Failed 688

billyr2009

Hi all

As the subject says I didn't pass, I finished with a 688. My domains from weakest to strongest were the following.

Legal
Sds
Telecomm
Ops sec
Ac
Bcp drp
Isg and rm
Physical sec
Crypto

I got tripped up with the first 90 questions as I was 3 hours in with 160 questions left for the remaining 3 hours to go. I read ec 2nd edition and went shon Harris 6 Ed for things I was confused on. And read 11th hour cover to cover last week. How do you all think I should proceed and when to retake? Thanks in advance

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Comments

LionelTeo

1) Take a highlighter and re-read the entire books again, highlight words that will make you remember better. Rereading the book with a highlighter also allows you to cover things you could had miss
2) Forget about CCCure, you had done it too much until you had know the correct answer without even reading the question. The correct way to use CCCure is to read the question as if you had never seen it before and try to rotate in a way that you will 'forget' the question
3) Grab a GIAC GISP practice test of 129 USD once you are ready to re-assess yourself, if you can hit 70% (or even 65%), you can consider yourself ready for the exam
4) Review the weakest domain taken from GIAC GISP score report. Reread that domain again.

billyr2009

Thanks for the advice. I'm kind of debating whether to re-read the Eric Conrad or go with he Shon Harris. Shon Harris is the harder read but its a wealth of knowledge even if too much.

cissper

What sources did you use for practice questions / exams? How did you score in them?

billyr2009

The sources I had used were the following.

Read full eric conrad 2nd edition
Read through shon Harris aio end of chapter of summary and used as reference
Cccure questions
Shon Harris total tester software questions
Shon Harris mp3s on ride to work although I never finished these

I did take a full 2 weeks off where my studying leveled off due to family being in town, but I was hitting it hard again for the last 9-10 days before the exam. I feel my pace of the exam was off for the first 3 hours because I got through only 90 questions. I was reading each question twice because it had been mentioned to do that. I may have been in a shock because these questions were not what I was anticipating which was probably why I was taking my time in the first 3 hours of the exam. The last 3 hours I powered through and finished the exam with a minute and a half left. I only had the chance to review one question. I had flagged a lot of questions that I wasn't 100% sure of, which to me felt like a lot

LionelTeo

billyr2009 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I'm kind of debating whether to re-read the Eric Conrad or go with he Shon Harris. Shon Harris is the harder read but its a wealth of knowledge even if too much.

I did not buy the Shon Harris guide for the exam, I read the official book and Eric Conrad Study Guide; I personally felt Eric Conrad guide is sufficient enough for the exam along with the GISP experience; I also took studiscope as well, studiscope isn't really worth it. Do you know Eric Conrad also had a audio go through online along with a really simple quiz?(Seems they had changed links, its at Elsevier: conrad: CISSP Study Guide Certification)

voodoo26

Addition to your study material, i strongly recommend you to read Official (ISC)2 Guide to CISSP and keep a copy of CIB.

keremozt

Sad to see you fail with just 12 points.

I follow just the same approach you followed, that is why your post made me concerned also. I loved studying through EC books because you read them fast and get the essentials, however..When I took several different tests from different sources, I understood that some resource such as the official guide or AIO must be FULLY read and understood, even though it is annoying.

Try to look from a positive angle, you just need 12 more points to succeed next time and the domains you are weakest seem to be the easiest to study.

Good luck

sojourn

Buy the Kindle version of the Sybex 6th edition by Darril Gibson. It's a good inbetween between Eric Conrad and Shon Harris.

How many of your own notes did you write? Either re-writing notes into summaries, or creating your own flash cards. In my opinion reading isn't enough to retain the content, unless you are lucky and have a photographic memory or similar.

Jonnyg

sojourn wrote: »

Buy the Kindle version of the Sybex 6th edition by Darril Gibson. It's a good inbetween between Eric Conrad and Shon Harris.

