Customer Reviews

SPHR Exam Prep: Senior Professional in Human Resources

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Having passed my SPHR exam after using Dr. Phillips' SPHR Exam Prep Guide as one of my study materials, I wish I could give it a more enthusiastic endorsement. There were some things I REALLY liked about it-- the fact that it was geared specifically for the SPHR, for one thing, and the author's "Exam Alerts" of items that were likely to appear on the exam. However, I also found these were not truly reflective of the test questions-- for instance, there was one topic that merited no more than a paragraph in this book, yet there were 10-15 questions on my exam about that issue. This happened several times-- I focused my study efforts on Dr. Phillips' Exam Alert recommendations and found that, in fact, less than half of the time were they truly reflective of questions on the actual exam. For instance, this guide put a major emphasis on statistical research methods, which were, in fact, a very minor part of the exam.

The guide had some other shortcomings-- for example, in the exercises at the back of each chapter, many of the answers were just plain wrong, for instance, there was a glaring mistake in his calculation of a cost benefit analysis question. It seemed as though he had updated questions from those of a previous edition, but then not updated the answers. This made me wary of trusting some of the other information in the book.

The Practice Exam on the accompanying CD was less than overwhelming and, again, a few times had incorrect answers. The exact same questions were presented each time in the exact same order, making it very easy to avoid actually learning the answers.

The other problem I had with the practice questions is that they were not truly reflective of the types of questions that were on the actual exam. The practice questions given by Dr. Phillips were pretty much definitional in nature, and did not require a higher level of knowledge to answer. As the questions on the exam itself were largely situational, I felt very unprepared when I sat down to take my test, despite studying for almost 5 months.

If I had relied solely on this guide for preparation for the exam, I am not sure I would have passed. As one of the three different study materials I used for the exam, this book was a useful supplement. If you can only afford one set of study materials, however, this book is not it.

With 15 years of HR experience, having passed my PHR in 1997, taking a twelve week preparation course with 12 other HR professionals, and using the SHRM Learning System Materials, I still relied heavily on this book to help me pass my SPHR exam. This book focuses on the SPHR exam only, which is very different from the PHR. The SPHR is theory driven; it is not enough to know the meaning of terms, you need to know how to apply them. The exam questions in this book were very similar to many of the questions on the SPHR exam, more so than any other form of study materials I had available to me. I would highly recommend this book if you want to pass the SPHR exam!

This was a great supplemental resource to SHRM's other study materials. It is well written and a quick read. I really appreciated the "test alerts" to point out specific areas that are often covered in HRCI's certification exam. Having successfully passed the exam, I can say that this book was well worth the investment to help prepare for it. I would not, however, use it as your only resource to prepare for the exam, but as a good summarizing resource! It will also make a great resource for me to refer to in my job.

I spent 2 hours a day (22 days total) summarizing this book and 3 hours a day for 5 days reviewing my notes and easily passed the SPHR. This is a well-organized,well-written, and comprehensive study/reference guide for the HR professional. This book and my 12 years of HR experience ensured I didn't need any other study guides (I bought the PHR/SPHR Professional in HR Certification Study Guide, but it was poorly organized and WAY too wordy, so I only used it for the practice tests/questions). I also wish I'd saved my money on the HRCI assessment test.

One minor drawback of the book: hopefully the editor will do a better job next edition catching typos and errors. Those were a minor, but consistent, distraction.

This book does a good job of summarizing volumes of detailed information (i.e. case law regarding unionionization, civil rights, & OSHA) but I am in disbelief at how many typos are in the book -- it doesn't look like anyone proofread the book (an extra word here and there, or the wrong word (i.e employer vs employee) -- whoops, that could make a difference in your answer. As well, some of the review questions had blatantly incorrect answers and some review topics had data that was wrong or inconsistent with the primary text (i.e. ERG Theory is NOT by McClelland). As another reviewer said, this book can be helpful, but you cannot rely on it soley. It is a good starting place if you really need to brush up on HR law and regulations. As well, the review questions on the sample tests are much more concrete, than those posited on the actual exam. The exam questions are based on drawing conclusions from a large body of knowledge. Much like computer tests, may questions have more than one right answer and you need to pick the BEST, MOST, Least LIKELY, etc. I passed -- but not based on this book alone or the study questions provided. Given that the publisher has errata sheets for the many other exam books it publishes, it would be nice if they did the same for this text. Quality was obviously not important when they wrote this.

The "SPHR Exam Prep" is indispensable in preparing for the SPHR exam. Past study materials have not differentiated between PHR and SPHR competencies making preparation for the exam more difficult. Dr. Phillips recognized the need to separate the elements and focused on the advanced competencies associated with the senior professional's role in Human Resources.

In addition to the advanced material, the guide contains Exam Alerts which are designed to spotlight the salient points of each section. The review exercises are a critical component in testing understanding of the material followed by an extensive bank of test questions including a full practice exam.

I found the "SPHR Exam Prep" invaluable in preparing for and passing my own SPHR exam. If you desire a resource that ensures full exam preparation, I highly recommend Dr. Phillip's book.

I used this book to supplement a well known HR textbook, and was really pleased on how well it prepared me for the SPHR exam. This is a well-organized,well-written, and comprehensive study/reference guide for the HR professional. This book and my many years of HR experienced is all that I really needed to pass the SPHR exam. I bought another PHR/SPHR Professional in HR Certification Study Guide, but it was extremely poorly organized.

One minor drawback of the book: hopefully the editor will do a better job next edition catching typos and errors. Some of the answers on the study guide are incorrect - but there weren't that many - but still should be corrected.

I recently sat for my SPHR exam on January 30th, 2008 (and passed-yeah!). I attended a preparation course from my local SHRM chapter that used preparation materials from HRCP. While I found the course and materials somewhat useful, Dr. Phillips book did a MUCH better job of distilling the HR body of knowledge into what you needed to know for the exam. He does an excellent job of explaining and then pointing out what areas are most likely to show up on the actual test, using exam alerts as you go along. Most of the areas he highlighted were covered on the exam. Another very useful component is the CD that has many practice tests. I found the practice tests the most efective for review and for helping to alleviate test anxiety by getting to know the feel and pace of the actual test. I would say if you are a very strong generalist with a strong working technical knowlege of the material, you could just use this book and CD as prep and pass the test. Otherwise, I would also recommend using other sources to round out your approach.

I have to agree with many of the other reviews. This book provides a good summary of information, but the SHRM Learning system provides more relevant detail and is easier to understand. I did pass the SPHR, but I stopped using this book and focused primarily on the SHRM Learning System. I doubt I could have passed the test if this was my only resource. It's an inexpensive buy as a supplement, but don't depend on this to pass the exam!!

I just took the SPHR June 30, 2006 and used this book, along with other text books to study for the exam. I highly recommend this book for the exam.