Cant Pass CISSP ... 686,691,695

Hello,

I am looking for guidance. I have sat for the CISSP 3 times. I have scored a 686, 691, and most recently a 695. I have utilized multiple sources for studying/practice tests. My experience includes 3 years in the US Air Force as a vulnerability scanner. Currently I am a vulnerability analyst for large corporate environment. I will reach my 5 yr experience mark next February. I understand that experience plays a large roll although I am very close to passing. I am now required to wait 180 days until I retest. I am looking into pursing CISM while I wait for the 180 days to pass. Any advise or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments

Clm

Which materials did you use?

How i passed my CISSP . I got the old kelly handerhan vids in mp3 form and i listende to them everyday while i drove untill i knew everything she said. Than i read the 3rd edition conrad book once cover to cover. And I used transcenders practice exams not to memorize the anwers but more to see what type of answers there looking for

TeddyBull

I utalized the CBK 4th edition, cbt nuggets, and transcender. I was scoring high 90s on 250 question practice tests before my last exam. I made flash cards to help me understand what each answer was and where it would be applicable. I spent alot of time doing this and it helped alot but not enough for a pass. I recently got the CISSP official study guide. Initially I had just the CBK. I want to make sure I pass this next time as this is getting expensive as well as frustrating. I believe my issue stem from not having a management mindset?? I will look into the Kelly Handerhan videos. Thank you!

clarkincnet

Hang in there - don't give up. Hopefully you are reading the pass threads - that's what I did to create a plan. I also devoted a large amount of time to the effort and I constantly reviewed the material that I had covered previously. I used many different resources and tools. After three attempts, you know what type of questions are there - generally speaking (painting with a broad brush) the answer that is the most technical might not be the right one. I'm not the first one to say this but you're right - you have to approach the test from a management mindset, using the technical knowledge to weed out obviously wrong choices.

You can read about my particiluar experience here (don't know if it will help): Passed the CISSP exam on 2/20/2016 – first attempt

Andy.Wallace

There is a very active study group on Facebook. I really helped my pass, lots of advice and practice questions. The group is here.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1525346961013038/

If you don't trust my link search for this group on Facebook it will take you to the same place. CISSP Exam Preparation - Study Notes and Theory

Hope this helps. It got me through the exam.

gespenstern

You are progressing, mate. Just keep doing what you are doing and you'll be there on 4th time. The exam is hard, so no surprise you aren't getting it on 1st attempt with less than 5 years of XP.

webpriestess

clarkincnet wrote: »

You can read about my particiluar experience here (don't know if it will help): Passed the CISSP exam on 2/20/2016 – first attempt

This is FANTASTIC! Thank you

Oh Teddy - I'm sorry that you've been struggling with the exam. So close too! I have not taken the exam yet. But the one thing I say is that Kelly's videos are fabulous - she really pulls everything together. I downloaded the mp3s and I listen to them in my truck when I'm driving, or when I'm outside walking. They are a nice break from my own recorded notes - when I get tired of my own voice

Keep us posted and don't give up! I wish you the best of luck, my friend!

::Claudia

TeddyBull

Thank you for the encouragement and advise everyone!!

heyooh1989

I was in your situation man. I failed my first 3 exams and just passed it recently. I scored a 550, 650, 673 and then passed. I look at it like I just finally got the right test for me (I am no genius). I hope you keep trying. You can do it! I mean you did everything right.

This worked for me:
Cybrary videos & mp3 for the car ride in and home from work.
Sybex 7th edition (reading it- even though I hate reading)
CCCure

I also saw this quote the last time I failed and it really motivated me:
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how CLOSE they were to success when they gave up."

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

coolkevin

Hope you pass it on the next one! Remember that you need to get drastic in changing things up if you want different results. Think about what you did in the past to prepare and contrast that against what people are reporting they had success with. Also, you need to be hitting the exam sims hard. This is the best indicator of if you're ready or not.

!nf0s3cure

Remember for ISC2 once you are at 700 or over, all are same. So in reality as no one knows what their final score is you are very close. Who knows I might be sitting at 700. Just the pass mark. So be assured that you are doing everything OK for the preparation but it is probably just 1 question that is causing you grief. Keep at it and you will be there. Best of luck.

E Double U

Keep up the momentum TeddyBull. You are almost there.

I passed on the 3rd attempt after changing my thinking a little bit. My former CISO told me to think about the business first (well, after safety of course). When people say think like a manager, it made me think of non-technical managers I've had that would think what is best for business. So whenever I wasn't sure of an answer, I actually chose the least technical answer or most vague because high level stuff wouldn't be too specific.

Gess

I'm certain you'll pass it on the next run, especially with 180 days to study on it.

It won't be a huge concern, but since you have Sec+ you only need 4 years of experience. You won't have to wait until February to submit your endorsement, which might not seem like much but with endorsements taking the full 6 weeks any jump you can get on it will help.

stephens316

I am just starting my studies for CISSP one thing you need to be successful is not to think like a systems admin or network admin but as a manager or director.

I have 6 different books most of them are through this forum have been listed. The Cybrary videos are good as well as a 7 day free trail of CBT nuggets many resources have been talked about use them all

Good luck

Killerkings

TeddyBull – Chin up. You cannot give up now.

I passed on my 2^nd attempt. It knocked my confidence to bits when I failed. After a few weeks, I got up dusted myself off and started again, I re-booked the exam so I had something to aim for, and started again from scratch.

I cannot stress how important it is to rebook the exam.

The problem I had was that I started prepping too early for the exam the first time around. I remember having 2 weeks left, I closed all the books and was only going through questions, which kind of left me “not in the zone”.

On the 2^nd time around I was reading and writing notes up until the day of the exam. I took a few exams to help me with my breaks during the exam and also to cover off areas that showed where I was the weakest. (Even then I was still struggling with some terminology, I guess it happens).

The amount of support on this forum is amazing and very motivating….. remember the key reason why you wanted to take this exam in the first place. Good luck..