How many of your own notes did you write? Either re-writing notes into summaries, or creating your own flash cards. In my opinion reading isn't enough to retain the content, unless you are lucky and have a photographic memory or similar.

I agree. I create note cards for every exam I attempt and they are always the most useful of any tool that I use. The books are great, but the note cards are what help me retain the knowledge.

LionelHutz32

billyr2009 wrote: »

The sources I had used were the following.

Read full eric conrad 2nd edition
Read through shon Harris aio end of chapter of summary and used as reference
Cccure questions
Shon Harris total tester software questions
Shon Harris mp3s on ride to work although I never finished these

I did take a full 2 weeks off where my studying leveled off due to family being in town, but I was hitting it hard again for the last 9-10 days before the exam. I feel my pace of the exam was off for the first 3 hours because I got through only 90 questions. I was reading each question twice because it had been mentioned to do that. I may have been in a shock because these questions were not what I was anticipating which was probably why I was taking my time in the first 3 hours of the exam. The last 3 hours I powered through and finished the exam with a minute and a half left. I only had the chance to review one question. I had flagged a lot of questions that I wasn't 100% sure of, which to me felt like a lot

Sorry to hear that billyr2009, hopefully you'll get it next time.
When you say ...."I may have been in a shock because these questions were not what I was anticipating" ....do you mean the style/type of questions you were being asked?

I would of thought that after doing all the Shon Harris/Cccure questions in your study that you would of had a good idea of the style of questions that could come up in the exam ...were they really that different to the AIO/Cccure questions?

JoJoCal19

LionelHutz32 wrote: »

Sorry to hear that billyr2009, hopefully you'll get it next time.
When you say ...."I may have been in a shock because these questions were not what I was anticipating" ....do you mean the style/type of questions you were being asked?

I would of thought that after doing all the Shon Harris/Cccure questions in your study that you would of had a good idea of the style of questions that could come up in the exam ...were they really that different to the AIO/Cccure questions?

I passed the CISSP last September and the questions on the exam were nothing like CCCure/AIO/Transcender that I used. The questions really are straightforward and at a high level. I can't really recall any technical questions. Most of my questions I had to choose the best answer from like two of the answer choices. I learned that from the SANS CISSP webcast. I HIGHLY recommend people watch that.

GeneC

I have tried searching for the SANS CISSP Webcast but it seems to be no longer available. Does anyone have a site where it can be viewed?

Thanks,
Gene

Grafixx01

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

I passed the CISSP last September and the questions on the exam were nothing like CCCure/AIO/Transcender that I used. The questions really are straightforward and at a high level. I can't really recall any technical questions. Most of my questions I had to choose the best answer from like two of the answer choices. I learned that from the SANS CISSP webcast. I HIGHLY recommend people watch that.

Sorry Billy about your failure. It stinks and can be very demotivating (if that's a word). However, keep your head up man, study more and you should be fine. I used the following ot pass:

1. Eric Conrad 2nd Edition
2. Shon Harris AIO 6th Edition
3. Shon Harris CD in the book
4. Eric Conrad 11th hour for the last week before taking the exam *I used NOTHING ELSE during this week, JUST this book*
5. McGraw Hill Website for CISSP questions.

I found that doing the questions, I would consistently get like 70%ish on them. When I read the EC 11th Hour, it refreshed the topics, even though I only had gotten 46% of the way through by the time I sat for the exam (I have it on a kindle). I got frustrated with the exam due to time and the questions, but I just pushed through. Did my walk of shame, but surprisingly, I found that I had passed although I figured I had failed.

sny

This is Scary, I have my exam in a Month not sure what extra we can do apart from reading diligently and doing practice exams ....

billyr2009

@sny Don't be afraid study hard and do your best. I think what hampered me the most was that I spent so much time in the first few hours and kind of let myself go slower than I should hae. Which made me rush through the last part of the exam. If you study and know the concepts and pace yourself while in the exam I think you will be fine. After leaving the exam, I thought I would have gotten in the 500s so I wasn't surprised I failed I was surprised I was only 12 points off. The 2 right answers is key to the exam and picking the right answer is the key to passing. I would often find on the exam double guessing myself on which is more correct.

