What is SHRM Certification? And How To Get It

If you want to help grow a company, you have to be willing to put in the work, not just enhancing your own skills but verifying and certifying those enhancements. As an professional one of the best ways to do this is by seeking out real, recognized qualifications like the SHRM certification.

The SHRM learning system offers professional development and a big boost to the credentials and prospects of any HR professional, with these qualifications being among the most trusted in the HR world right now. Read on to learn exactly what the SHRM certification is, what are the HR competencies that it covers, how you can get it, how much it costs, and all the other important info.

Background of SHRM Certification

For the uninitiated, SHRM stands for the Society for Human Resource Management. Based out of Alexandria, VA, SHRM is an international human resources association with more than 300,000 members spread out across 165 different countries.

Along with its standard membership plans, it also offers SHRM certification; a program that allows HR professionals to enhance and verify their skills. Having an SHRM qualification is a strong sign of a trusted HR professional, but the process to actually get certified can seem a little complicated from the outset.

What Exactly Is SHRM Certification?

So what is SHRM certification? Well, the SHRM offers two main certifications, both being classed under the umbrella term of ‘SHRP Certification’. the SHRM-CP and the SHRM-SCP.

The SHRM certification course and general preparation you do will vary depending on which of the two exams you choose. ‘s the lowdown on each one:

• SHRM CP Certification – To keep things simple, the SHRP CP is the easier option of the two. It has less strict entry requirements and is designed generally for those in operational positions, implementing policies and strategies, acting as the go-to source for staff members, performing day to day HR functions, etc.
• SHRM SCP Certification -The SHRM SCP takes things to the next level. It’s designed for senior HR professionals, those who analyze and make strategies, head up HR projects, etc. The eligibility requirements for the SCP exam are, in general, twice as strict as those for the standard CP exam.  Therefore, the recognition of being an SHRM senior certified professional is bigger.

Which SHRM certification is best? The answer to this question all depends on your own personal situation and what type of HR manager salary or HR analyst salary you want. Those in senior roles will want to take on the SCP exam, but general HR professionals will find the CP exam perfectly sufficient for their current needs. Both courses have a complete SHRM body of competency and knowledge.

How to Qualify for SHRP Certification

Before you even think about applying for SHRP certification and taking your SHRP classes, you have to take a look at the eligibility requirements. As stated, the requirements vary depending on which exam you apply for, and they also vary depending on your educational and work experience too.

Qualifying for the SHRM CP Certification

• Less Than Bachelor’s Degree – Those who haven’t yet got a Bachelor’s Degree (i.e. those who are working towards their degree or have some college education, a high school diploma, another HR certificate, etc.) will need to have spent a minimum of three years in an HR role in order to qualify. This is upped to four years if your studies have no HR connections.
• Bachelor’s Degree – Those candidates who do have a Bachelor’s Degree will need to have spent a year in a HR role if their degree was HR-related, or have two years of professional HR experience if not.
• Graduate Degree – Meanwhile, those with graduate degrees that are HR-related simply need to be in an HR position; the amount of experience doesn’t actually matter in this instance. If your Graduate Degree is not HR-related, you’ll need to have a year of experience.

Qualifying for the SHRM SCP Certification

• Less Than Bachelor’s Degree – Again, if you don’t have a Bachelor’s Degree but are studying towards something HR-related, you’ll need to have a minimum of six years of professional HR experience to qualify for the SCP, or seven years if your studies are not HR related.
• Bachelor’s Degree – Candidates with a Bachelor’s Degree will need to have spent a minimum of four years in an HR role with a HR-related degree, or five years without.
• Graduate Degree – Finally, those with a Graduate Degree will need three years of experience with a HR-related qualification and four years without.

General Requirements

As well as the above requirements, there are some general selection criteria candidates will need to be aware of:

• Experience – When talking about experience in an HR role, SHRM is referring to the 15 functional areas of HR knowledge in the SHRM BoCK. Examples include HR Strategic Planning, Talent Acquisition, and Employee Engagement and Retention.
• Current Status – Your current job doesn’t necessarily have to include an HR title. SHRM is only concerned with your actual work and experience and how it relates to HR, rather than your job title.
• HR Activities – All applicants need to show that they have spent a minimum of 1,000 hours performing HR-related duties during a single calendar year for it to qualify as a year of HY experience. Even if you have a part-time HR role, you can still qualify.
• Membership – You don’t need to be a member of SHRM to apply.
• Students – Students in the final year of their degrees at approved SHRM universities can sit SHRM CP Certification exam, but will need to demonstrate a minimum of 500 hours of HR experience.

To Sum Up

• The application requirements for the SHRM SCP are generally at least twice as strict than those for the CP.
• Those with higher levels of education will have more lenient requirements.
• HR resume experience on is essential for every applicant.
• The more experience you have and the better your level of education, the easier you’ll find it to meet the requirements.

How Much Does SHRM Certification Cost?

