【Because I Made That Choice】When You Fail Despite Feeling Confident【For Passing Professional and Certification Exams】

I currently work in human resources and labor-related services as my primary profession.

And, in order to become independent in HR and labor-related work, I felt the necessity and took the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam, which I passed.

I took the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam three times over a two-and-a-half-year study period, passing on the third attempt.

Since many people pass the exam on their first try, I think it is fair to say that I struggled a bit.

Basically, I like and am well-suited for steady, diligent work, so I didn't particularly mind the period when no one was evaluating me (= the period when I failed the exam twice), and I almost never felt discouraged even during my study period. However, the only time I felt like giving up was when I confirmed my failure on the second exam.

The following is a summary of my experience taking the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam three times.

I am writing this in the hope that it will be of some benefit to those who are currently aiming to pass the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam.

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◇The First Exam◇

I decided to take the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam in the middle of the fiscal year, and because I didn't know the path to passing or the study methods suitable for me (how I could acquire knowledge) I bought commercially available self-study textbooks and proceeded with my studies. However, since I felt almost no progress, I decided to enroll in a correspondence course (Crear) shortly before the exam.

In this way, the first exam, which I spent in a rush and could not at all say I was able to concentrate on, arrived without me really understanding the difficulty or the content.

Therefore, although I was able to take the exam from start to finish,

honestly, I knew passing was impossible, so rather than being shocked by failing, I felt more confident that 'if I keep working hard like this, I can make it next year!'.

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◇The Second Exam◇

I entered my second year of study with that momentum, and since my correspondence course studies were progressing well and I was frequently getting good scores on mock exams, I felt I was gaining knowledge through daily study and felt confident that there was a high possibility of passing.

I entered the second exam with a very good flow, and I felt confident even while taking the test.

However, the result was a failure.

Since I failed despite feeling quite confident both during my studies and during the exam, receiving the notice of failure here nearly broke my spirit.

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◇Third Exam◇

After failing the second time, even a person like me who usually lives with an optimistic mindset felt some doubt about whether I could pass the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam (and whether I should continue studying like this).

However, I felt that if I gave up here, the study time I had spent so far would be wasted, so I decided to take the exam a third time.

However, I couldn't recover the motivation that had dropped after failing the second exam, and my spirits didn't really lift; although I continued studying every day, I didn't feel like my knowledge had increased compared to the second exam.

I continued with the correspondence course, but even in the classes I had repeated several times, I couldn't say I had accurately memorized all the terms, and my scores on the mock exams weren't very good either.

Therefore, I entered the third actual exam with less confidence than the second one.

However, I ended up passing, so while I was happy, I also felt a bit unconvinced.

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After that, when I calmed down and thought about it, I arrived at a convincing reason for the question of,

"Why did I fail the second exam but pass the third?"

I reached a conclusion that made sense.

That is,

it means that there is a time lag for each person before the study content they have absorbed is converted into useful knowledge for the exam and they become able to master it.

That is what it means.

“Memory is consolidated through sleep after studying”
“Repetitive learning is effective”

This is something said about learning in general across various fields, and it leads to a similar conclusion for the Labor and Social Security Attorney exam as well.

Perhaps, the knowledge learned in the first or second year blossomed in the third year is what happened.

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Therefore,

I recommend that everyone working on certification exams take them multiple times

.

At the very least, even if the result of an exam you felt fulfilled in having completed is a failure, you should take the next exam that is held.

At the point you failed, it might just be that the study content you worked so hard on had not yet consolidated, like it was for me, so if you give up there, the time, effort, and money you spent on your studies until now would be too much of a waste.

Of course, if you reach a situation where you have a “sense of satisfaction from having done enough” or “cannot find the motivation for the exam,” withdrawing is also one option.

However, it is also important not to let your spirit be broken there, and to challenge yourself multiple times.

I pray that all of you who read this will pass your various exams.

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