You’ve decided it’s time. You’re going to take the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Exam and accelerate your career.
It’s a good move. The CIA is the “gold standard” of internal auditing, an essential credential for clients and employers who demand the strictest internal controls to maintain compliance in a dizzying business climate.
The CIA is in demand and highly respected — with the salary and job opportunities to show for it.
Study tips to pass the CIA Exam
The CIA Exam is a rigorous test that, once passed, demonstrates your competence and skills. You want to get it done quickly and efficiently, so you must make the most of your study time. Try these CIA Exam tips, and you’ll be on the way to new heights in career success.
Create a study schedule — and stick to it
Launch the first of the CIA Exam study tips by considering how much free time you have every week and how much more you can create. Like great writers and virtuoso musicians, schedule specific times for devoting yourself to your craft.
Then, be your own taskmaster. Stick to the schedule, even when friends call for happy hour.
Your schedule should also include a CIA study plan — a timeline for mastering every subject. Check your progress regularly. If you’re falling behind, figure out why and adjust your plan accordingly.
Remember that your schedule and plan aren’t carved in stone. If you need more time to master a tricky topic, take it. Don’t feel obligated to neglect work or skip important family celebrations. If your time is squeezed, make adjustments. The important thing is to maintain a plan that’s flexible enough to let you meet life’s daily demands but keeps you on course toward your goal.
Take short breaks
All-nighters might have helped in college, but the stakes are higher now. You must retain your new knowledge while keeping yourself fresh for work and family obligations. Long study hours are exhausting and waste time by turning your brain into a sieve that drains crucial knowledge.
Instead, break up your study time into manageable chunks throughout the day. For instance, study for an hour and take a 15- to 30-minute break. Then, take a quiz on the topic you were studying, and return to another hour of study and review. Breaking your studies into these two-hour blocks will promote long-term retention of your new knowledge.
Practice using exam prep software
You’ve probably been in this situation. You ran around your neighborhood to train for a 5K or rehearsed a big presentation in your home office until you had it down cold. You were full of confidence – until you stepped into the unfamiliar setting of the real thing. Disoriented and unsettled, you felt unprepared and maybe didn’t get off to a strong start.
The same thing can happen with the CIA Exam, but fortunately, exam prep software lets you simulate the experience in advance. Becoming familiar with the test format helps relieve exam-day stress. Plus, familiarity with the exam interface will save you valuable time on exam day. Surgent CIA Review provides unlimited practice exams to help you pass the CIA Exam.
Make use of idle time
Your schedule instills the discipline to sit down at predetermined times when the house is quiet, and your studies can get your full attention.
But life is full of moments when you’re on the go, plans fall through, or you’re forced to wait. Every little bit of learning helps, so why not make every minute of your CIA study plan count? For students on the go or at home, Surgent CIA Exam Review materials give you the flexibility to study whenever an opportunity appears.
Plus Surgent CIA Exam Review’s mobile app syncs with your course progress. Stay on track no matter how and where you decide to study.
Get the help you need
Online and app-based learning has done wonders for studying efficiently, constantly testing your knowledge and staying on schedule.
However, there are times when you need an actual human – someone who can explain concepts that still evade you, or a coach to keep you on schedule and motivated to continue.
As you begin your studies, find your tribe. Seek out coworkers or search online for others studying for the CIA Exam, and build your support group for commiseration and encouragement. It also helps to find a mentor who is a CIA. They’ve been through the process. They can help you understand what to expect and provide the voice of experience as you go through your journey.
Lean on family and friends for support
Your family and friends know and should understand that you are taking on a big responsibility, but that’s no reason to isolate yourself in a locked room for months or years until the day you pass the exam.
Instead, bring them into the fold — schedule study sessions with friends pursuing professional credentials or postgraduate degrees. Plan family study time as often as possible, sitting at the table with your kids while they do their homework. Consider the great example you’re setting about lifelong learning and setting goals. If your spouse has a hobby or project to work on, cart your mobile device and study materials to their woodshop, sewing room, office, or garden, so you can both do what needs to be done but still be together.
Keep long-term goals in mind
Crazy about cat memes? Gaga for gaming? Bonkers for binging?
You see where this is going. When you allow distractions to clutter the way, your CIA Exam study plan will derail. Your plan is the roadmap to the finish line of passing the CIA Exam. Sticking to it means giving up the temporary pleasures of your life. Those few minutes every night of stopping to scroll through social media add up to hours of lost study time.
It’s hard to relinquish our guilty pleasures but keep the rewards in mind. Pressing “Play Next” on another episode of the latest HBO drama won’t get you any closer to a promotion, a raise, a dream job of a better life for you and your family.
Keep the big picture in mind, and acknowledge that this picture doesn’t allow the momentary entertainment that keeps you from studying.
Surgent can help craft your CIA Exam study plan
You have the CIA Exam study plan. You have the support. You have the discipline. These CIA Exam tips converge to help you pass the CIA Exam, but one more element is crucial to success – the right exam prep course.
The best exam maximizes your time, keeps you on track, adapts to your learning style and timeline, and vastly boosts your chance of passing. Surgent CIA Exam Review is your ace in the hole for customized, effortless study. Consider these best-in-class features:
- A.S.A.P.® Technology: Adaptive learning uses AI to assess what you know and what you need to know. Instead of telling you to study units that you have already mastered, Surgent CIA Exam Review directs you to spend your time studying the topics where you’re weakest. It’s the fastest way to prepare for the CIA Exam.
- ReadySCORE™: After all your time spent studying, you don’t want to misjudge your readiness for the exam. Too soon, and you could fail a section. Too late, and you’ve wasted time. ReadySCORE pinpoints the precise time to schedule the exam by predicting your likely score if you were to sit for the test that day.
- Daily Surge: When you sit down to study, you don’t want to waste precious time trying to get your bearings and deciding what to explore next. Daily Surge pops up every time you log in, suggesting the topics you must cover.
- MyMCQ™: Multiple-choice practice questions are an invaluable learning tool. Surgent’s MyMCQ maximizes your time by making you stretch to learn more challenging concepts with each round.
- Full access until you pass: Surgent CIA Review materials, including free content and software updates, are always available.
- Unlimited practice exams: Every Surgent CIA Review package comes with unlimited practice exams.
- 100% pass guarantee: Surgent’s 96% pass rate means that you are almost sure to pass, but you get peace of mind knowing that you don’t lose your prep course investment if something goes wrong.
Set yourself up for CIA Exam success
The decision to pursue a certified internal auditor credential marks a turning point in your career, but from there, it takes diligence to keep moving in the right direction. First, these CIA Exam tips build the confidence you need to stay on track and feel the gratification that comes with making measurable progress.
Next, choosing the right exam prep course gives you a head start. Surgent CIA Exam Review employs technology that makes productive use of your study time. You get there 73% faster than you would with other courses by studying only the things you need to learn. Free automated updates ensure you learn the most relevant, up-to-date content. Course instructors are distinguished professionals with expertise in education.
It all adds to a personalized learning experience that gets you to and through the test in record time. You’ll be ready for the next turning point, ready for career opportunities open to the elite holders of the CIA certification.