Feeling Down After CISSP 1st Attempt

Dear All,

I had been preparing since June 2015. Watched Kelly Handerhan videos, read the Sybex 7th Edition guide and attempted the practice exams.
Just didn't make the mark on 31 Mar.
Trying now to patch and pick up the bits and pieces that I didn't grasp the concepts well and looking at the domains that I did poorly.
I have a colleague who started with only the Sybex 7th Edition guide since last Dec 2015 and made it on his 1st attempt recently.
Hoping to make it on the 2nd attempt but unsure when I would be ready for it.
Your kind advise will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

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NOC-Ninja

Never give up. Fail forward.

636-555-3226

Its a tough test to be sure. You aren't the first person who had difficulties with it, and you won't be the first person to fail once and succeed on the second attempt. Now that you've taken the test, you know what kind of questions are asked and how they are asked. You're 100% more informed than you were before going in blind. Use that new knowledge to tailor your studies.

Danielm7

Sounds like you're going about it the right way, pay special attention to the sections you had trouble with before. Were you close at least? Did you go back and change too many questions at the end?

JoJoCal19

Since you've already read Sybex, I'd say give Eric Conrad's CISSP Study Guide a shot. And maybe even the 11th Hour too.

Ertaz

SAM69 wrote: »

Dear All,

I had been preparing since June 2015. Watched Kelly Handerhan videos, read the Sybex 7th Edition guide and attempted the practice exams.
Just didn't make the mark on 31 Mar.
Trying now to patch and pick up the bits and pieces that I didn't grasp the concepts well and looking at the domains that I did poorly.
I have a colleague who started with only the Sybex 7th Edition guide since last Dec 2015 and made it on his 1st attempt recently.
Hoping to make it on the 2nd attempt but unsure when I would be ready for it.
Your kind advise will be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Key thing is not to get down on yourself. It's a stumbling block. You either win or you learn. You have what the paper says you need to review, hit it hard and go over it till you feel you can teach it.

Andy.Wallace

I am sure it will be 2nd time lucky. I have studied the say material as you and have the exam in a few weeks. Any advice?

coffeeisgood

SAM69 wrote: »

and attempted the practice exams.

when you stated you attempted the practice exams, did you only use the Sybex 7th edition questions?

I find those rather easy & do not really test the "concepts"... I am enjoying the CCCure test engine questions & find them much more of a challenge. After 400 some questions, I have a report card of areas I am weak in & have focused more of my studying there.

I really hope to pass on the 1st attempt but would not give up if I failed round 1.... keep your head up.

kiki162

Add Transcender to your studies. I think that was the key for me to passing the exam.

danny069

I'd ask your colleague some questions if you do have them, but don't give up you'll get it the second time.

Robicus

Have you tried the McGraw-Hill test questions? I personally find these are the best: McGraw-Hill Education | CISSP Practice Exams.

Also, keep your head up! The feeling of victory after your second attempt will be even more sweet.

wiggidywack

I'll second the CCCure online exams, and do them until you complete all the questions, and until you're scoring in the upper 80's to 90's on them at least, and consistently. Do the questions you previously got wrong, and understand *why* you're getting them wrong. If you don't get it, google it. If you still don't understand, you need to figure out where the disconnect is. That's why this exam is meant for people who have quite a few years experience, and are ready for a management level exam, because that is the intended target. And I think that's where a lot of knowledge comes from, is peoples past experience in the information security/IT field.
With all that said, I would also say keep reading, studying, and taking notes. Don't wouldn't recommend taking more than a day or two off in a row because you need to continuously be feeding this information to yourself; eat, sleep, live CISSP.

Good luck.

g33k3r

When I took the exam, there were some who didn't pass. Most of them passed on their second attempt. Hang in there!

SAM69

Thank you all for the thoughts and encouragement. The advice were priceless and instrumental. Appreciate all very much

havoc64

Hey Sam69, yo never mentioned how much experience you have in IT Security?

As for advice, I can only say what has been said...the CISSP exam is not a memorization or definition exam. I see some who fail the CISSP who have other certifications. The CISSP exam is more than a Factual exam, it's an Understanding the concept exam. Seen it time and time again in these forums....it's a Managerial exam.

When taking the test, do not read the questions in the wrong frame of mind, don't argue with the question. Determine what the question wants and then give it the best answer of what it provided. Don't think like a technician, think like a manager.

READ THE QUESTION LAST! This is what I do and I preach this over and over...Read the answers first, then read the question. In the question look at the Adverbs and Adjectives and descriptive words, i.e. Physical, Administrative, Best, Most Likely, Least, Worst. Defining these will eliminate one or more of the possible answers leaving you with fewer possible answers.

And most importantly, There is no single place to read or garner all the knowledge you need for this test. You will need experience in the field of Information Assurance (Information Security) and you will have to study many different sources.

