Recognizing the Symptoms of Test Anxiety when Taking your SHRM Certification Exam
We are currently in the Spring testing window for the SHRM Certification and many local chapters are starting their study groups. If you've ever felt nervous or anxious before or during a test, you're not alone. Taking a test is a form of performance, and performers of all kinds, from professional actors and musicians to conference presenters, often feel the symptoms of performance anxiety or "stage fright."
Even though you don't have to stand up in front of people to take the SHRM exam, you are being asked to demonstrate what you know. It's not uncommon for test-takers to worry that they won't be able to perform well. With all the time you invested in studying for the exam, the higher the stakes, the greater the anxiety.
Did you know that anxiety can be a good thing? Anxiety can increase your focus and concentration, helping you to do your best. But for some people, anxiety can lead to feelings of panic that can result in what they most fear: failure.
The good news is that most test-takers experience only mild symptoms that they can manage easily by understanding what causes their anxiety and learning how to reduce it. Even if you have a history of test anxiety, you'll find the following points as ways that you can manage your symptoms, so you can focus your attention where it belongs—on the exam.
- Test anxiety manifests itself in a variety of ways. The symptoms can vary considerably and range from mild to severe.
- Most of us have felt at least some of these symptoms at one time or another. You can't concentrate and your mind races with negative thoughts: "I'll never be able to do this." "I'm not good enough." "I'm going to fail." You have trouble sleeping. You have "butterflies" in your stomach and feel a little nauseous; your mouth is dry, and your hands are sweaty and shaking; your heart races.
- Those symptoms have a physical basis: they come from what psychologists call the "fight or flight response." When faced by a real or imaginary threat, the body releases adrenaline to prepare itself to either fight or run away from the threat.
- Test anxiety can also create a type of "noise" in your brain that makes it difficult to recall information from your memory. That noise can make it hard to understand test questions and to make reasoned judgments about which responses to select.
If you suffer from test anxiety, there is a new guidebook published by SHRM, Ace Your SHRM Certification Exam: A Guide to Success on the SHRM-CP® and SHRM-SCP® Exams. This guidebook features expert tips and practice questions that explain the test and improve your ability to understand and prepare.
The short, easy-to-use volume includes everything a candidate needs to know before taking either level of SHRM certification exam: best practices for studying, research-based advice for sharpening test-taking skills, proven strategies for managing pre-exam anxiety, tips from experts and certified professionals, detailed learning resources, answer keys for both exams, guides to exam structure, terminology and acronyms, plus more.
Good luck to all those Spring 2020 SHRM Certification test takers!
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