So how much money do you need to hand over to become SHRM certified? Well, first of all, it’s important to note that the fees are the same for both the SHRM CP and the SHRM SCP exams, but the fees can vary depending on whether you’re a member or not of the SHRM. Here’s all you need to know:

• Exam Fees – Whether you’re taking the SHRM CP certification or the SHRM SCP, you’ll need to pay $300 to take the exam as a member, or $400 as a non-member.
• Application Fees – The application fees are always set at $50, both for members and non-members.
• Late Fees – Those who make their applications later on will need to pay a total of $75. This price is the same for both members and non-members once again.
• Retests – If you need to take a retest, you won’t get any discount on the SHRM certification cost. You’ll need to pay full price.

Why Should I Get SHRM Certification?

You might be wondering why exactly you would want to seek out the SHRM certification in the first place. It’s all about self-improvement. HR professionals spend a lot of time thinking of ways to make workforces stronger and more efficient, but need to make time for their own development too.

There are a lot of different tools, services, and other options out there for HR professionals to be more effective in their work, creating a happier and more engaging workspace.

Tools like HRIS (Human Resource Information System) and effective recruiting software can make a big difference. You can also invest in services like FutureFuel, which works to reduce student loan debts for employees via their employers, lowering interest rates by up to 1.7% and thereby creating a more engaged and positive workforce.

There are a lot of options to help any HR professional be more effective in their day to day roles. But SHRM certification is one of the few options available to actually validate the work you do with an officially recognized educational program.

Here are just some reasons why more and more people are starting up a SHRM course:

• Fast Growing – Data from SHRM shows this is the fastest growing program in the HR certification world. Tens of thousands of job cite SHRM certification as a preferred aspect of prospective applicants, and more than 5,000 employers are specifically looking for SHRM credential holders on a monthly basis.
• Fully Accredited – Both the SHRM CP and the SHRM SCP certifications are fully accredited by the Buros Center for Testing, which essentially demonstrates that these HR credentials meet the highest testing standards around.
• The Biggest Name – In general, when seeking out any kind of qualification, it pays off to contact the one name in the relevant field. When it comes to , SHRM is simply the one name in the industry. It’s the world’s biggest association and a genuine industry leader.
• A Universal Qualification – SHRM certification is something that can help you no matter where life happens to take you. It’s a universally respected standard, crossing over borders and barriers, and there are SHRM credential holders in more than 100 countries worldwide, so even if your career takes you overseas or into a different position, the certification will still work in your favor.
• An Effective Exam – Taking the SHRM exams is a terrific way to really enhance and demonstrate your own HR skills and competence. The exam questions are refreshed twice per year, with professional trained and highly experienced exam experts developing questions that truly test an applicant’s knowledge and understanding.

How Do I Get SHRM Certification?

So, now that you know a full overview of what SHRM certification is, and why you might be interested in seeking it out, let’s take a look at how you should go about that step-by-step process.

1. The first step is to decide which of the two exams you want to take. As stated, the SCP has stricter requirements and is designed for senior professionals, while the CP is the better option for general day to day HR professionals.
2. The next step is to look at the eligibility requirements for your chosen exam and ensure that you meet all of them before actually filling out an application. Full specifics can be found on the SHRM site, where the association goes into great depth in explaining and outlining exactly what you need to do regarding your academic and professional experience.
3. The third step is to make your application, but this will depend on what time of year it happens to be. SHRM runs one exam in the winter and another in the summer. Typically, applications open at the of January and end around late March/early April for the summer tests, which are held between May and July. For the winter test, the application period begins in May and ends in October, with a late deadline extended to early November. Remember that you’ll pay extra if you apply late, so it’s useful to make sure you apply within the deadline.
4. Provided your application is successful, SHRM will invite you to log into their scheduling portal and set a date and time for the test that works for you. The exam takes a total of four hours to finish, so you’ll probably need to set aside a whole day for it. You can change the set date and time if needed, but this needs to be done more than 30 days in advance if you don’t want to pay a fee
5. Next, it’s time to studying. A variety of SHRM certification classes and courses are available to help you get ready, with SHRM providing their own suite of online study materials for members and non-members to use for exam preparation. There are also plenty of free learning modules for SHRM certification around the net, and it can also be a good idea to get in touch with any other HR professionals you know who have taken the test or are preparing for the test too in order to learn from one another.
6. The last step is to take the test itself on the scheduled day. The test features a total of 160 multiple-choice questions. Of those questions, around 40% are scenario-based judgments that test behavioral competencies and ethical practices, and the remaining 60% are pure knowledge-based questions.

Keep in mind that you need to do a recertification every three years.

Time To Get Your SHRM Certification

SHRM certification is the fastest growing program in the entire HR certification community. It offers a major boost to the career of any HR professional and help raise the whole global standard of HR work. If you want to test your competency and verify your own personal standards of HR understanding, it’s one of the better options out there, and you can apply for either of the two main exams throughout most of the year.