# Just quit job...



## jlfeemster (May 22, 2009)

and now I'm looking for a new one. How do I go about preparing a resume that includes a job that I've only worked at for 8 months but had to quit because of the billing manager? (not just me, but 9 other people have quit since she took over). How do I explain this short-term job, without slamming the old boss, since that is clearly unprofessional. I don't want to make myself look like I can't get along with anyone, because I can. How do I work up the resume so I can at least get my foot in the door and explain the situation/circumstances?


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## AmyCPCCPCH (May 22, 2009)

Recently my company was interviewing for a new coder and I got to be in the interviews. One of the things they really looked down upon was when the person talked bad about the company or the boss. I would put the job down on your resume. Then discuss it when you are called in for an interview. 

My last job I only worked there for about 9 months. In my interview I tried to say things like I am looking for something more challenging, a job where I am coding more or coding different specialties, or I am looking for something closer to home. Depending on what type of job you are leaving and what type of job you are interviewing for. 

I can say when we looked at resumes if they worked at their previous job for a short amount of time it didn't discourage us unless all of their jobs were short lived. What really influenced our decisions was what the person said in the interviews. We wanted an employee with a good attitude. 

I hope that helped. Good luck. I think as long as you stay positive you won't have a problem.


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## jlfeemster (May 24, 2009)

Thanks! I've never left a job without having another one to fall back on, so this is truly a new situation to me. I did feel I was not getting enough coding in and being pushed to do things like pre-certification and billing, when my specialty is coding. I was definately frustrated that my talents, training, and abilities weren't being utilized to the full capacity. That is something I can explain in an interview!


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## Karolina (Jun 1, 2009)

You can also mention in your cover letter that you want to expand your professional expertise and find a job that fully utilizes your coding skills and your love for learning (if such is true for you). There are places in a resume to put things like that as well. In the objective you could make a brief statement as above and then expand on it with the cover letter. Some employers don't care for the objective, others do. The 8-month job should be mentioned, but I would simply not include a "reason for termination", in fact -I wouldn't put that for any of my jobs. If the interviewer is interested, s/he will ask and at that time you can explain the situation, using all your professionalism and diplomacy - which goes much further than ranting about an unpleasant boss (which you seem to be highly uncomfortable to do anyway). (I'm a coder, but I also love writing resumes)


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## ncarson (Jun 2, 2009)

I am a new member with AAPC as of today.  I have been in the medical billing field for about 20 years now and I'm ready to branch out on my own as a consultant.  I am in the process of taking my CPC-P to start with because I know credibility is important.  I have an extensive resume and a bachelors degree in healthcare administration. Honestly, I feel very lost and confused on how I should go about putting myself out there, getting clients, and offering my services.  If anyone can offer any advice or sort of lead me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it. 




n


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## Karolina (Jun 4, 2009)

*Suggestion for ncarson*

I would say talk to everyone about your passion and let people know that you know your stuff. Join professional communities on the internet, create a website. Perhaps you may be able to find clients by preparing a portfolio and talking to physician groups in your area and tell them what you can do for them. Make sure you let them know how this is to their advantage - know how to answer the "what's in it for me" question. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to have a thorough business plan. There are free resources, if you google around. The SBA is a good place to look for insight on how to start a small business. In the interim, I would not give up a job without backup.
Hope this is useful.


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## ncarson (Jun 6, 2009)

*thank you*

This is very helpful.  I am working on a business plan.  Im trying to be patient with myself because I know it takes time and patience.


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## mitchellde (Jun 7, 2009)

ncarson said:


> I am a new member with AAPC as of today.  I have been in the medical billing field for about 20 years now and I'm ready to branch out on my own as a consultant.  I am in the process of taking my CPC-P to start with because I know credibility is important.  I have an extensive resume and a bachelors degree in healthcare administration. Honestly, I feel very lost and confused on how I should go about putting myself out there, getting clients, and offering my services.  If anyone can offer any advice or sort of lead me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I started teaching seminars for a company in coding and billing from there I would get consulting jobs from the attendees and the company I work for encourages this.  So I do also suggest this, teaching seminars shows a multitude of people your knowledge and skills.  You have to be open to traveling though,  I work in a different city every day, But the good side is I only work 2 weeks a month!  Just be sure the company has a policy like mine where you can accept jobs for consulting.


