The Secret to Passing the Microsoft Office Specialist Exams

If you are trying to get ahead in you career today, you will know that the computer skills you have under your belt are what will make the difference between you moving up the ladder or down. When it comes to trying to prove your computer competency in using office applications there is no other certification path that stands out like the Microsoft Office Specialist program. With over 3 million exams now undertaken and well over 2 million Microsoft Office Specialist Certificates issued, this certification has become the one to get to prove your skills in using Microsoft Office.

One thing I have found though is that many people fail these exams first time around and there really is no reason for it. The way the Microsoft Office Specialist exam works is that you will be taken into a room and sat at a computer. On this computer you will be asked by the computer to carry out a series of tasks. Each set of tasks is designed to represent tasks you would be expected to do on a day-to-day basis.

These exams really are a good representation of what people would be expected to do on a day-to-day basis. I should say I am a little bias since I am a Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor and my company is a Microsoft Office Specialist Authorised Testing Centre but having trained about 4,000 to 5,000 students through my training centre in Townsville, Australia the certification exams really do represent the skills you would be expected to perform in your workplace.

There are in fact seven exams in the Microsoft Office Specialist Program and they are the Microsoft Word Core and Expert Exams, Microsoft Excel Core and Expert Exams, Microsoft Outlook Core Exam, Microsoft PowerPoint Core Exam and the Microsoft Access Core Exam. If you were a Secretary or Personal Assistant, I would expect at a minimum you would have passed the Microsoft Word Core Exam and the Microsoft Excel Core Exam. If you hold the position of a salesman, I would expect you to have the same certifications as the Personal Assistant or secretary plus the Microsoft PowerPoint Core certification and maybe the Microsoft Excel Expert Certification and Microsoft Access Core Certification.

Ok, so how do we prepare for these exams.

First of all, you need to choose how you want to study for these exams. In terms of passing these exams it doesn't matter whether you want to do a course at a training centre, buy a self paced training program or doing the training on the Internet. Use the form of training that you feel most comfortable with. Me personally, I prefer to use self-paced training where as many of my students prefer classroom based training. Each training method has its own advantages and disadvantages. One thing to note, if you are going to go to a training centre, make sure at the very least they are a Microsoft Office Specialist Testing Centre and that they will give you a training manual and exercise disk to take home with you to keep. If the training centre doesn't give you a manual then don't waste your time with the course even if they might be the cheapest. In computer training, cheapest definitely does not mean the best.

Step 1. Once you have done the course or studied the Self-Paced material make sure you redo all the material within 7-days!

One mistake many people make, is thinking that they can do a two-day computer training course then walk away as an expect. If that's what you think, than it is totally fanciful. Computer Training is like a sport, if you want to be a professional then you must train as a professional. The first step you need to do in any training regime is to go back through all the material you did in the computer training course in the first 7 days after you the finish of the course.

Studies have shown over the years, that each 7 days you don't review your material, you will loose 50% of the material. Each week you don't review the material you loose another 50% which means in 6 weeks or so, you will remember nothing from your course. All in all you may as well, not have done the course in the first place.

Step 2. Write a brief statement in your own words, the key terms used during your course.

The next thing you must DO! Is to write a brief statement in your own words about all the key terms you learnt during the course or in your self-paced material. One of the challenges you will have in the exam is deciphering what they are asking you to do. Sometimes, I have found the language is very difficult to understand because it is written in American English (no offence intended to my American colleagues). In one of my Microsoft Outlook Core Exams, I was certain I was going to fail the exam. The only reason I passed was by identifying the key terms in the text that related to the application and by knowing those I worked out in each question what exactly they were asking me to do.

Step 3. Practice, Practice, Practice - Get lots of Practice Exercises

The next thing you must do is to get as much practice as possible. Most training schools will have structured their material so that at the end of each topic you will have some questions to answer and also some sort of homework exercise to do that will put all the tasks together into one exercise. The key here is to practice as much as possible. Check out the internet for places where you can get lots of practical exercises or make up some of your own.

Step 4 - Do a Pre-Assessment Exam to see if you are ready.

One thing I have learnt from doing these professional exams is that they are absolutely nothing like the exams you would have undertaken at school, college or at University. My recommendation that I would make to anyone sitting computer certification exams is to purchase a pre-assessment exam for the exam you want to take. What the pre-assessment exams do is to test your skills prior to sitting the real exams. Most of the pre-assessment exams I have seen are pretty good and pretty close to the real exams. I personally recommend either the pre-assessment exams from Certiport, Transcender or Self-Test Software.

When you do the pre-assessment exam, you should score 80% or above on the first go. If you don't, do not do what I have seen many people do, and that is to just keep doing the exam till you get all the questions right. What will happen if you do this is you will build up a memory of the questions and you end up knowing the requirements of the question without truly being able to interpret what the question is asking you to do.

