The Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) Certification and its logo are the international standard for validating capabilities with the Microsoft Office suite. The MOS on your resume or biography signifies to most professionals that you know your way around the Office programs. And to an employer or potential employer, that can come with much respect and admiration. Other common motivators for being certified are the possibility of a promotion or salary increase. Once you have decided to take the certification tests, where do you go? You can go the Microsoft Certification Website for a list of authorized testing centers near you.
There are a number of ways to study for the Certification tests for MOS. As an instructor, I gave my students the following suggestions to prepare them for the exam. The tests are designed to put you into "real life job" situations. They are not just question and answer tests, but place you into scenarios that your boss could ask you to do, knowing that you are a Certified MOS.
It is important to take the practice tests so you will know what your strengths and challenges are. As you take the practice tests I would recommend that you follow the steps below:
- Mark down the questions you missed (research the question in the help file; right down your correct responses; know why it is the right answer)
- The test solution will be in the same neighborhood but asked in a different way (pay attention to questions asked similarly; if something is asked multiple times with similar variations, it is important and it could be on the actual certification test; e.g.: Save, Save As, Save as Web Page, etc)
- Learn what is under the menu options and shortcuts (on the test, you may have to click the down arrow to show all of the options, so it is important to know what options are under what menu title; it may ask you to complete a task with ONLY using shortcuts)
- Repeat and repeat again until you can pass the practice test with over a 90% twice in a row before taking the certification exam
Be honest with yourself. If you are not ready to take it then don't. You will get a better sense of your skills if you are honest and know what you need to work on before you sit down to test. Below you will find some tips to remember as you take the test:
- Remember it is a solution not a question
- It is a test of procedures that provide a result (there are many ways to get the answer, but the test is designed to get you to follow a procedure to obtain the desired result; the procedure taken is more important than the actual result
- The answer is in the solution (look for the words that relate to a menu option; it's more of a procedure that provides an answer)
- Read the solution twice before starting (first read it to get an understanding of what the question is asking; the second time read for clues that may lead you to the answer)
- Read it again before hitting next to make sure you have done all that the problem asked you to do (always double check your solution to make sure you have done EXACTLY what they were asking; before hitting next, check your spelling against what is written)
- It is also a test of how you well follow instructions (remember that they take off for incorrect spelling; remember to type the words exactly as they have and to put them exactly where they want them)
- Remember that you don't need a perfect score to pass (it is a good idea to be aware of your weaknesses before taking the test, so if there is a solution on the test that you don't know how to do, skip it and go to one that you know; it is a timed test and if you fail, remember what you missed, because the next test will have more of those solutions than the first time)
Remember the tests are more than about guessing the right answer (A, B, C, D); it is about whether you can DO THE WORK. Remember when your certificate comes that your scores are not listed, so no one will know what they are. The certificates show that you are a professional that can handle most operations in the Office Product Line that you tested in. They tell an employer if you can maneuver around the product and get the request done.
© Rebecca Thompson is a Virtual Assistant and is the founder of CLR Virtual Connection. She opened CLR Virtual Connection after many years of working for someone else. She brings many skills and talents, to serve her clients well. She is Master Certified in Microsoft Office Products and has many certifications through Brainbench.com. She has the ability to walk novice computer users step by step through software for them to learn and retain how to use it. She is detail oriented and is a "big picture visionary". She has a Masters degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and as a Bachelors degree in Education. She has led many team building and leadership workshops and has excellent communication skills.
She offers many services including: web research, data entry, transcriptions (written and audio), customer support, labels for mail merge, word processing, contact management, and email correspondence. She has a full office to include laser B/W printer, deskjet color printer, fax, a desktop and laptop computer, fax and office supplies. The software she has is Vista, MS Office 2007, Adobe, and Corel Paint Shop Pro.
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