I wish I had positive words for you, but I’ve experienced the same thing. Personally, I’m letting my credential expire and giving up.
I got my COC-A in April of 2016. I had been working in a Revenue Cycle position for two years at that time, and currently I have 4.5 years of experience between manual charge entry, reporting, analysis, and account reconciliation. I’ve changed job responsibilities several times; at this point I’ve done as much as I possibly can at work to acclimate and familiarize myself with coding without having the chance to actually code, but I can’t get a job anywhere because I don’t have two years of experience. It’s a complete joke, and at this point I swear that it’s like this secret, selective club wherein no new people are given access. I work 50 feet away from our coding department and got references/endorsements from each of my supervisors (who know and interact with the coding supervisors often), and they still rejected me. They even chose to hire independent contractors rather than cultivate their own talent.
I’m sick of myopic employers, quite frankly. Instead of making individual judgments on applicants and considering their potential/ceiling as an employee, they judge a persons intelligence solely off of their resume. I find it hilarious that every employer claims that coding is an “up and coming” department with so much room for growth when they refuse to give prospective coders their first chance. Employers are either too short sighted or arrogant to remember that they were once in this position and needed someone to crack the door for them. Don’t claim to be ambitious or forward thinking and then outright refuse to hire anyone without prior experience, and you’re not more intelligent than anyone else just because you’re in a management position, so stop being condescending to applicants who just want to start their career.
I just wish I had known it was going to be like this before I pursued this career path, because it’s an absolute clown show and one of my biggest regrets.
That sounds really rough! My advice to you is to
keep your credential and
look externally. Unfortunately, when applying for jobs, the hunt is not fair. I think that's the best and most diplomatic way I can describe it. Despite many attempts and countless interviews I have had trouble landing jobs that I was more than qualified for. I have a bachelor of science + CPC, etc. vs. other people who didn't, and I still didn't get the jobs I applied for. It's super frustrating and disheartening to get rejected when applying, and even getting so close (two remaining candidates and you're one of them), and you're still let down. I spent almost a whole year (luckily I am working in a position that could keep me somewhat afloat) applying, interviewing, networking, etc. and just received an amazing job offer this week, with an awesome company.
Consider looking inwards as well. Are you doing anything that might impede you getting the job you want? Employers also look at Facebook/LinkedIn/other social medias these days to screen applicants. Make sure you have all of your "T"s crossed and "I"s dotted, to ensure you make the best impression you can, and give yourself the best chance possible of a new job.
My point here is to try and keep your focus and don't give up if Coding is a field you love. Yes, there are some people who shouldn't be coders, because it truly requires a certain skill and mindset. However, if you have survived Rev. Cycle and are excelling in your field, then Coding shouldn't be that far away. Consider looking outside your company, and be persistent! There are countless of hints/tips on how to improve your resume/CV on the internet, how to ace your job interview, etc. The tools are out there, just reach out and apply them. Realize that there are people who probably shouldn't be in certain management positions, however you then move onto the next company and try your luck instead. You probably don't want to work for them anyways.
I get it, getting passed up on job opportunities outright sucks. I've been there almost too many times to count, however persistence
WILL pay off if you're doing everything else right. I can testify to that.
Good luck!