If you look at this forum for the "CISSP Passed" threads you will see a lot of study questions and material mentioned. Additionally it has been mentioned SEVERAL times that there are ZERO question banks that are just like the test exam. The practice exams only test your knowledge and not your understanding of all the material you need to know to pass the CISSP exam. The CISSPcertification is more of a Managerial Certification rather than a Technical..hence the stringent prerequisites. With all that being said, below is my list of study material.

Books and study Material in order of my purchase and reading.

(ISC)2 Official CBK - Hardest book I have ever read, so much fluff..
CISSP Study Guide, 2E by Eric Conrad
CISSP Study Guide 11th Hour by Eric Conrad
**CCCure Practice Exam
CCCure Review Notes
**Transcender Practice Exams
Sunflower Review Notes
**(ISC)2 Official Study Guide 7th Edition - Sybex
**Cybrary CISSP videos and MP3s.
**Combined Notes from this forum.
**Quizlet (ISC)2 Official Flash Cards (These are free and are the exact same flash cards they gave us at the class)
**Official (ISC)2 Traning Guide CISSP CBK - Official Training Guide from the class.

I read them all, cover to cover. The ones with the ** are what I think were most beneficial to my passing the exam. These along with the class, is what I believe helped me pass the exam. I took the official (ISC)2 Class November 2-7th, taught by Buzz Murphy from Training Camp. I took the exam on the 7th of November. It took me 4 hours to get through the first pass and an additional 44 minutes to go over the 40 flagged questions, if which I changed 11 of them.

There are a great many people who think they can read the Shon Harris book and pass the test. Maybe they can, but I don't recommend it. The majority of people who pass the test use several different resources and have years of experience.

Hope this helps, and good luck on the re-test.
Peace!

zapk

havoc64 -good advice that I will use for my 3rd attempt. Just wish I know how to be a better test taker. answer first approach does not work for me - I use the eliminate wrong answers first. I need to live, eat, breath, drink CISSP.

AverageJoe

I think it's important to not wait too long before re-testing. Some folks wait so long that they really have to start their studying from scratch... makes it much harder. Set a date, schedule the test, and keep refining your knowledge and understanding.

Good luck!

zcamero

I would get right back on it and start studying. I took it twice with a 696 the first time which was a heart breaker. I feel that I knew the material well, but I wasn't prepared for the ISC2 type of questions the first go around. The study plan the second time was as many questions as I could find and personally I thought Shon Harris's questions were the closest to the exam.

greeneon

havoc64 wrote: »

Hey Sam69, yo never mentioned how much experience you have in IT Security?

As for advice, I can only say what has been said...the CISSP exam is not a memorization or definition exam. I see some who fail the CISSP who have other certifications. The CISSP exam is more than a Factual exam, it's an Understanding the concept exam. Seen it time and time again in these forums....it's a Managerial exam.

When taking the test, do not read the questions in the wrong frame of mind, don't argue with the question. Determine what the question wants and then give it the best answer of what it provided. Don't think like a technician, think like a manager.

READ THE QUESTION LAST! This is what I do and I preach this over and over...Read the answers first, then read the question. In the question look at the Adverbs and Adjectives and descriptive words, i.e. Physical, Administrative, Best, Most Likely, Least, Worst. Defining these will eliminate one or more of the possible answers leaving you with fewer possible answers.

And most importantly, There is no single place to read or garner all the knowledge you need for this test. You will need experience in the field of Information Assurance (Information Security) and you will have to study many different sources.

If you look at this forum for the "CISSP Passed" threads you will see a lot of study questions and material mentioned. Additionally it has been mentioned SEVERAL times that there are ZERO question banks that are just like the test exam. The practice exams only test your knowledge and not your understanding of all the material you need to know to pass the CISSP exam. The CISSPcertification is more of a Managerial Certification rather than a Technical..hence the stringent prerequisites. With all that being said, below is my list of study material.

Books and study Material in order of my purchase and reading.
(ISC)2 Official CBK - Hardest book I have ever read, so much fluff..
CISSP Study Guide, 2E by Eric Conrad
CISSP Study Guide 11th Hour by Eric Conrad
**CCCure Practice Exam
CCCure Review Notes
**Transcender Practice Exams
Sunflower Review Notes
**(ISC)2 Official Study Guide 7th Edition - Sybex
**Cybrary CISSP videos and MP3s.
**Combined Notes from this forum.
**Quizlet (ISC)2 Official Flash Cards (These are free and are the exact same flash cards they gave us at the class)
**Official (ISC)2 Traning Guide CISSP CBK - Official Training Guide from the class.

I read them all, cover to cover. The ones with the ** are what I think were most beneficial to my passing the exam. These along with the class, is what I believe helped me pass the exam. I took the official (ISC)2 Class November 2-7th, taught by Buzz Murphy from Training Camp. I took the exam on the 7th of November. It took me 4 hours to get through the first pass and an additional 44 minutes to go over the 40 flagged questions, if which I changed 11 of them.

There are a great many people who think they can read the Shon Harris book and pass the test. Maybe they can, but I don't recommend it. The majority of people who pass the test use several different resources and have years of experience.

Hope this helps, and good luck on the re-test.
Peace!

Good points! I must remember this!