PHR Certification Exam Prep

PHR EXAM PREP: PASS YOUR HRCI CERTIFICATION ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT

The PHR from HRCI has a first-attempt pass rate of approximately 56 percent. Candidates who fail are most often weak on employment law details (specific thresholds, notice periods, exceptions), HR metrics, and benefits compliance.

EMPLOYMENT LAW TIMELINE

Title VII (1964): race, color, religion, sex, national origin. 15 or more employees. Age Discrimination (1967): workers 40 and older. 20 or more employees. ADA (1990): reasonable accommodation, interactive process required. 15 or more employees. FMLA (1993): 12 weeks unpaid job-protected leave, 12 months and 1,250 hours worked, 50 or more employees within 75 miles. FLSA (1938): minimum wage, overtime at 1.5x over 40 hours, exempt requires salary basis ($684 per week) plus duties test. Equal Pay Act (1963): equal pay for equal work, four defenses (seniority, merit, production, any factor other than sex). NLRA: Section 7 rights, most private employers regardless of size. Includes 25 additional laws with thresholds and coverage details.

BENEFITS COST CALCULATOR

Enter annual salary, health insurance premium, employer percentage, dental premium, vision premium, 401k employer match percentage, and match cap. Get employee annual and per-paycheck deductions, employer annual cost per employee, total compensation, benefits as percentage of total comp, and 401k cost. Side-by-side scenario comparison.

HR METRICS REFERENCE

15 most-tested calculations: cost per hire (total recruiting costs divided by hires), time to fill (days from opening to accepted offer), turnover rate (separations divided by average headcount times 100), retention rate (100 minus turnover), absenteeism rate, training cost per employee, revenue per employee, HR to employee ratio.

1,000+ PRACTICE QUESTIONS

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT (11%): HR strategic planning, organizational structures, change management (Lewin, Kotter), HR metrics and analytics, ethics.

TALENT PLANNING AND ACQUISITION (18%): Workforce planning, job analysis, sourcing, legally defensible interviewing, selection, background checks, onboarding.

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT (10%): Training needs analysis, adult learning theory (andragogy), training delivery and ROI, succession planning.

TOTAL REWARDS (14%): Job evaluation methods (point factor, ranking, classification), pay structures, FLSA exempt classification, 401k, de