Encouraging Words About CISSP

A former student wrote in yesterday to tell me:

” I passed the exam last Wednesday.  A few observations on my experience:

1.  Like others posting their results to LinkedIn recently, my exam cut off at the 100 question mark.  My elapsed time at that point was somewhere between 90 and 100 minutes.

2.  Candidly, the first thought that passed through my mind when the exam cut off was that I failed, because...

3.  A lot (I would estimate 60-70%) of the questions required a good deal of domain knowledge synthesis to answer.  By that, I mean the question wasn't just asking for a fact or straightforward application of domain knowledge.  I got about 50 questions into the exam and considered walking away from the test, I thought I was doing that poorly.  I really thought "OK, those first 25 or so were the 'evaluation' questions for future exams, now the real exam is starting" but the questions didn't change in style after that. 

4,  I really had to slow myself down to make sure I read the questions and answers correctly and thoroughly.  This is probably what saved me from failing, of course, since the result is only pass/fail there's no way to know if the answers I changed after re-reading the question and answer while thinking about every word were the correct choice.

5.  Notwithstanding the "synthesis" comment above, most questions did have 2 fairly obvious wrong or distractor answers.  It was deciding between the remaining two that created the most frustration.

6.  I did use current editions of both the Shon Harris and Mike Chapple texts and practice exams for preparation.  I guess that's why I was a bit surprised at the nature of the questions.  Practice exam questions from both books were for the most part more oriented toward straightforward domain knowledge demonstration.”

Great advice— SLOW DOWN, everybody. And remember that you can’t fail until you’re done. Good luck to you all!

One of the best pieces of advice I have found in a long, long time:

Saw this on reddit recently:

“So, to your primary question, during those best 90 minutes of my exam - I passed at 100Q at 90 minutes - this was what I'd written on my dry-erase board and what I focused on:

• YOU ARE A RISK ADVISOR/CEO – think like one.

• Do NOT fix things (unless asked to do so, or unless those are the only answer options)

• Think END GAME

• Read EACH question 3x and then THINK before responding

This said, during my last two weeks, I did a high-level but comprehensive review of notes from ALL domains, and I particularly focused on making sure I knew and understood processes like RMF, SDLC, IR, BCP/DRP, etc. I took several 100-125 question practice exams during the last 10 days and used feedback from those exams to further hone the things I needed to focus on prior to my exam. Good luck and all the best as you make final preps for your exam!”

https://www.reddit.com/r/cissp/comments/i1eshf/exam_tips/fzx8qth/

Another bit of feedback about CISSP....

From another former student, just received yesterday:

“ I passed the CISSP earlier this evening, with much thanks owed to you! At 150 questions.

I didn’t interact much in class but paid a ton of attention and also rewatched the recordings over again. And also bought and read your book, along with Boson and the mike chappel practice tests. I felt that the class paired with the student guide prepared me the best, and the boson was a decent approximation for the questions but also not so much... I read your book in the two days before the exam and it helped solidify my mindset as well. 

As for the test, there were some bizarrely worded questions there for sure. I assume the test is slightly different for everyone, but for me there were MAYBE 10 questions that I would deem ‘technical’, and I may very well have got them all wrong, yet here I am on the other side! I am more of a big picture person in my role at work and I think that helped.”

Awesome news! Thanks so much for the feedback— great stuff, and congrats.

Recent CISSP Feedback

Got a note from a former student who tells us:

“ I sat for the exam this morning and I provisionally passed!!

This test was one of the hardest, most interesting exams I have ever taken.  It really does test your conceptual knowledge, as well as how you handle different situations at different levels.  There were some items on the exam that I was able to remember using your "Foot stomps" which really helped drill those concepts into my brain.

The best advice I can give is to just be confident that you know the material, and read the question, read the answers, then read the question again, and if you feel like you still cannot eliminate an answer or two....read the question again!  The questions are really not there to "trick" you.”

Really well said, and extremely useful. Thanks to Daniel Hill for sharing, and a big congratulations!

And More CISSP Feedback

Another of my recent students recently took the test, and had a hard time with it. Here’s some personal insight:

”….unfortunately I did not pass my CISSP exam taken last Friday 30th Jan.

I received:

6 domain "near proficiency level" 

2 domains "below proficiency level".

My main sources were:

- Official online self-paced training course;

- CISSP official study guide 2018;

- CISSP official practice tests (totally not useful);

- Kelly Handerhan’s video on Cybrary.

Exam was very strange. 

I was not prepared as in other my successfully certifications (itil expert, prince2 pract, cobit etc etc) where my score was always much higher than the minimum required to pass, but I think that even if I had studied more, not much would have changed (i.e. cissp exam not passed).

Questions were using terminology not used in official materials.

Sometimes I was not able to understand the real meaning of the question.

I noticed that after 100 questions, they become more difficult and longer, long time to read the question and answers and then I was stopped after 180 minutes at around 120/130 questions and I was sure to have not passed the exam.

After question number 100 my hope was to be stopped since exam did not seem to me so bad.”

Sad to hear, and I’m hoping the experience was not too discouraging. Best of luck to everyone studying at the moment, and those who are going to take the test.

