Becoming a Microsoft Office Specialist

There are a number of qualifications to choose from when considering becoming accredited as a user of Microsoft Office software. I would like to explain the advantages of choosing to become a MOS ? Microsoft Office Specialist (formerly known as MOUS ? Microsoft Office User Specialist).

The MOS exams are available at different levels depending on ability. If you are new to the software, you would be advised to choose to take the basic level training and exams first before advancing to the expert levels. If you are already at advanced level, you can choose to jump straight into taking the expert level training and examinations.

The training and exams cover all aspects of the software, unlike alternative qualifications such as CLAIT or ECDL. For example, in order to pass the Word 2003 expert exam, you will need to know how to perform the following tasks: structure documents using XML, restrict form documents and create indexes.

For a full list of topics you will be expected to have an indepth knowledge of, check out Microsoft?s website at www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/officespecialist/requirements.mspx#office2003 .

A further advantage is the fact that different versions of Microsoft Office can be certificated. So if your employer is still using Office 2000 (which many businesses still are) you can become certificated as a Microsoft Office Specialist in Office 2000.

So how would you go about becoming a MOS? The first steps usually involve researching appropriate training courses. This might be at introductory, intermediate or advanced level to suit your needs. However these 1 day courses are unlikely to be able to cover the entire syllabus. So be prepared to study in your own time in addition to your training course. You could try working through a self-study textbook, you can search for appropriate titles at Microsoft?s website www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/officespecialist/officespecialist_materials.mspx

You will never regret deciding to become a MOS. It demonstrates to employers that you are serious about using software fully and making the best of their IT investment.

Further steps? You can become accredited to teach MOS by becoming a MOSMI ? Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor. See www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/officespecialist/instructor/requirements.mspx for more information.

Notes for editors:

For more information visit our website at www.computertrainingsolutions.co.uk or call 01454 851770. We provide training in all types of software, including Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Access, Outlook, PowerPoint), Visio, FrontPage, Project, Dreamweaver and Adobe Creative Suite (Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat). Our training courses can be run either as public open courses from our schedule or alternatively we can run tailored courses throughout England and Wales to suit you.

Claire Blinman is the training manager at Computer Training Solutions in Bristol. Visit us at http://www.computertrainingsolutions.co.uk or call on 01454 851770 for more information.

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

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.

Why Should I Train For A Microsoft Certification?

Microsoft certification is a vast combination of rich and varied spectrum of job and responsibilities. To successfully perform the critical IT function we should earn a specific credential providing objective validity of the ability. One of the most effective ways to reach a long-term career goal, which is even embraced by industry professionals worldwide, is Microsoft certification.

Advancing with long-term career goals Microsoft certification has helped countless IT professionals work more effectively. Individuals have started quoting their valuable experiences during the Microsoft certification course on the websites available. The professionals of Microsoft certification course are very different from the IT counterparts. They not only keep on fighting the challenges of IT field but also have keep themselves a step ahead from them by developing and improving their skills. These certification processes gives one a kind of knowledge to know how to get recognized in any field.

The professionals of Microsoft certification are called at the Microsoft certified professionals or MCP. For the this Microsoft certification they have to pass current Microsoft certification exam which will proved a reliable and valid measure of professional and technical expertise. The validity of a current exam is only considered and not which is retired. Microsoft certification exams reflect how Microsoft products are used in the organization.

Microsoft certification exams are developed from the inputs received from the IT industry professionals. The independent testing organizations administer these exams. There is one very big reason why IT professionals and developers become Microsoft certified professionals is that they all know that their clients, peers, employees and the IT industry shall acknowledge their expertise in working with the Microsoft products and technologies.

There are various steps towards obtaining Microsoft certification. Firstly, one should decide which Microsoft certification is correct for the person. As Microsoft offers a vast variety of professions within the IT industry one should understand which course would be the best for him. One should also get handy with the Microsoft products, which can be done only after working in the IT industry. Experience should be expanded with training by taking advantage of the training resources.

For obtaining Microsoft certification, it is also better to know what to expect in the exam. Previous question papers or taking consultation from those who have appeared or cleared the test is always a good choice. Taking helps from the help guides for Microsoft certification exams is also an added advantage. These help provide guidelines and suggestions to the person appearing for the exam. It is also suggested to take trial tests before appearing for the final exam. The test center should be selected from the worldwide locations. Also certain details like area of study, testing program and region etc should be mentioned.

Even after polishing our skills set Microsoft certification provides other specific advantages. They are like the recognition of our knowledge and proficiency in the industry. One can also be accessed as MCP member on the websites and can obtain various offers and discounts on products and services. One can also get career information and simultaneously get invitations to conferences, special events and training sessions.

A Microsoft certification shows technical leadership over other peers as well as ability to successfully implement Microsoft business solutions for any organizations or clients.James Croydon, Microsoft Certified Professional and MCSE Online Certification advisor - focusing on MCSE Study and MCSE Training