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## Sonjagirl (Jun 15, 2009)

jlfeemster said:


> and now I'm looking for a new one. How do I go about preparing a resume that includes a job that I've only worked at for 8 months but had to quit because of the billing manager? (not just me, but 9 other people have quit since she took over). How do I explain this short-term job, without slamming the old boss, since that is clearly unprofessional. I don't want to make myself look like I can't get along with anyone, because I can. How do I work up the resume so I can at least get my foot in the door and explain the situation/circumstances?



If you're working through an employment agency, they can give you some pointers.   I remember I resigned from a job after six weeks, so I was told to remove it from my resume.   I forgot what else I was told, but it worked without lying.   I didn't tell the potential employers that I resigned without a notice, because of a bunch of jerks.  That position was like a revolving door anyway, so I knew it wasn't me.   Seven months later, the office closed down, so I made the right move after all--but I wasn't aware of it at that time.

My former boss, an attorney, told me he was fired from his job after one year.  I asked him what did he do to eliminate the gap on his resume.

He said: "I didn't tell the prospective employers I was fired; one year wasn't long.  I expanded my employment dates from my other positions to fill the one year gap and did some "creative writing."   I've been on this job for four years, and no one knows that I was fired.  So things worked out after all."  

I kept his comments to myself.  After I left, he was still there.  He stayed there until he was laid off; not bad for ten years.


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## donsqueen (Jun 19, 2009)

Use general dates of employment on your resume, i.e. year - year. So for the 8 month job it would just be, for example, 2008. As someone else said, don't list your reason for leaving on your resume for any of your jobs. In an interview, when asked why leaving that particular job "it wasn't the right place for me" or "I didn't feel the company was a good fit for me" is a good starting answer. Be prepared to answer what wasn't a good fit for you. You could talk about wanting to be a coder rather than a certification specialist, etc. The idea is to keep the reason for leaving focused on you and not on the employer. Some interviewers might get pushy on the issue in an attempt to see if you will bad mouth your former employer. DON'T. Know what you are looking for. 

If you are applying to more than one type of position, have a resume for each type. For positions in your history, highlight transferrable skills like communication, learning style, computer skills, etc. 

Most interviewers will ask for an example of a difficult situation and how you handled it. Alternatively, they might present you with a scenario of a difficult situation and ask how you would handle it. Something tells me your recent job gave you plenty of examples. Be prepared for this. If you handled it like a pro, GREAT! If you could have handled it better, that's usable too. You could say something like, "I didn't really handle that situation as well as I could have, but I have learned from it, and here is what I would do if presented with a similar situation now." Sometimes those situations can show more to a potential employer than the perfect day that you handled it like a pro. 

Do some research on the company before your interview. The coding business is the easiest I have found to do this successfully. Especially with the internet. Google the company. See if you can find their mission statement. Research their web page as if you were considering being a patient there. (The patient is why we're in this business after all). Develop questions to ask them based on your research and your past job experience.

For instance, at a recent job, I was REQUIRED to send documentation back to the provider to "addend" if the documentation did not support the codes the provider chose. I also had to TELL the provider what was deficient so he/she knew what to "addend". When I was asked why I was looking for a new job, I started with the standard more money, better fit, etc. During the interview, the issue of documentation and how it's handled came up. I was able to ask the interviewers what their policy was and follow up to their answers to get more detail. I was definitely leaving due to some, shall we say, tense, situations, but I was able to use that to both show my committment to the AAPC crede and to interview the company as they were interviewing me. It was the best interview I have ever had. I have worked for that company for 10 months now. 

Take a paper and pen with you to the interview, and take your own notes. Jot down things YOU want to follow up on with them when they ask if you have any questions.

That's my book on the subject


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