In November 2020, I set a goal to take the SPHRi (Senior Professional in Human Resources—International) certification exam. To prepare, I purchased study materials from Vantage Certifications and began studying. I chose not to attend classes because I felt they were unnecessary.

I was provided with a learning platform that would expire after six months. I also had access to practice questions for each course along with the manuals. I planned to write the exam in July and it seemed like plenty of time to prepare.

In July 2021, I was notified that I should be ready to write my exam, but I was still studying. I contacted the representative to enquire about the payment process. I continued studying and practising, and was sad because I didn’t feel fully prepared.

By August 2021, I gave up and decided not to bother. I told my friends Jummy and Akin, who had been cheering me on from day one, that I wouldn’t write it any longer. Work was really busy and there just wasn’t enough time. I felt bad, but knew it was better to be well-prepared.

In January 2022, one of my New Year and Vision Board goals was to write the exam. Sadly, nothing happened that year. I remember Jummy kept asking when I was going to write it. I had no response because I honestly didn’t know.

In January 2023, SPHRi exam was still a Vision Board goal. Unfortunately, everything didn’t happen the way it was supposed to last year, mainly because I lost my Dad in February 2023. Reading was the last thing on my mind. Nonetheless, in October 2023, I contacted Certification Edge, another certification institute, to inquire about the SPHRi exam. I was determined to pursue my goal, so this time, I decided to join online classes before studying. Unfortunately, they had no classes for my exam until the following year. Despite this setback, I registered, paid for the classes, and waited.

January 2024 came by, and when we were telling each other our goals for the year at work, my exam came up. My (former) boss said “I thought you wanted to write that last year?”, I didn’t even know she was paying attention to my career goals. I said “life happened, but I’m writing it this year.” I was even more determined.

I planned to take the exam in March 2024, but when the month arrived, I felt I needed more preparation. After taking mock exams, my scores were average, the same issue I had faced in 2021. So, I started studying again from the beginning. The exam format didn’t help either, as it uses the objective method with more than one possible answer in the options, which always messed with my mind.

A couple of my classmates wrote their exams in February and shared the good news in our WhatsApp group. I knew that would be me soon. March was almost over when I paid for my exam and chose an exam date for April 19. I didn’t tell my loved ones the date but told them my exam was close. I went back to the beginning and reviewed all the study manuals. By the second week of April, I attempted a mock exam and scored above average (84%). I was elated!!! I finally believed I could do it.

On April 19, 2024, I arrived at the test centre early. The day was here, and I had to be ready despite not feeling ready. When it was time to go in, I prepared for the best-case and worst-case scenarios. I knew I was going to be fine either way.

I was to complete 140 questions, and my first thought ten minutes in was this exam is hard. I had flagged about half of the questions I had attempted. I wasn’t feeling confident, but I kept going. When I finally got to the 140th question, I still had about seventy minutes left, so I attempted the flagged questions. I also did all the calculations, which I figured out somehow. By the time I was done reviewing, I still had time to review some answered questions, think through my answers and change or leave my selection.

I clicked submit when my time was almost up and awaited my fate. I wasn’t ready to see my result because the exam wasn’t easy for me. The moment I had been waiting and preparing for since was finally here.

I saw “pass” underneath my name and I was so happy. I passed my SPHRi exam! I shared the news with my family and friends immediately.

This exam was not a prerequisite for work. I did it for me and I’m proud of me.

I shared this story to encourage everyone out there who is scared of taking the next step. You can do it!!!

Mariam Shittu