Good afternoon,
Just my $.02 worth...
Wow... having been a CRM going on 4 years now, the price of the study materials alone makes me glad that I've already passed it because I probably couldn't afford to buy the study materials now. When including the cost of joining the ICRM, you're looking at close to $1k to participate that first year--if you're an ARMA member (it's more if you're not). In terms of preparing for the exam, my approach was probably a little different than most--not necessarily better, just different. I tried the study-group thing and mentoring program, but they didn't really work for me as I just had better success at working towards it on my own. This is not an editorial or criticism against those approaches as I'm sure they've been successful for many, many others for a long time now, but they just didn't work for me.
I am not sure how you "study" for these exams, but I depended on my experience (I was a RM consultant and also taught RM classess for several years prior to taking the exam) and common sense to get me through it. All totaled I probably put in about 3-4 months of reviewing the old CRM prep handbook with the different types of multiple-choice questions in it, prior to takng it. While I did attend a couple of CRM seminars and workshops, I didn't spend a whole lot of time on the practice essays as I felt like this is where my experience (and the common sense thing) kicked in. I took the first 5 parts of the CRM exam at the same time (3 parts on the first day, and two part on the second), and passed 4 of them. I had to retake part 4 after missing it by 1 point the first time around.. One of the keys to passing part 6 (I had to take it twice), in my opinion, is being able to manage your time well. The first time I took part 6, I wrote and reviewed, re-wrote and re-reviewed, and then re-wrote and re-reviewed the 60-point essay some more and didn't leave myself enough time for the 40-pointer... so knowing when to quit on those essays is also important.
Having been both a consultant and an adjunct instructor were extremely helpful to me in taking the exams, especially with part 6. I had about ten consulting assignments of various types, domestic and international, and in various industries under my belt and had taught for almost 9 years by the time I sat for parts 1-5, and no doubt that was a major "plus" factor for me. All totaled, due to various work and travel commitments at the time, it took me about 2.5 years to complete the entire process.
Again, my approach towards preparing for and taking the exams was probably atypical and is not a recommendation, but thank goodness it worked for me.
Thanks, and good luck. You'll feel great after it's all over!
Earl
Pipeline Records and Information Management Excellence... Get PRIMEd!
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Earl Johnson, Jr., CRM
Corporate Records Manager
Colonial Pipeline Company [Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: Colonial logo]
1185 Sanctuary Parkway, Ste. 100
Alpharetta, GA 30009
Internet: www.colpipe.com<http://www.colpipe.com/> | Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
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