More CISSP Exam Feedback

One of my recent students, Buddy Lott, shared some of his feedback about his recent exam experience. Thanks, Buddy!

”

I got to question 99 in about 1.5 to 2 hours. Was settling in for another 20 or 30 questions with plenty of time. I don’t think I had more than 5 more questions  when I got the “Test over” screen.  It scared the crap out of me. I was sure I had failed.   I don’t know exactly how many questions I had to answer. Then I had to wait for the check out procedures to get the results and discovered I had passed. It felt like forever.

I felt like the test was pretty challenging. I have no idea which questions I got the right or wrong but lots of the questions I felt had answers that were very similar or the correct answer depended on how much you read into the question. I had to make a focused effort to not read too much into the question while making sure I was paying attention to the details that were there.

Plus … I had to make sure I answered some of the questions based on the the book/class and not what my experience is/was.

Thanks again.

Leslie Lott

buddy_lott@outlook.com

www.linkedin.com/in/leslielott/”

Recent CISSP Feedback

Mary Pat Esposito, a former student, recently passed the CISSP, and had this to say:

“I took the test yesterday and passed! 😉

Here’s the advice that helped me the most…

• [Ben’s] “footstomps” helped filter the minutia out of the study guide. No RAID questions. Phew!

• Kelly [Handerhan]’s video. The link was provided in the chat. She recommended selecting responses from a management perspective not a practitioner perspective.

• Read the responses backward, forward, read the question over and over. You can’t go back so be sure you’ve taken the time to understand the question and the options"

Great info, Mary Pat— thanks! Congrats to you, and good luck to everyone taking the exam soon.

RECENT CISSP CAT EXAM NOTES

Got an email from a recent former student...the kind of email I really enjoy:

"Hi Ben,I wanted to let you know that I took my test yesterday and passed at 100 questions :D

- After our class, I studied using mostly the Boson practice exams (reading the explanation for EVERY question, failed or passed).

- After that I bounced back and forth between Boson random exams, the updated Sunflower guide, and the 11th Hour book (which was great for last-minute cramming, the last 2 days leading up to the exam).  I also watched Kelly Handerhan's CISSP prep videos at Cybrary prior to our class, and various other YouTube videos (Larry Gleenblatt's CISSP exam tips were helpful) here and there.

- I studied for about 2-3 hours a day, every day, for 4 weeks total (taking 1.5 weeks off for vacation).

- I was 100% certain that I was going to fail while taking the exam.  I was so sure of it that I considered just picking the same letter answer over and over to end the test and GTFO at around 80 questions.  Glad I didn't.

- I took my time reading and re-reading each question and answer so many times that I thought I was going to shoot myself in the foot with the time of the exam.   I had about 30min left at 100 questions.

Thank you for all of your wisdom and guidance during our class.  I feel that it helped a lot and set a good expectation for the exam and framework of where to study. It helped me realize my weak areas so I knew where to focus.  Although, the test has a funny way of making you feel that you're completely unprepared while you're actually taking it. :)"

CISSP CAT Format Feedback, Part 2

A second former student has reached out with some feedback...he passed, as well! Smart class, that.

Here's what he had to say (and he says he's glad to answer questions about the experience, too, and will be checking the blog Comments, so feel free to chime in):

"Since you probably haven't gotten much feedback about the CAT yet, I thought I would provide you with my preparation strategy and exam experience.

Here were the study materials I used and their usefulness (in no particular order):

Classroom notes - 10/10 - This is where I began my studying and it helped me tailor my studying to topics I was unfamiliar with.

The Official CBK CISSP text - 1/10 - I used it during class for subjects I had absolutely no familiarity with, but in general, there is too much information to internalize and lot of rabbit holes that the exam will simply not ask about. Not to mention it's unbearably dry.

Eric Conrad's 11th Hour CISSP Study Guide - 9/10 - Effectively a condensed version of the most important CISSP topics. There were a few areas that may require additional reading (i.e. RMFs) but in general, this is an excellent text reference.

Kelly Handerhan's Cybrary video series - 10/10 - This was by far the most useful resource I used. If I had the time, I would have watched the full series twice, taking copious notes. She also offers an excellent bit of advice about approaching the exam with a managerial mindset, rather than a troubleshooting or technical one.

Phil Martin's Simple CISSP - 10/10 - I found this book on Audible and listened to it during my commutes. The author narrates in a very slow, deliberate, and clear Texan drawl, clearly explaining even some of the most difficult subjects.

Sybex Test Questions - 5/10 - Compared to the actual exam, the practice questions in the Sybex bank are so-so. Many of them ask about details the exam couldn't care less about; many more of them are simply too easy and direct. (For example, the exam will never phrase a question such as "blah blah blah describes which security control/process"). There aren't enough "which of these is the BEST/MOST accurate," which is the entirety of the exam.

Transcender Test Questions - 7/10 - This bank contains many more of the BEST/MOST accurate style questions, but still not enough to truly simulate the exam.  Fun fact: if you purchase the bank from Transcender, six months of access is $160, if you buy it through Cybrary (via the Kelly Handerhan videos, which are free), access is only $40. That's a useful bit of knowledge for the financially-minded."

Great stuff to know, and really glad he offered to share.