@GeneC It does appear the SANS webcast is unavailable. I too ws looking for it last week but found out SANS took out all videos from 2012.

@Jonnyg @sojourn - I have some notecards but they are from online sources. I can create my own also to hopefully help reinforce what may be missing.

@LionalHutz - Practice questions prepared me for the question types, just the 2 right answers threw me off. Liek I said its all coming down to picking the best answer which will help me get over the hill.

I am starting to re-read one of my weakest domain in Shon Harris which is Telecommunicationand Network Security. I may look into tthe Sybex book also as it is an easier read than Shon Harris. I need to keep up on taking practice questions too so I am looking to purchase teh GISP practice exam also. I see some peoplehave not favored Studiscope, is Transcender any good?

Grafixx01

@billy,

I have been told by colleagues who have their CISSP that the "CISSP for Dummies" was an excellent resource for them and when they needed more clarification on a topic, would then go to the Shon Harris book.

BTW... Please DO NOT take that suggestion as an insult to your intelligence either. I read some of that CISSP for Dummies and it seems to just put it in terms like the Eric Conrad book opens with on his and his colleagues intentions.

Jonnyg

Grafixx01 wrote: »

@billy,

I have been told by colleagues who have their CISSP that the "CISSP for Dummies" was an excellent resource for them and when they needed more clarification on a topic, would then go to the Shon Harris book.

BTW... Please DO NOT take that suggestion as an insult to your intelligence either. I read some of that CISSP for Dummies and it seems to just put it in terms like the Eric Conrad book opens with on his and his colleagues intentions.

It's just a title. I recommend that book to everyone who is preparing for the CISSP exam. It is a great resource.

Grafixx01

Jonnyg wrote: »

It's just a title. I recommend that book to everyone who is preparing for the CISSP exam. It is a great resource.

johnny,

I know it's just a title, but some people get offended by it when you suggest it.

JoJoCal19

It's a shame if SANS took out the CISSP webcasts.

Heres the gist of it though:

1. Select the BEST answer. Usually like two easily identified as wrong, then two that are both good, so pick the best or most correct one.

2. Eliminate the FLUFF and DISTRACTORS. The questions that have long paragraph(s) have a lot of fluff, and a lot of distractors. Info you dont need. Usually the last sentence will be what they are asking for.

3. Select the LEAST WORST answer. Some questions are the opposite of finding the best answer and you need to select the answer that sucks the least (For example lets say you have 4 different residual risks left after implementing a solution. If you had to have one left over, which one would have the least impact).

4. Think like a risk adverse manager. The questions are rather high level. Don't overthink it. DO NOT add stuff to the questions. What they are asking is what they are asking.

billyr2009

Thanks Graffix. I am in no way offended

I would read any book if it helps me pass the exam. I have Shon Harris 6th ed, Eric Conrad 2nd ed, Eric Conrad 11th hour. I do have the CISSP for dummies from the library. I am wondering which to make as my main source of study. See below.

1) I think I am going to go with Read my weakest domains Telecommunications, Software dev sec, and Legal with Shon Harris, and re reading either the CISSP for dummies, Sybex 6th edition, or Official guide by ISC2. Tough choice to pick one of the 3 as the main book. I think during my week before the exam I re read the 11th hour.

2) Get some more questions. Transcender practice questions , GISP practice seem to be viable options as I already have Shon Harris Total Tester software and CCCure practice questions and gone through 1100 or so CCCure questions already. Is one really better than the other? Transcender or GISP?

3) Create flash cards - I think this will help a lot and is something I missed. I used flash cards but they were not mine they were online flash cards. Anyone know a good flash card creator software?

