PIHRA sat down Holly Matsuura, SPHR to find out more about her certification journey. Read on to learn by Holly decided to earn her PHR certification, and what she plans to do in the future. 

Why did you make the decision to get HR certified?
I enjoy the career field of Human Resources and wanted to learn more and get certified with my SPHR. I felt the best way to show my experience and skills was to pass the SPHR exam. I know the exam is challenging and I decided that taking the PIHRA course would be a great way to prepare for the exam.

How did the cert prep course you took through PIHRA help you prepare for the exam?
The prep course that I took through PIHRA with Richard Dawson really helped me prepare for the exam. There is so much information to learn and understand and Richard broke down the information into doable chunks. Richard taught us the information we needed to know but also shared his years of knowledge and experience to help us truly understand the information.

How do you feel that earning the SPHR will help you achieve your professional goals?
I want to continue to learn and grow in the field of human resources. I feel that the more knowledge and skills that I have will help me in my current position as a human resources manager and in future positions.

I feel that having my SPHR really shows my skills and knowledge. I look forward to helping my current company and I know that employers are looking for these certifications when hiring human resources professionals.

What advice would you pass along to someone considering the SPHR?

I would encourage anyone that is in the field of human resources to certify. I would highly recommend the PIHRA prep courses. Not only will you learn but you will have the support and encouragement from the course teacher and your peers. After passing the SPHR exam, I decided to take the exam for PHRca.  I just finished the course for the PHRca and I am confident that after the course, I will be prepared to pass the exam.

Register for our upcoming PHR/SPHR preparation course:

Learn more about all of our upcoming courses & register at pihra.org/hrcertification.

If you are interested in sharing your own certification story, please contact marketing@pihra.org.