First Attempt
After my 3rd week in the data school and only a few days on Alteryx training I was tasked with completing the Alteryx Core Certification. In order to pass you need 80% on an 80 question exam, on my first try I got 72% so obviously I did not pass. While this was initially disappointing I knew exactly where I went wrong and it was a common theme amongst our cohort, time management. I found myself having only 7 minuities left to answer 8 questions including 2 practical's so naturally I had to guess a lot towards the end.
Room to improve
When it came to the next week I was keen to retake, as I felt I knew the tools well enough and that I just needed to improve my exam pace. Taking the Alteryx core certification for the second time felt completely different because I wasn't taken by surprise by any of the question types or by the way the questions were being asked. Even if you do not feel more prepared for your second core attempt I am sure you will improve as you will move from question to question much quicker and you will be sure to get a couple of repeat questions. So if you took 1 or 2 minutes to google a question last time, you will be able to answer that in only a few seconds this time.
Another piece of preparation that played a part in my core retake was the interactive lessons on the Alteryx website. These lessons not only teach you about each tool to give you a better understanding, but they also teach you very specific use details or tips for each of these tools. These specific nuggets of information are very valuable in the core certification because these are the weird type of specific question that they love to ask you. In the exam knowing how to use each tool isn't enough because the questions are rarely as easy as, 'what would you use this tool for'. Instead you are expected to know each of these tools in-depth, meaning you need to know the configuration window like the back of your own hand, I found the Interactive lessons to be very helpful in achieving this.
Use this link to complete the Interactive lessons for each tool on the core certification (once you get to the part with all of the tools, you can click on each one to complete the interactive lessons) https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Exam-Prep/Interactive-Core-Cert-Prep-Guide/ta-p/401574
This link has all interactive lessons, but only the ones marked CORE will be needed for this certification, https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Interactive-Lessons/tkb-p/interactive-lessons
Second Time Success
A week after my first attempt, I retook my Alteryx Core Certification and got 92%, a massive jump from my first 72% and I believe the main reason for this was simply having that experience the second time around. I didn't have to rush guess the last 7 questions this time which made a massive difference. If you do not pass on your second run at it, don't sweat, with each and every attempt you have you will be increasing your experience and improving your chances for next time. Just try not to be to0 hard on yourself, everyone at the data school has different strengths and weaknesses and you have plenty of time to get the exam done.