6 Tips to Help You Pass Your Certification Exam on the First Try

Perhaps, you’ve heard of numerous preparation tips for various certification exams. Some will advise you to eat healthy food, devote a certain amount of time to learn every day, take practice tests, and ensure you take breaks. While these hints may assist you in passing certain tests, some of them may not be essential when it comes to preparing for any IT ones. There’s no shortcut to exam preparation.

Bear in mind that the certification tests are an unavoidable aspect of your career. For this reason, you must approach them with the level of seriousness they deserve. Your goal should be passing the exam(s) on the first try. Knowing a couple of straightforward principles that your brain can operate on, you’ll be able to maximize your learning and pass the test with ease. Let’s look at some of the top tips for passing any IT certification exam.

Why Are Certification Exams Hard to Ace?

The certification exams are different from those you took in high school and university. The IT tests are designed to measure the knowledge you require or use at work. Note that there are practical components for most IT certificates. You may have to drag & drop network components within virtual networks or input a command into a virtual command line.

There are numerous domains to memorize when preparing for the certification tests. Furthermore, some tests have practical components that resemble lab exercises. Lastly, the exam questions are technical. They can mislead when you don’t understand how the systems and network domains work together. Let’s look at some of the main things you need to do in order to prepare for your test.

1. Create and Use a Study Plan

Before you start your exam preparation, prepare a schedule that will work with your personal learning style. After that, you can formulate an easy-to-follow study plan. Avoid rushing to cover all the exam domains at the last minute, as this isn’t a wise strategy to pass the test. Instead, you can allocate at least 45 minutes every day for many weeks for learning. Alternatively, if you don’t have enough time, you can allocate a couple of hours every week. However, don’t overstudy as your brain can’t absorb much info at one time.

2. Make Sure You Understand Your Exam Well

This is another great strategy for passing your certification exam at the first attempt. Exploring the test is the first thing you need to do before you begin your preparation process. The majority of exam vendors will give you blueprints that outline the topics and domains available for a specific test. They will serve as your study guide. Knowing vital info such as the time limit required to complete the exam and its question formats is essential. This is because you’ll be confident to take the certification test since you won’t be shocked by what you see.

3. Define Your Best Learning Strategies

It’s essential to understand your best learning approach, especially for the certification exams. Knowing how to study best will assist you in aligning your preparation with the inclination of your brain. Learning methods refer to the modalities via which the test takers realize that they study in a great manner. Some of these styles include auditory, visual, as well as tactile learning.

The visual learners study best by watching online videos. Most online training courses are presented through a whiteboard format. This provides a one-on-one experience with the expert trainers in the IT industry. They can also color-code their notes or use flashcards that allow them to see and organize essential concepts with ease. For the auditory students, it can be helpful if they read texts out loudly. This allows them to understand these concepts better. You can also use a tape recorder to capture what the tutor teaches you. You can also read the notes out loudly. The tactile individuals tend to do well with practical learning such as practice tests and tutorials. The majority of these guides include in-built quiz questions that pop up after every minute. These questions assist you in retaining the correct info from what you are learning.

Truthfully, you need to rely on all these forms of learning to ensure that you’re well prepared for the exam. Nevertheless, understanding your preferred style will help you find the proper approach to use during your preparation. You’ll be able to familiarize the learning procedure that suites your training approach.

4. Develop a Learning Routine and Ensure You Stick to It

During your preparation process, ensure your studying room is a place where you feel it’s appropriate. The environment should allow you to focus on what you’re doing. You’ll be able to absorb enough information when there are no distractions. Also, avoid using an uncomfortable chair or working from the poorly lit study room. Find out if you learn well when listening to soft music or learning in silence. Your working space should be a pleasant room that allows you to concentrate and learn.

On the exam day, you may not have a chance to listen to your music or ensure your room is well lit. However, ensure you stick to your routine that you’ve become used to. For instance, if you like coffee, make sure you take it before the test.

5. Use Exam Assessment Tools to Know Your Weak Areas

This great tip for passing your certification test on the first try is very helpful. This is because exam assessment will assist you in knowing your weak areas. It also helps you create a study plan to reduce knowledge gaps. Take numerous assessments to gauge your preparation process. For instance, you can use timed practice tests to assist you in having an experience of how the actual exam looks like.

6. Get Ready for the Important Day

Ensure you check all the rules and prerequisites for the test. Know the places you will visit on the exam day and schedule your routine. Ensure you include additional travel time in case you take more time finding the test center. Make sure you don’t arrive late because for most exams you aren’t allowed to sit at a specific time. Avoid rushing yourself on the exam day, as this will mess with your performance.

Conclusion

Studying for any certification exam may seem a challenge at first. That is why you need to learn many things. Also, note that these tests are not easy to tackle. Having said that, an incremental and consistent progress will help you achieve your goals. Even a little progress accumulates over time, from studying and exam performance. Using the above-mentioned tips, you’re going to easily pass your test on the first try.