Why This Applies Beyond HR
This week’s post is for anyone considering classes, certifications, or formal study to further their career.
A reader recently asked for my advice on taking the SPHR certification exam, an HR-specific designation. As I wrote my response, I realized the guidance applied far beyond HR. It applies to any situation where career growth intersects with structured learning, whether that’s a certification, a class, or a professional conference.
For context, PHR stands for Professional in Human Resources. SPHR is the Senior Professional in Human Resources designation. Both require several years of experience, with SPHR requiring additional leadership experience. Both are recognized by HRCI, the governing body for HR certifications.
Thanks for reaching out. Hopefully, this helps others who are serious about investing in their careers.
Why the Pass Rate Matters
The SPHR certification is awarded after passing a comprehensive exam covering areas such as benefits, recruiting, HR law, and organizational leadership.
When I took the test several years ago, passing was critical for me. At the time, the approximate pass rates looked like this:
Study only the official HRCI books: ~30 percent
Study the books and with friends: ~40 percent
Books, study groups, and formal classes: ~50 percent
With numbers like that, this monkey knew he needed all the help he could get.
The year I took the test, the pass rate was one of the lowest in years. In hindsight, the class more than paid for itself.
Start Early and Treat It Like an Investment
My first recommendation is to start studying as early as possible.
Build a timeline with milestones you can realistically hit. If your test is seven months away, start now. Work through one of the SHRM books each month and reserve the final month for review.
The details matter less than the discipline. It doesn’t matter what the schedule is. What matters is having one and sticking to it.
Avoid telling yourself you’ll catch up later. You won’t.
This is an investment in your career. You are worth it.
If your company offers tuition reimbursement, ask. In the U.S., classes can cost around $1,000 and often include weekly sessions plus weekend reviews. Even partial reimbursement helps.
Motivation: Avoiding the Walk of Shame
I used to be skeptical of classes. I preferred studying alone and didn’t want to be bothered by others.
That changed when I saw the pass rates.
I also imagined the Walk of Shame: explaining to the executive team why I didn’t pass.
That was enough motivation for me to try everything available. The Walk of Shame became my fuel.
The Unexpected Networking Benefit
The biggest lesson I learned had nothing to do with the test content.
The class gave me access to other serious professionals. That never would have happened studying alone.
The people I studied with didn’t disappear after the exam. Years later, they’re still peers in the local HR community.
This matters even more for HR professionals working in small departments. When you’re one of one, or one of two, exposure to new ideas and different operating models is limited.
In one room, you might encounter:
small-company HR
founder-driven HR
corporate HR
startup HR
union-driven HR
The same dynamic applies in other professions: law, accounting, manufacturing, and beyond.
Learning What You Don’t Practice
People from different backgrounds asked questions I wouldn’t have thought to ask.
Without labor union experience, I lacked the context to extrapolate real-world use cases. Those gaps became obvious quickly.
Reading the books alone would never have surfaced that.
The books are technical. The test questions are theoretical. The class bridged the gap between theory and application.
Choose Your Study Partners Carefully
The class started with about 30 students. By the third session, there were 20. By the end, 15 remained.
I paid for the class myself. I showed up early. I asked questions. I took it seriously.
That mindset matters.
A Side Lesson From a Motorcycle Class
Years later, I took a two-day motorcycle safety course. Written test. Riding test. No prep materials provided.
I showed up with a notebook, pens, and a laptop.
Another student asked me, “Should we bring something to write with?”
I’ll spare you the internal monologue, but let’s just say effort was uneven.
Out of 20 students, I was the only one taking notes. I passed both tests. The student who asked that question was asked to leave on day one.
Lesson learned: study with people who take it seriously.
Company-Paid vs Self-Invested Students
Back in the SPHR class, some students were there because their companies paid for the entire department to attend.
There was often a noticeable difference in dedication between those paying out of pocket and those who weren’t.
That’s not a judgment. It’s an observation.
When choosing study partners, look for people who are there for the right reasons.
Prioritize Who You Learn With
If possible, study with people who bring experience you lack.
I sought out professionals with labor relations backgrounds. I learned faster by asking targeted questions and listening to how they thought.
If you can’t access a class, find a study partner anyway. With video calls and email, geography isn’t a barrier.
Teaching others reinforces what you already know. Learning from them fills your blind spots.
It’s a win-win.
The Bigger Takeaway
This post is about certification, but the lesson is broader.
Serious professionals don’t grow alone. They grow by being near others who take the work seriously.
Classes, certifications, and study groups aren’t just about credentials. They’re quiet networking environments where effort, preparation, and intent are visible.
Those signals matter more than most people realize.
Want to Think About Networking More Clearly?
This post shows how learning environments quietly create professional networks.
In the Networking Guide, I break down how relationships are evaluated long before anyone asks for a job, including:
what effort actually signals
how seriousness is detected without words
why proximity to the right people compounds over time
It’s not about being social or outgoing.
It’s about understanding how professional trust is formed because most of us haven’t been trained on networking.
If that lens is useful, I go deeper on this in the Networking Guide, where I explain how networking actually works when roles are filled quietly, before postings appear, and before recruiters get involved.
Start with the Networking hub here
(Free posts first. Full guide if you want the complete system.)
See you at the after party,
HRNasty
nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.
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