Once you have done the exam once; DO NOT under any circumstances re-do that exam for 7 days. This will help stop the memory build up, of the questions.

What you MUST do once you have completed the pre-assessment exam and got a result is to look at the results of the test and find out which questions you got wrong and go back and study those areas more thoroughly. Then, after you have reviewed the material and waited 7 days, then try the pre-assessment test again.

You should in the second attempt score 90% or better. If you do achieve this then you are ready to sit the real exam. If you don't, then you need to follow the same process again for the next 7-days.

After the third time using the same Pre-Assessment exam, I recommend people try a different pre-assessment exam before being 100% sure they will pass the exam. The more you use the same exam, the bigger risk you face in retaining that memory of questions.

Most pre-assessment exams usually come with 2 or 3 different exams to try. If after three attempts of each pre-assessment exam and you still find that you can't pass at 80% or better, I would strongly recommend finding a mentor and also checking to make sure the training material you have purchased is covering the required material.

Step 5 - Pass the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Exam!

Obviously once you have done this much training and practice and you have passed your pre-assessment exams you are now ready to sit the real exam. One thing to remember, Microsoft Office Specialist Exams are commercial exams and because of this, if you fail the exam, you have to pay to resit the exam. The cost to resit these exams can vary from as low as $80 US to $135 US, in many cases the prices are set by the Microsoft Office Specialist Testing Centre.

The good news is that if you have followed the steps I have outlined, I will be very surprised if you didn't pass on your first attempt.

Step 6 - You Are Finally A Microsoft Office Specialist

The Author Chris Le Roy is a Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor and trains over 2000 students per year to become Microsoft Office Specialists. His company One-on-One Personal Computer Training has a range of training kits to help you prepare for the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Exam. Chris also has a range of pre-assessment exams available for sale as well at his website at http://www.1-on-1.biz

Study Tips for Train the Trainer, CTT+ and MCT Trainers

As you prepare for your CTT+, MCT, or Train the Trainer Certification you will need to know plenty of study tips- not only to help yourself out as you learn, but also to teach them to your own students. There are plenty of study tips out there; however, here are several of the most useful ones: * Develop your study focus. Recognize what your study abilities are and work with them. If you study well for 30 minutes and then your mind starts to wander, take a short break and then come back to it. It is normal for your mind to wander. Think of your ability to focus as you would a muscle that requires training. Do you run a marathon the first day you begin training? No, of course not. As you develop your focus and mature in your study habits, begin to extend the study time frame. Increase your study periods in half-hour minute increments: 30 minutes to 1 hour, 1 hour to 1.5 hours, and so on, up to several hours. It may seem impossible to study for more than two hours at a time, but the individual who has developed their study focus skills can study for a marathon amount of time. The key is to increasing your study time and focus is to build gradually-like preparing for a marathon. * Get cozy. Recognize your favorite study area and position. It may be at a desk, at a coffee shop, in a library, in the living room, or lying in bed. Find a comfortable study position; some people study best by sitting at a desk and others by lying on their stomachs. Collect all your study materials and books, get something to drink and get ready for your study session. * After a lecture or during class, as quickly as possible, write down what you remember, and then review what you've just written. This will help cement in your mind everything that you just learned. If you skip this step, you are likely to forget most of what you just learned. * Jot down the basics that you are trying to remember on 3 x 5 cards. Just put one or two important points on each card. Carry these around with you. Whenever you get a spare moment, take out your pack of cards and look at a couple of them. That way, you can study wherever you are at, and yet you don't have to spend any extra time to do so. Repetition helps you remember. That is why the 3 x 5 cards work so well. You'll be surprised how much more you'll remember by looking at a few cards several times a day. It makes learning so easy that you'll almost feel like you're cheating. * I repeat, repetition helps you remember. :-) So study early and study often. If you only hear something once in class, and you don't hear it again, you aren't likely to remember it for the test. If you just take a few minutes each day to review your notes after you leave class, and then a few minutes a few times a day to review your 3 x 5 cards, you'll be in much better shape for the test, because you will have already seen the material several times. * When you study, try to study with as few distractions as possible. So don't try to study while you're watching TV or listening to music that has lyrics. These things compete in your brain for attention with what you are studying. Music without lyrics is okay, though, because it's processed by a separate part of your brain. * If you're having trouble memorizing something, try making up a song, mnemonic, acronym, rhyme or a heuristic, to go with it. This will help get your right side of your brain involved, as opposed to just the left side which is usually all that is used in memorizing words and facts. * Study with a group or study partner. Some people study best with other people; some other people study best by themselves. If you are studying with a group, be careful not to get too far off the study topic while you are talking to each other. * Lay off the caffeine. Some people get tired while there are studying, and naturally feel that since caffeine will help wake them up, that it will help them study better. This is a mistake. Research shows that caffeine can make your thoughts come faster, but more disorganized. So don't drink caffeine when studying, and don't drink it before a test. * The same goes for other prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as alcohol and marijuana. They may temporarily make thinking about studying easier to handle, but they will make getting anything productive done much more difficult. And they will decrease the likelihood that anything you study will actually stay in your memory. These tips are simple yet effective. Don't let their simplicity fool you into thinking that they won't work. I've seen them do miracles in helping people improve focus and develop a mature set of study skills.

