From Brian’s Desk: Exam Character
The True Character
When we talk about the character of a person, we are talking about “who” they are. A person’s character tells us their values, what motivates them, and how they will respond in a given situation. While someone may be able to act in a way contradictory to their character for a short period of time, eventually their true character will reveal itself.
The UK company Brighton Rock makes candy with the name of the company embedded throughout the entire candy. Even after you have eaten the outer edge of the candy, the name of the company is still visible. Thus, this candy shows what character is – something embedded throughout a person.
What Is the Exam Character and Why is it Important?
Just as having good character is important for a person, having good exam character is very important to passing the professional certification exam. If you only have a shallow understanding of the material, you may be able to get some of the questions correct, but not enough to pass the exam. If your knowledge is deep, you will be able to think and apply the concepts that you have learned to new situations and be able to answer any question asked on the exam.
How to Develop Your Exam Character?
Like personal character, exam character does not come quickly or easily. We need to study and practice and be willing to spend time to make certain that we really understand the topics tested on the exam, and not just shortcuts to answer practice questions. Exam character does not come from shortcuts or study “secrets,” but rather it comes from your hard work and dedication to studying.
How Does HOCK Help?
In addition to helping you pass the exam, what you learn in building your exam character becomes part of you and part of your skills and knowledge that you will be able to use in your career. At HOCK, we help you build your exam character one topic at a time until you are ready to not only pass the CMA, CIA, or CPA exam, but also put your new skills to use every day long after you have achieved your certification.
Brian Hock, CMA, CIA
