practice, practice.  These are not different from any other skill or goal.  The more time you put into it, the more likely you are to master it.  The challenge with certification exams is that they are not a measure of pure skill.  Yes, you need to learn the technical skills or topics.  However, there is a way to state positions and ask questions that can make it difficult (or easy) to take a test.  Once you understand the style and temperament of a test, you will be more likely to understand the question and correct answers thoroughly. 

Kaplan Training Site

Release Notes

Most Vendors or certifying organizations provide a syllabus or outline covering the expectations for a certification.  In short, this information is what you need to know to pass certifications.  Nevertheless, it is incredible how many people skip looking at this direct information about the content of a certification.  These sources provide you with precisely the areas you need to focus on for the certification or test.  While the above items (study guides, simulators) help in taking the test, this content enables you to master the topic.  That is, after all, the goal of taking a certification exam.  You will have a certificate that shows you have mastered the subject.

Learn More: Certifications and Improving Your Value