You never know when you might get the call.
I've told this story before, but here is the condensed version:
After 35+ years in sales and sales management I went back to school to learn coding. I finished the program in December, 2010. I actually took and passed the CPC about a week before I finished my externship. I was hoping to be hired by the hospital where I did my externship because they had a history of hiring recent grads (still do). Plus, my wife was a manager at the hospital (my foot in the door). For whatever reason, I didn't get the job.
I applied for just about every coding/billing related position I could find. In August, 2011 I was beginning to get a bit disheartened and started applying for positions in my previous field. In September I got a call for a coding position. They were looking to hire 3 coders. I had applied for this position in March. They were fully aware that I had no experience when they had me in for an interview. I took their coding test and scored 2nd highest of the people they interviewed. A few days later I received a job offer.
Next week I will be submitting a letter from my boss, along with my school transcript to the AAPC to have my "A" removed. I will be a full fledged CPC & CPC-H.
Don't give up.