Looking for Work in Medical Billing and Coding.

by Matt

I'm a Certified Medical biller and Coder that graduated on September 10th 2009. I have not work in the field because everyone one I talk to wants me to have experience of at least a year. I can't get any company to give me a chance. How do I get around this? I don't know if this matters but I got certified through ATI Career Services. It's on online course!

Matt,
I understand your frustration - especially after having gone through the accomplishment of getting certified. It’s such a catch-22; nobody will hire you without experience - but you can’t get experience without a job.

Believe it or not my husband went through the same thing after getting an engineering degree in the mid 1980’s and finally found someone to take a chance on him.

I was lucky to have a friend in the business that hired me to get some valuable experience. I actually offered to work for free but they were kind enough to pay me.

I think certification is a Great selling point. I would target smaller practices or billing services. In our city I periodically see ads for temp agencies for medical billing or coding specialists. They may not pay great but it’s a good way to get some experience. And you won’t have to do it long.

Also if you have any experience in anything else - emphasize on your resume the experience that's applicable to medical billing and coding. I know some billing services aren’t necessarily looking for someone with a lot of billing experience, but someone that can be easily trained in their systems and processes. Emphasize any software experience or skills - these are important these days.

Anything you can document on your resume (or say in an interview) that shows you can hit the ground running, are a self-starter, are detail oriented, trustworthy, thorough, etc. Just take credit for your strengths and any similar experience.

You’ve invested a lot in just getting certified - and I think that demonstrates a commitment to your profession as well as showing you meet certain standards of excellence in achieving certification.

I know I’ve rambled a lot but I just wanted to offer encouragement. Especially in these tough economic times healthcare professions are being effected to.

Good luck Matt - Gina.