www.prepmasters.com

Microsoft Certifications

Microsoft software runs most of the programs and systems used by businesses, government agencies, the academe, and just about any individual. You may have already secured the services of information technology professionals to prep up your IT system or troubleshoot for you. One, if not all of them, is probably Microsoft Certified.

Information technology professionals need to have certifications. This would attest to their expertise in their fields. These certifications supplement their list of credentials, apart from their college degrees related to information technology. And one of these certifications is the Microsoft Certification.

The Microsoft Certification is for IT professionals who implement and administer the wide range of Microsoft products and Microsoft-based programs. A comprehensive exam is administered to candidates to test their knowledge and skills relating to the general and specific applications of the different Microsoft products and solutions. This is important as clients often look to their troubleshooters and administrators as experts in the field.

The process of applying for a certification prepares the IT professional for any situation that he may encounter at work. For them to pass, they must show expertise on the following areas: desktop support with a corresponding MCDST, systems administration with a corresponding MCSA, systems engineering with a corresponding MCSE, database administration with a corresponding MCDBA, training with a corresponding MCT, application development with a corresponding MCAD, and solution development MS Office specialist certifications. Candidates who pass the exams gain the title of a Microsoft Certified Professional or MCP.

Review classes and training programs are available for candidates around the globe. Online programs for distance learners are also offered in a number of Web sites. Application for the certification and processing is available online as well.

Microsoft Certification helps information technology professionals land good jobs and assures their clients of quality and standard services and products. This also protects the name of Microsoft.

Certification provides detailed information on Certification, MCSE Certifications, Microsoft Certifications, CISSP Certification and more. Certification is affiliated with Computer Training Schools.

Preparing Microsoft Certification Tests - Step by Step

Microsoft Certifications are one of the most widely pursued and acclaimed professional certifications in the IT industry. Preparing MS certification tests, however, is a significant undertaking whether you're just out of college or have been in IT field for years. IT professionals are continuously demanded to acquire new knowledge in order to perform well on their jobs as new technology in the IT industry emerged at a pace that has never been seen before. Regardless what certifications (Microsoft Certified Professional or MCP, Microsoft Certified System Administrator or MCSA, Microsoft Certified System Engineer or MCSE ) you are pursuing, a thorough planning will increase the chance of success.

1. Pick the Right Certification

There're two questions to answer while pursuing a MS certification:

a) Whether a particular MS certification helps the long-term and short-term goals of your career path. If your passion is in IT consulting, MCSE certification is likely more valuable than a MCSA certification, which may help you land a system administrator job at companies which are MS shop.

b) Whether you have both sufficient knowledge and hands-on experience to pass a series of tests for the certification. You may want to talk to your friends who have taken the tests before, or examine the questions from previous certification tests to identify the gap between what you've known and what you need to know. Braindumps or actual test questions from past exams will help learn the format and the scope of the tests.

2. Gain Hands-on Experience

Besides the official certification guide and reading materials published by vendors or authorized organizations, there're numerous other helpful learning materials available online or in print. A few years ago, we've heard the stories that employees with MS certifications who couldn't do their job. They passed MS certifications with little hands-on experience but a lot of knowledge on paper gained from purely studying practice test questions and braindumps. As certification vendors improved the test questions and introduced new test formats, it's almost impossible to pass those tests without years of hands-on experience. The real value of hands-on experience is to prepare you for the job, not just to gain a certification.

3. Consolidate Knowledge with Training

The value of hands-on experience can not be replaced with studying sample certification tests, and systematical knowledge of a particular subject can't be replaced by hands-on experience either. Use of Computer Based Training software is a very effective way to speed up your Microsoft certification preparation. For instance, many companies offer vendor-co developed CBT or Computer Based Training for IT professionals to have a comprehensive understanding of Microsoft products and practice.

4. Take Sample Exams

Once you have both systematical knowledge and hands-on experience of Microsoft software products, you'll still need to know the format and style of certification test questions to perform well in the exams. Use of sample tests and braindumps will often further improve your test score.

5. IT certification exams.

Microsoft certification exams, like other major IT certifications - Cisco, Oracle etc, are administered by independent testing organizations at major cities worldwide. Registration can be done online or via phone. More important than anything else is to relax and have a good night of sleep before the actual test date.

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Bruce Zhang has over 10 years of experience in web applications development, web design and database design.