Welcome! To learn more about this new blog and myself, click here: https://caeblog.wordpress.com/about/
For my first official post I wanted to cover some tips for prospective CAEs. I took my CAE credential examination in December 2007 and learned of successfully passing just this last Friday. Very good news indeed.
Without further delay, my tips:
Join a Study Group- This is the most important tip I can give. If you are in DC or Chicago, form a live group. Being in Albuquerque, I joined an online group with individuals in New Jersey, and Louisiana. We divided up the knowledge domains and developed detailed PowerPoint presentations. We met online utilizing GoTo Meetings. After going through the PowerPoints, we would answer series of sample questions as a group. Our group’s slides were all I studied the last two weeks before the test. Each party brought different experiences to our group and it was a great learning environment. The friendships you will gain are a long term takeaway.
Know Finance- Many association employees are not financial whiz kids. But, for the CAE, you will need to know how to decipher financial statements and basics of budgeting. ASAE has some good resources. The website investopedia.com also has some basic information. Page through all of those annual reports you receive as an individual investor. Schedule some time to meet with your finance manager and have them explain how your association’s annual report is compiled. Money is good, don’t be afraid of it.
Schedule the Time- The CAE exam is no joke. By far, the hardest exam I have ever taken. This comes from someone who has a graduate degree and also took the Series 7 and Series 66 licensure examinations. No matter how long you have been in the field, I don’t think there is any way to pass the CAE exam without studying. No association is best practice in every operation. You need to know the best practice in every facet of association operations. Studying for this exam was my life for four months. No other way to say it. I studied at least two hours every night during the week and averaged 12 hours on the weekends. Sounds bad, but the CAE credential is just the icing on the cake. By putting so much into your studying, you will become a better association professional. I find myself daily utilizing some tidbit I picked up somewhere in one of the knowledge domains.
Work for a Large Association- Not much you can do with this tip if you don’t work for a large association, but let me explain how this helps you. I have worked for two large associations. Both have over 125,000 members. The CAE examination tests you on best practices, often times this means a large association with staff specialists in different areas of operation including marketing, government relations, public relations, and professional development. By working for an association with all the operations developed and hopefully working smoothly, you have people within your organization to interact with and enhance your level of understanding. This was very helpful for my understanding of lobbying and crisis management.
Don’t Waste Much Time on the Sample Tests– I spent a great deal of time with the collection of sample tests floating around out there. In hindsight, this was a waste of time. The sample tests were nothing like the real exam. The real exam was almost entirely scenario based where the sample tests were like 30-40% scenario based. Study the material instead of memorizing answers to study questions.
Stay Out of the Weeds- Focus all of your attention on knowing the Jacobs, Ernstthal and Cox books cold. If you suck at finance, add an association finance book to the list. Ignore new articles and new books. Really new ideas will not be out long enough to be incorporated in the test. Take what you read in the core knowledge books and apply them to scenarios you could envision. This is how your knowledge will be tested.
Read the Question– Read the questions carefully during the exam. Words like first, best and last have a big impact on what the correct answer will be.
Don’t Dawdle– I was always a fairly fast test taker in school and college. I would be finished before at least half of the class. I used the entire four hours to complete my CAE exam and only went back to two questions. There is a great deal of material to read for each question. Watch the clock, and don’t second guess yourself.
Check out Ben Martin’s Tips– Ben is the godfather of association bloggers. Check out his CAE tips here: http://caeexam.blogspot.com/2005/03/13-tips-to-help-you-pass-cae-exam.html
If anyone has any questions for a recent successful candidate, just leave a comment. Thanks and enjoy.
Thomas, welcome to the club and to the `clump. Congratulations on passing the exam, and nice blog!
Nice set of tips. Well done, and congratulations!
Congratulations! Great thanks for the tips!
d-Jae
How do you look for information for your blog content?
Niceeeeeeee! I’m having my CAE tomorrow!!
Wish me luck!
Ha
A