The Spring CAE Exam Period is Next Week!
Hello, World!
If you are taking the May CAE Exam, you probably have a lot of nervous energy this week. You worry about a lot of things right before the exam, like “Did I study enough?” “Did I study TOO much?” “I didn’t finish the reading . . . “ “Will I remember everything?” What about the MATH QUESTIONS??”
I want to assure you: Fear Not. You will do a great job. You have studied. You have done practice questions. You have talked to people about the content to make sure you understand it. You have scheduled your exam and you know what to do at the testing site or in your office if you are taking it online. You are ready.
We don’t know what the pass score will be because a lot of work goes on in the background post-exam to determine what the score will be. So I want to assure you that win, lose, or draw, you are already a success.
You have done something most people in our profession have never even attempted: You became a CAE Candidate. You did the work, and now you are taking the exam. Bravo and congratulations! The amount of work and effort it took to get to the point of taking the exam is a valuable experience and you have given yourself the gift of professional development.
Whatever your score is, you have learned new information and put current knowledge into a broader context. You have made new connections through your study group or course. You have grown as a nonprofit management professional. Your world got a lot bigger.
Most importantly, you know that nonprofit management is a profession with a unique body of knowledge and its own skill set. Next time your family asks, “what is it exactly you do for a living?” you can now tell them in excruciating detail.
What we do is important. What nonprofits of all types bring to society is invaluable. What our profession represents is the best in us as human beings. And you are part of that. Be proud of your profession and your accomplishment. You are a CAE Candidate and you are taking the exam. But you are doing so much more: you are investing in yourself, the profession, and the future of the world. Model that for others and show them what can be accomplished.
