aPHR study guide, for people new to HR

Check your materials first

Prep material ages, and this exam changed twice in 2021 and 2022: a new outline, then a shorter test. Before you buy or borrow anything, check four things:

1. Five areas, not six. The 2021 outline has Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Compensation and Benefits, Employee Relations, and Compliance and Risk Management. Chapters built around HR Operations follow the 2016 outline.
2. Exam length. The current exam has 90 questions, 65 of them scored. A book that describes 100 scored questions predates 2022.
3. Eligibility. The current page asks for no experience and no diploma. A guide that still requires a high school diploma copies a page from before 2021.
4. Dollar figures. Questions follow the laws in effect on your exam date (outline, p. 2), so contribution limits and thresholds must be this year’s.

A study order by weight

Start where the weight is. Compliance and Risk Management (25%) and Employee Relations (24%) carry almost half of it, and Learning and Development (15%) is quickest to learn because it rests on a few models.

1. Take the practice test cold and note your two weakest areas.
2. Build a one-page law sheet: each law the outline names, what it covers, who enforces it. Compliance and risk management gives the list.
3. Employee Relations next: appraisals, discipline, complaints and investigations.
4. Talent Acquisition, then Compensation and Benefits, where the arithmetic lives (pay ranges, pay stubs).
5. Learning and Development last: ADDIE, Kirkpatrick, Lewin, ADKAR.
6. Retake the practice test against the clock: 1 h 45 min for 90 questions on exam day.

Term checklist by area

If you can explain each term in a sentence, you are ready for that area’s questions.

Talent Acquisition (19%)

Job analysis, job description vs job specification, trend and ratio analysis, job sharing, passive candidates, employee referrals, contingency vs retained search, structured and situational interviews, reliability vs validity, interviewer biases, contingent offer, realistic job preview, applicant tracking system, cost-per-hire, time-to-fill. Practice it.

Learning and Development (15%)

Orientation goals, KSAs, ADDIE, needs analysis, blended and vestibule training, on-the-job training, andragogy, mentoring vs coaching, Lewin’s three stages, ADKAR, Kirkpatrick’s four levels, learning management system. Practice it.

Compensation and Benefits (17%)

Pay grades and ranges, midpoint, compa-ratio, red-circle and green-circle rates, job evaluation methods, merit increase, COLA, profit sharing, HDHP, HSA vs FSA, PPO vs EPO, short- and long-term disability, EAP, 401(k) vs 457(b), catch-up contributions, hardship withdrawal, FICA, garnishment, final pay. Practice it.

Employee Relations (24%)

Mission vs vision vs values, SWOT, matrix and functional structures, policy vs procedure, communication flows, stay interview, engagement survey, SMART goals, rating scales, rater errors, 360-degree and upward appraisal, progressive discipline, open-door policy, conflict styles, retaliation, unconscious bias. Practice it.

Compliance and Risk Management (25%)

Form I-9, at-will employment, Title VII, ADA, IRCA, work made for hire, WARN, NLRA, mediation vs arbitration, ERISA, COBRA, FLSA, USERRA, ACA, OSHA logs, Drug-Free Workplace Act, HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, business continuity plan, divestiture, furlough. Practice it.

Course, book or both

Choose by how you study. A course adds a schedule and someone to ask; a book and a question bank suit people who keep their own deadlines. Whichever you pick, match its table of contents against the five areas above and test yourself area by area: each area page has 15 to 18 questions with every option explained.

Practice by functional area

• Talent Acquisition →19% of the exam
• Learning and Development →15% of the exam
• Compensation and Benefits →17% of the exam
• Employee Relations →24% of the exam
• Compliance and Risk Management →25% of the exam

More on this exam

• aPHR →Entry-level HRCI exam: no experience needed, five areas, fees and pass rate
• aPHR practice test →Questions in the weight of the five functional areas, every option explained
• aPHR exam facts →Difficulty for newcomers, test-day rules, the 500 pass mark, retakes, the 2022 change
• aPHR cost →Exam and application fee, retakes, switching exams, renewal, the ladder to PHR
• aPHR is it worth it →Holders, pass rate, cost and salary data, and when the SHRM-CP or the PHR fits better