Trust your first impressions. There is a correct answer to each question. It is widely believed that first Impression of the correct answer will be a better choice.

Avoid over-analyzing. Be careful that you do not read too much into an answer.

Answer the questions in order. The exam is structured so that the questions are inserted randomly by degree of difficulty. Therefore, the most difficult question on the test could be the first or middle or last question. Answer all questions in order with the understanding that the test will be balanced in terms of the degree of difficulty.

If uncertain, leave blank and return. If you cannot decide on an answer, mark the question and Return later to it in the test. It is possible that later questions may trigger information useful for those "Undecided" questions.

Don't stop. If you are stumped by a question, continue on to the next item. Otherwise, you may lose valuable time and have to rush through the remaining questions. Mark the question to return to it later if time permits.

Don't look for answer patterns. The psychometric testing process used by the Institute ensures that questions don't fall into patterns. Contrary to some myths, "c" will not necessarily be the most frequent answer, and the first answer may be correct.

Length of an answer is a false clue. One test-taking myth is that the longer an answer, the more likely it is to be correct. However, it often is more difficult to write incorrect distractors than the correct answer, so it is just as likely that the longest answer is incorrect.

Use the HR Certification Institute strike-through feature. Exam candidates are able to use a "strike-through" feature on the exam. This feature allows test takers to strike through the answer choices they believe to be incorrect. This will help applicants narrow down their answers.

Eliminate obvious distractors. For most questions, there are two distractors that usually appear to be incorrect, one that is likely to be plausible but incorrect, and then one correct answer. The following tips may also help to narrow down the correct answer:

When you first read a question, generally you should be able to eliminate two of the answers as In-correct (consider using, strike-through feature to cross them out).

• If two or more options are identical, then both responses must be incorrect.
• If two options are opposites, then at least one of them may be eliminated.
• Select the option that is the most inclusive.
• Do not change your answers unless they are obviously wrong.

Use the HR Certification Institute mark and review feature. Exam candidates are able to mark a question on the exam and navigate to it later by using a Review button. This feature allows candidates to mark questions that they would like to review again if time permits.

Use “educated guesses.” If you still cannot decide on a correct answer after eliminating one or two choices, choose one anyway. There is no penalty for guessing on the exam.

Identify your answer before reading the answer choices. After reading the question statement or stem, try to identify and underline the „key‟ components of the question. Prior to looking at the answer choices, determine what you believe the answer will be before reading the choices. By doing this, you will be more likely to have one answer stand out as being correct.

Avoid over analyzing the options. Be careful that you do not “read” too much into an answer.