Certifications from CompTIA, ISC2, SANS, TCM, and other industry organizations appear on over 83% of job descriptions. How should test-takers best prepare to earn these in-demand credentials?

When preparing for a cybersecurity certification exam, not only is it important to be familiar with the subject matter and content of the exam, it’s equally important to familiarize yourself with some testing strategies.

1. Identify which certifications are a good fit for your particular skill set, experience level, and career goals. Certifications fall into one of two categories: Vendor agnostic, meaning they’ll cover your ability to demonstrate an understanding of concepts and broader security technologies (ex: CompTIA CySa+ or Security+). Vendor specific certifications, on the other hand, gauge your understanding of particular tools and products (ex: Splunk Core Certified Power User). Furthermore, certifications can range from beginner to intermediate, and advanced. The specific exam’s website will generally tell you what skills and how many years of experience the test-taker should have; in some cases, these will be suggestions, in other cases you will have to prove a set number of years of experience before you can earn your certification (ex: ISC2 CISSP).

2. Know what to expect: Exam questions fall into a few different categories: Multiple choice (Pick one of the following), Multiple Select (pick all of the following which meet [some criteria]), click and drag to match, and Performance-Based questions where test takers may have to virtually configure a device or system. Practice tests will help you prepare for the types of questions to expect.

3. When answering questions, remember: You’re looking for the best answer. Multiple answers may often seem correct, however best generally refers to the answer(s) that address the question completely, are the most efficient and in some cases, cost-effective. Think about the rocket launcher and the ant: While you could use a rocket to kill and ant, it is far from the best method, as it will prove to be expensive, inefficient, and likely result in collateral damage.

4. Read each question or scenario carefully. Then, read it again. Words and phrases like: ‘not‘, ‘if‘, ‘only‘, ‘which’, ‘except‘, ‘or‘ have the power to change the meaning of a question entirely.

5. Leverage the process of elimination. Some questions may attempt to trick or confuse you. If you’re thoroughly prepared for your exam, you should be be able to identify patterns and determine which answer choices are clearly wrong.

6. Use the features of the testing platform. In most cases, you’ll be able to navigate back and forward across questions, as well as ‘flag‘ questions so you can revisit them at the end of the exam.

7. Keep an eye on the time. If you find yourself taking too long on a particular question, consider coming back to it, rather than running out the clock. What you want to avoid is knowing that there may have been questions that appear later on the exam, that you didn’t have the opportunity to answer — simply because you ran out of time.

8. Use the exam itself as a resource. As you go through the exam, you may find that some questions offer information that helps you solve previous questions. Feel free to use this information to help you along the way.

9. Beyond technical facts (port numbers, definitions, acronyms. etc.) do not assume any additional information that the question does not directly provide. Answers should be based only on the information given.

What other testing strategies have you used to prepare for an exam? Let us know

Related: Here’s How to Hack Your Next Cybersecurity Interview