How to Prepare for a Certification Exam in 5 Simple Steps

Over the last couple of months many of you have raised questions like “How can I prepare for my certification exam?” or “What kind of questions will be asked during an exam?” and “Which training should I attend in order to get ready for a specific certification?” .

Drawing on insights and experiences gained as a member of SAP Education’s global certification team, I would like to share with you here a brief guide I put together which I hope will help you find all the relevant information you need to successfully prepare for an exam.

The first thing you should do before you bury your head in your books is to have a look at our training and certification shop. Once you have chosen the exam you would like to take, the web shop gives you such helpful information as the number of exam questions, duration of the exam, which areas you will be tested on, and recommended course work and content you can reference.

Here are five simple steps that will help you to gather all relevant information you need for your exam preparation:

1. Find the right level of certification

You can either take an associate or professional certification exam. Associate certifications are for those who are new to SAP solutions. Professional certifications require proven project experience and a more detailed understanding of SAP solutions. Descriptions of each level are available here.

2. Find the right exam

Here are some useful tips for easy navigation in the web shop:

Start your search directly in the certification web shop.

You can browse through our catalogue and search for specific exams by solution.

If you know the exact exam code for a specific exam, you can also use the search field.

Select your country and language to get all relevant information for your location.

3. Consider training

Are you new to your chosen field? Training courses can help you to pass associate level exams, and SAP Education provides various training options. You can choose between classroom training (live or virtual), e-learning courses, and many more. Here you can find an overview of the different training options.

Not sure if you have taken all relevant training courses? For each exam, you can find the related training courses on the exam site.

Please note, if you prepare for a professional level exam the indicated exam-related training classes serve as refresher or foundations courses, but they are not sufficient for exam preparation. Candidates must also acquire ample practical experience in order to increase their chances of passing the certification exam.

Do you already have hands-on experience with a particular solution, or do you want to upgrade your certification to the latest release? SAP Education’s Learning Hub might be an option to help you to prepare for your certification exam at your own pace. As a subscriber to the SAP Learning Hub you have access to all relevant training materials and you can benefit from the Learning Rooms for your exam preparation. Learning rooms are virtual learning spaces that guide you through all the training related to the specific certification exam. They also offer supplementary materials. Learning Rooms are led by SAP’s top instructors who help you with your learning and preparation and provide answers to your questions.

4. Locate the syllabus

In order to get an idea about which topics are important for your certification, you should review the syllabus. You can find an overview of the related topics on the certification site. Prepare for the exam based on the weighted value for each topic in the exam Topic Areas. 

5. Sample questions

For most exams, SAP Education provides sample questions; these are actual questions asked during past exams, so they are representative of the questions asked during a live exam. You can find the sample exam questions under the Certification Details for each exam.

I hope that these five steps will help you to get started with your exam preparation. So you’ve heard a lot from me here, but all of us in the global certification team are also interested in your opinion on this topic. What are your experiences with taking certification exams? What do you think is the best way to prepare for one?

It would be great to hear about your personal experience, plus any tips and tricks you would like to share with the community. If you need a bit of inspiration, have a look at the blog written recently by independent consultant and SAP Mentor Tom Cenens, in which he shared with us his experience preparing for the SAP HANA certification.

Feel free to share your thoughts with the community – we look forward to hearing from you!

Useful Links

• SAP Certifications – Where Do I Start?
• Preparing for HANA: How to Achieve SAP Certified Technology Associate Certification
• Just in Case or Just in Time? Taking Out an “Enablement Insurance Policy