CHRA Assessment Examination: Should I take it or not?
Written by: John Angelo B. Liwanag
Pubmat by: Bianca Florido
In the dynamic landscape of the business sector, human resources plays an important role in ensuring the success of any business organization. As human resource practitioners take part in this vital role of managing the most important resource of any company: human resources, it is essential for them to have the expertise and proficiency to successfully manage this vital resource, and one way to test this ability is the Certified Human Resource Associate (CHRA) assessment examination.
The Certified Human Resource Associate (CHRA) assessment examination aims to evaluate the skills and fundamental knowledge of an individual in the field of human resource management. The examination and certification is not under and supervised by the Professional Regulation Commision or the Civil Service Commission, hence it does not give an individual a Civil Service Eligibility, nor it gives an individual a Professional License — rather, the examination is conducted by the Human Resource Educators’ Association of the Philippines, Inc. (HREAP), and as mentioned earlier, they provide an assessment examination of the skills of individuals in the human resource management sector, and once they pass, they will be granted a certificate. (Human Resource Educators’ Association of the Philippines, Inc, n.d.) This article will provide a comprehensive introduction to the CHRA exam, and it is up to you! Our dear reader, to reflect on whether it is worth it to take the exam or not, as some of you might be contemplating taking the examination.
The examination itself has an assessment examination fee of 1,700 pesos. The duration of the exam will be 3 hours and it will be divided into two sets. The questions from set one will circulate around the following topics: recruitment and selection; workplace learning and development; compensation and benefits; performance management job analysis and design; and risk management. While the question from set two will be taken from Labor and human resource-related laws. The HREAP will provide the reviewers and reference materials that will be needed during the review phase of the examiner once they complete the payment of the assessment examination fee. (Human Resource Educators’ Association of the Philippines, Inc, n.d.)
Taking the Certified Human Resource Associate (CHRA) assessment examination has its own qualifications, you cannot take the exam simply because you want to. Hence, the Human Resource Educators’ Association of the Philippines set an eligibility in which you can take the CHRA assessment examination if you are under these four categories:
Category A. Graduates or graduating students of BSBA Human Resource Management, BS/AB Psychology, Guidance and Counseling, Organizational Management, Behavioral Science, Public Administration, Legal Management and Law/Juris Doctor.
Category B. Graduates of MA Psychology, MBA Major in HR and MPA Major in Personnel Administration.
Category C. Any 4-year degree holders with at least 1 year HR related work experience.
Category D. Tertiary faculty members handling HR related subjects/courses.
Category E. People Managers (Directors, Managers, Supervisors, Department Heads, Team Leaders) with any 4-year degree. (Human Resource Educators’ Association of the Philippines, Inc, n.d.)
As of January 2023, there is no limit in how much an individual can take the CHRA assessment examination. The passing mark for each set of the examination is 50%, and if the examinee failed to get 50% or higher in one set, then they will be allowed to retake that particular set in the next examination, in which there would be a fee. (Human Resource Educators’ Association of the Philippines, Inc, n.d.)
The Certified Human Resource Associate (CHRA) assessment examination is great and significant to all aspiring human resource practitioners, and taking the test would be beneficial especially for us students since we are part of the Human Resource and Operations Management community in PLM. Once an individual passes the assessment examination, they can add the certification that they would receive to their credentials and would give an individual a competitive advantage, in which their chances of being hired will increase since it proves that they already have the expertise and abilities as they have passed the examination. It will also be reflected on the character and dedication of an individual since it will be reflected that they love to learn, and by passing the examination, they have a great value unto themselves by increasing their qualifications and credentials. (Human Resource Educators’ Association of the Philippines, Inc, n.d.)
If you are still contemplating whether it is worth it or not to take the examination and how passing the examination affected their professional career, or do you want tips and advice if you are aspiring to take the exam, below are the statements from Ms. Mitzchell Dela Cruz, CHRA and Mr. Heartly Audrey Reyes, CHRA, CSSWB, in which they are two individuals who took and passed the Certified Human Resource Associate (CHRA) assessment examination.
Question 1: Is it difficult to pass the CHRA assessment examination?
Mitzchell Dela Cruz: It depends on the taker of the exam, but in my experience, being a Human Resource graduate helps me a lot to pass the exam. Most of the topics kasi are discussed na rin during college days so it feels like I’m just re-reading some lessons.
Heartly Audrey Reyes: In my opinion, hindi ko masabi if difficult siya or hindi pero one thing is for sure is that you need to allot a lot of time to review and study para mag-recall sa mga pinag-aralan mo sa labor law and general knowledge when it comes to human resource. This question is very subjective, so I cannot say if the exam is difficult or not, all I can say is that you need to allocate a lot of your time to study and review.
Question 2: How did you review for the CHRA assessment examination, and do you have any review tips for those who will take the CHRA exam?
Mitzchell Dela Cruz: Since it’s during the days na nag naghihintay na lang ako ng graduation, I really do have a lot of time to review. I started reviewing a month before the exam date. What I did is I scheduled a 6-hour self review a day, 4 times a week. Since I’m not a visual person, highlighters or good penmanship or doing calligraphy (which is a good thing for reviewing), are not really effective to me. What I did is every topic, I imagine a situation where you apply the topic. For example, the topic is steps in recruitment. I imagine a situation where I use all of the steps written by the reviewer. That’s how I managed to remember and understand the topic, so that if the question does not use the exact words being described or written in the reviewer, as long as the thought is there, I can still answer the question right.
Tips? maybe it's to befriend your brain. Make a review style that matches how your brain copes up with the information. You may be a visual learner or not, know what type of study that you can learn easily. Once you know what type of learner you are, even if you’re in a rush, your brain can still manage to absorb the information you’re studying. Second is to not overload yourself with stress and pressure for review, remember to take a rest, because CHRA exam has numerous schedules, and you yourself are only one. Put your health first.