Grafixx01

I didn't focus too much on the questions. I did probably about 600 of them just to see how they would be worded. All in all, I strongly believe that you need to know the concepts that are in the book, regardless of which book you decide to go with, you must understand them to pass. Doing the questions, in my opinion, only will show you how you may see them on the exam. NOTHING is a substitute for knowing the materials!

emerald_octane

billyr2009 wrote: »

3) Create flash cards - I think this will help a lot and is something I missed. I used flash cards but they were not mine they were online flash cards. Anyone know a good flash card creator software?

If you're on a Mac MentalCase is the only way to go, especially if you have an IOS device for syncing. It handled my 3000 question bank. IMO, the flash cards are the only way I could gauge my readiness.

billyr2009

Thanks for the tips guys. I do have another question. How long do you think I should wait to retake it? I am in an area where teh pearson vue spots close up rather quickly. May 23, May 30, June 5? Around there?

LionelTeo

billyr2009 wrote: »

2) Get some more questions. Transcender practice questions , GISP practice seem to be viable options as I already have Shon Harris Total Tester software and CCCure practice questions and gone through 1100 or so CCCure questions already. Is one really better than the other? Transcender or GISP?

I had not taken Transcender before, I had taken Conrad, CCCure, Studiscope and GISP, and I will said GISP is the closest to the actual exam that you can get in terms of scenario base question. So far on this forum there are 3 people who had passed the GISP had also passed CISSP.

Grafixx01

@billy,

I believe that ISC2 has a 30 day wait period between taking the exams, if not longer so I would check that.

In all honesty though, only you will be able to figure out when you should take it again. Nobody has the ability to judge your readiness to take the exam except you. If you feel that you could be more prepared within 30 days, then schedule it when you feel it is right.

Sorry for being a 'downer' but its just the truth. I know that on most, if not close to all other IT exams, you can schedule it far out and set that date so that you KNOW to study because it will cost you more money to switch the day. However, I do not think that the CISSP exam is like that. In my opinion, you (or at least myself) went in knowing either I know the concepts, did questions (albeit not getting the 70%+ that everyone says I should be getting before attempting the exam), and hope to do good or you (I) simpy do not know and I should have rescheduled it before that.

billyr2009

Hi Folks,
I am rereading the CiSSP domains from the Sybex 6th edition.. I am averaging 80+ on the end of chapter questions. I have rescheduled my 2nd attempt for the first week of June. I really want to pass this time. On the way to work I listen to Shon Harris MP3's. I plan to finish my Sybex reading in about 9 days. I know that I must focus on my weakest areas and keep working through practice questions which I intend to more of once teh Sybex reading is done. My question is how can I best utilize my final 2 weeks of prep? Plugging away at more practice questions, focusing on weak areas, Read the 11th hour a week before exam? I really do not want to fail this again because I spend most of my free time prepping for this. I plan to take 2 practice tests beforetheexam. Probably 10 days until and 3 days before also.

Here was my test prep leading up to my first attempt

The sources I had used were the following.

Read full eric conrad 2nd edition
Read eric conrad 11th hour 10 days before exam
Read through shon Harris aio end of chapter of summary and used as reference
Cccure questions
Shon Harris total tester software questions
Shon Harris mp3s on ride to work although I never finished these

kalkan999

Third time was the charm for me. Coming SO CLOSE to passing is so challenging sometimes to overcome. To see that you are still in the game is an awesome thing indeed.

cissper

Hi Billyr,
I scribbled my notes in the 11th hour book so that I don't have to refer multiple sources during last week of prep.

I avoided test questions during Last week and just concentrated on 11th hour and my notes scribbled in it.

sny

I recently passed the CISSP. I think this exam require to go in with a plan. My plan was to target first 100 questions then take break, another 100 questions take break, last 50 questions take a break. and then final review. Target to finish the exam in 4 hours this gives you 2 hours to review and attempt left over questions. One more thing if i felt stuck on a question for more then 2 minutes i would mark it and move ahead.