Testing Preparation

With so many students going on to the Microsoft Office Specialist certifications, I see a *lot* of people work themselves up into a frenzy over exam prep. But it's not just students working towards certifications; some students just want to know their current typing speed, or where their skills are at with Word. And because they're nervous, they'll usually all come in behaving pretty much the same way! So here are some tips about preparing to demonstrate your computer skills for any reason.

1) Stay Calm
It always sounds so easy for someone else to say this, but you have to find a way to work with your nerves. You can be nervous, without having a complete mental block about everything you've ever done. Something I've found that works for me is to think "well, all I can do is my best, and if they're not satisfied with that, tough!".

Everyone is going to have something different that works for them, and sometimes it can be helpful to write out what happens to you when you get nervous, talk it over with a friend, read a book, watch a movie, have a bath, meditate, practice your skills, review study notes etc. Whatever it is that works for you, keep practicing until you get there. When you find what works for you, keep working at it until you have refined it down to an art!

2) Study!
If you know you have a typing test coming up, make sure you're comfortable typing. If you're demonstrating your Word knowledge, practice typical skills which might come up. It should go without saying, but sometimes a mental block might come along that says "well there's nothing else I can do now, so I won't bother practicing". If you have low self-esteem, this is very likely the kind of thing you might be saying to yourself, especially if you're not confident in your computer skills. But, really, lets be honest. How do you expect to improve your skills without practicing? There are lots of affordable ways you can prepare for a test; you just have to know where to look.

Typing
To prepare for a typing test, you can do it two ways. The first way is to buy yourself a cheap typing program. Now when you're buying typing programs, there's cheap and then there's cheap. Find a well recommended program, such as Mavis Beacon, and see if you can find it on sale at Wal-Mart or Future Shop. You don't always need the most up-to-date version (which I believe retails at about $40CAD), and I know plenty of people who have found an older $10 version sitting in the discount bins.

The second way to prepare is to grab a book/magazine/newspaper, open it at random, and start typing. Tedious? Yes. Effective? Yes. If you don't have time, or can't afford a typing program, then this is a great way to at least improve your familiarity of where the keys are.

Remember these are not tips for long-term studying, but more about last-minute preparation.

Microsoft Office
You've been asked to demonstrate a skill to your co-workers. Or you need to complete one of those awful skill-tests provided by temp agencies. Time to start calling some people. A good place to start is with any local community colleges or training centres. Ask if they have any pre-testing for Word that you could use. If they offer certification testing, chances are that they will, and will be able to offer you a reasonable price to write them.

You can also check at the Certiport website, to find local testing providers. Just search for a testing centre (the link on the right-hand side), call, and ask. The worst they can say is no, so keep calling until you find somewhere that can help you. Even try asking if they can recommend someone locally who can help you out. After all, who's going to have the best idea of local training resources than someone who actually offers that training?

If you don't find any luck calling people, start looking in your local book stores. You will NOT be looking for any books with the words "dummies" or "idiots" in the title. For starters, you are neither of those things, and to follow that I have never found those books to be at all helpful in learning the skills typically required in employment. The best books to find are the ones with the following logo stamped on the front cover:







These books will have been specifically developed for the Microsoft Office Specialist certifications, and will have specific exercises and questions focusing on the skills you want to work on. These books might cost up to $20 second hand. Also ask at local training colleges, and try checking out Kijiji or eBay for more options.

3) Show up and knock their socks off!!
If you're (relatively) calm and well-prepared, you should be feeling much more confident as you walk in to the testing room. Try your best, and be aware of what you're doing at the time. If you make a mistake it's not the end of the world, and be ready to think about what you might have done differently afterwards. If you are given the opportunity to explain your performance afterwards, remain calm and explain yourself as clearly as possible.

Good luck to anyone who is preparing for certifications! If you want any extra advice, feel free to email me!