Keeping
calm on your CCNA or CCNP exam day is a big step toward doing your best
and passing the exam. Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, gives you tips on how
to keep your composure and pass the exams!
When you wake up on exam day, one of two things is going to happen.
Well, yes, you're going to pass or fail. But what I'm thinking of comes
before that, and has a lot to do with how you perform on exam day.
You're either going to have a tremendous feeling of anticipation or the dreaded feeling of being nervous about it.
Anticipation is a great thing to feel on exam day. You're driving to
the exam center, excited about the exam. You're much like a football
player, slapping another player on the helmet or the shoulder pads
before the game starts. (Warning: Don't try this on the exam proctor.)
You know there's a challenge ahead, but you're looking forward to it.
In your mind, you're already victorious you're at the testing center
only to make it official.
Conversely, there's nothing worse than being nervous or feeling
unprepared before the exam. I've driven up to an exam center and seen
exam candidates doing some last-minute cramming in their car. Sadly for
them, if there's something you were unprepared for at 8 AM on exam day,
you're still going to be unprepared when you go into the test center,
no matter what you read in the car at the last minute. You don't see
football players studying their playbook on the sideline before the
game starts.
It's all about preparation. I regularly tell my students and customers
that you don't pass a Cisco exam (or any other vendor exam) the day you
take it. You pass when you turn the TV off for weeks before the exam to
study you pass when you spend time and money to attend a class or buy a
book or training video you pass when you give up a weekend to get some
hands-on experience. That's when you pass. The exam score you get is
simply feedback on your exam preparation.
There's a great saying "Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance".
That describes to a "T" what your strategy to pass the exam must
include. Put the time in well before exam day and you'll reap the
rewards on the big day. If you're just planting the seeds of knowledge
in your car the morning of the exam, don't expect much of a harvest.
Chris Bryant
CCIE #12933
Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study
Packages. Video courses and training, binary and subnetting help, and
corporate training are also available.
For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, "How To Pass The CCNA" or "How To Pass The CCNP", send a request to chris@thebryantadvantage.com today !