Heartly Audrey Reyes: Upon registration, you will be given a reviewer in which you can use it to recall, to review and study the general concepts of human resources and labor law. But for me, the strategy that I used is that hindi ako nakuntento sa review and reference materials that they provided. And with that, I look for possible resources that I can use, like through the internet and books in which may makukuha pa akong knowledge. Hindi ako nag-stick on what they have given me. I broaden my knowledge when it comes to general concepts of human resources and labor law — especially since I’m an Operations Management student , and we do not have a labor law subject kaya kailangan ko mag-done ng extra mile to catch-up with that topic. So talagang nag-review ako, explore, and I have written all of the details of each concept that I am reviewing since it is my strategy when studying. Since when I’m writing it, I will always remember it. However, we have different review strategies , and for me, writing is the most suitable and effective review strategy for me. So I allocate a lot of time to study and review.
However, our mind still needs to relax, and hence, I don’t study for a whole day. With that I only allocate around two to three hours of reviewing while I will allocate the rest of my time during each day as my free time to do everything that I want. Because kapag tuloy-tuloy ang pag-review, magkakaroon ng information overload ang brain natin, and the tendency is that ma-mind block tayo on the day of the examination.
Question 3: Do you have to be intelligent in order to pass the CHRA assessment examination?
Mitzchell Dela Cruz: A big NO. Being intelligent is not the only recipe for success, you also have to be courageous, consistent, determined, and faithful to yourself. I don’t actually understand everything there is in HR topics by the book, you have to have an understanding of it based on experience or what you observed, so don’t be afraid of trying to take the exam. Everyone who’s taking HR or Psych, or working in HR fields are qualified (no matter what GPA you had)
Heartly Audrey Reyes: For me, I can’t say that I’m intelligent or anything. However, one thing is for sure that sineryoso ko yung pag-take ng exam, I allocated time to review and to catch-up with the lessons, since I graduated with a course in Operations Management and we do not have a labor law subject, so I really allocated time to study, I can’t say that it is intelligent or something, all I can say is that I have been diligent and resourceful when taking the CHRA exam, and for me, these are the key in passing the exam.
Question 4: When you passed the CHRA assessment examination, how did it affect your professional career?
Mitzchell Dela Cruz: I think it’s when I was offered an HR Assistant position but in a Managerial level.
Heartly Audrey Reyes: For me, when I passed the CHRA exam, I hid the fact that I took the exam from my friends and family kasi magbabayad ka eh and you will spend a lot of money, since I used my own money, and there is no guarantee that you will pass the exam or not, and personally, I’m afraid of failure, and I do not want others to know that I fail or when I’m having a hard time. May kaba ako while taking the exam, and pinaka-ayaw ko is regret. So basically I did my best, so If I fail, at least I did my best, and along the way, I was nervous when the result was not yet released , and when the result was announced, nagkaroon ako ng confident sa sarili ko that I can do it since nakapasa ako ng CHRA exam. I feel like I’m at the level where I can compete with other people regardless whether you are a fresh graduate or not because you have this title and license that you can hold for the rest of your life.
Question 5: What is your advice for those who will take the CHRA assessment examination?
Mitzchell Dela Cruz: Just take it! Whatever the results are, you will feel proud of yourself and you will be surprised at what your capabilities are!
Heartly Audrey Reyes: My advice is that you allocate time and take the exam seriously, not because you will take the exam for clout and for title because no, it is not about that. You need to have a clear understanding about your goals. Your goal should be long-term. Your goal to pass the exam should not be because your friends are all exam CHRA passers, and you should pass the exam. It is not about that, you should have a clear goal on why you are taking the exam, dapat nasa puso mo maging Certified Human Resource Associate by profession, dapat gusto mo yung ginagawa mo, since if you do not like what you are doing, then you will have a difficult time on allotting time for the CHRA exam. Yes the exam is hard since it is in your mind, you will feel anxious since it is natural for us human beings, but the hardest realization is that when you failed the exam, you failed without doing anything, since it is much better to fail knowing that you did your best.
Our ultimate goal while reviewing is to pass the exam, do not think of the negativity, the goal is to allocate time, review, be resourceful when finding additional materials, do not stick on the reference materials given by the HREAP, because sometimes, we would expect that all of the references given will be on the exam, since there is a possibility that there would be questions that are not in the review materials that they have provided. Basically, this is the reason why you need to be resourceful and to look for other review materials. And of course, do not forget to pray. Since prayer for me, is one of the greatest pieces of advice that I could give to those who will take the exam.
Now that all of the facts and basic information about the CHRA assessment examination, as well as the statements of the two passers of the CHRA assessment examination have been given in this article, the choice is up to you now, our dearest reader if you are going to take the exam or not, and to answer the question on whether it is worth it to take the examination – based on all of the information laid out in this article, the answer would be yes! Just remember that before you take the exam, you need to study diligently and you need to allocate your time in reviewing for the exam. Prayer is definitely not enough when taking the CHRA assessment examination, and as one the most famous proverbs tells us: Nasa diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa. Do not expect to pass the exam simply through prayers, and without reviewing, as we are the masters of our own lives, and we shape our future. For those who will take the CHRA assessment examination, we wish you the best of luck and do not forget to rest, as there should be an equilibrium between rest and reviewing for an important examination like the CHRA assessment examination.
Special thanks to these two remarkable individuals who shared their insights, tips, and personal experiences when they took the CHRA assessment examination:
Ms. Mitzchell Dela Cruz, CHRA
Mr. Heartly Audrey Reyes, CHRA, CSSWB
Written by: John Angelo B. Liwanag
Pubmat by: Bianca Florido
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