My story

[cristinamor26]

Medical coding had been on my radar for several years, as I had been dealing with CPT and ICD-10-CM for most of my career in clerical medical office roles. When I found out my employer was willing to pay for me to take a course for it, I was ecstatic! 8 months later, I was able to take my CPC exam and pass on the first try! I was really scared to make this shift to my career as people can be quite negative about this field, especially being a newly certified coder. But I improved my LinkedIn profile, and was watching videos all the time about tips for applying to jobs as a coder, on top of applying to any coding jobs I could find. One video that I watched included an interview from a healthcare recruiting company, and he gave tips about what he looks for in resumes. So, I took the advice that he gave, made some updates to my resume, and followed him on LinkedIn. A month later, I saw his company was actually hiring for coders, so I sent my resume over to one of the recruiters. To my surprise, the recruiter liked my resume and I was able to get a contract job with that company one month after passing my test. Since this, I’ve been able to gain hi another contract job on the side, so I’ve actually been able to get two jobs since passing my test in July. I share this to let people know it’s not always easy, but there are jobs in this field and recruiters that are willing to work with you even if you’re newly certified!

 

[Pam Warren]

Thanks for sharing this. I agree, and as a hiring manager, I can say that many of the candidates that I have passed over for interviews have been simply because the resume didn't capture my interest, or there were errors or other information that I felt wasn't in the best interest of the role I was trying to fill. When hiring for a brand new coding role, almost all new coders have generally the same skill set, so often interviews happen with the candidate that presents a resume that doesn't look like everyone else's, and the job goes to the candidate who is either the best personality fit, or has a background skill that may be useful to my hospital. Congratulations on your success!

 

[dlashua]

Thanks for sharing this. I agree, and as a hiring manager, I can say that many of the candidates that I have passed over for interviews have been simply because the resume didn't capture my interest, or there were errors or other information that I felt wasn't in the best interest of the role I was trying to fill. When hiring for a brand new coding role, almost all new coders have generally the same skill set, so often interviews happen with the candidate that presents a resume that doesn't look like everyone else's, and the job goes to the candidate who is either the best personality fit, or has a background skill that may be useful to my hospital. Congratulations on your success!

I agree with this Pam. When I hire I look beyond the credentials. My thought is that they already have the skills required for the position or they wouldn't have made it past the recruiter - the most important things to me are: personality, willingness, drive and being the right fit for my team. We can work on coding skills as we go, but being a good fit with my team and our larger team is so important.
If I had one thing to offer those who are interviewing - sharpen your resume and if selected for an interview be genuine. After I interview candidates I narrow down to my top 3 and then invite them to peer interviews with members of our team. Once I receive that feedback I make my final decision.