Wiki Really getting discouraged

[IsThisThingOn]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

 

[Vsolorio99]

I am in the same situation as you are. I got my CPC in April of 2023. I have 6 years of healthcare experience and 2 of those being a front office representative. I have applied to many places and all of them are rejecting me. Even within the organization I work for they are not counting any of my experience. This is so discouraging!!

 

[Angela8700]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

hey, I do come across companies that hire cpc-a. I recommend getting "cpc-a jobs" alerts with linkedin and google
apply to this company, they hire cpc-a. good luck and keep searching.

https://sanfordcareers.com/city-remote-sd-sd/coder-provider-practice/B2329FFB6868491E9AD92999E1F99BE0/job/

 

[Angela8700]

I am in the same situation as you are. I got my CPC in April of 2023. I have 6 years of healthcare experience and 2 of those being a front office representative. I have applied to many places and all of them are rejecting me. Even within the organization I work for they are not counting any of my experience. This is so discouraging!!

https://sanfordcareers.com/city-remote-sd-sd/coder-provider-practice/B2329FFB6868491E9AD92999E1F99BE0/job/

good luck

 

[bigirishman23@gmail.com]

Same boat. Nothing but rejection

 

[LisaAlonso23]

My advise is to have your resume looked at first. Then, apply to ANY position to get a foot in the door to prove yourself. I started as an Extern, then verified insurance. I took that knowledge with me to my first coding job that was 10 years ago. Look at billing, front desk, collections...anything in healthcare. I did collections, in addition to coding, and found lots of coding mistakes. Your knowledge will either be put to good use or built upon. It's all up to you. Finding a job is humbling but not impossible.

 

[ALUru]

I understand your frustration - I, too, was receiving rejections after rejections but I finally got hired and I'll be starting next month even with an CPC-A.

I would recommend either having your resume being looked at and/or use ChatGPT - it helped reformat my resume A LOT.

Apply the job no matter what even if it says you need "X amount of years" because you just need that ONE company/person to give you a chance/opportunity.

 

[juliannegrant7185@gmail.com]

I am in the same situation as you are. I got my CPC in April of 2023. I have 6 years of healthcare experience and 2 of those being a front office representative. I have applied to many places and all of them are rejecting me. Even within the organization I work for they are not counting any of my experience. This is so discouraging!!

That’s so disappointing because I have been told to apply for front desk receptionist or patient representative in any healthcare facility to gain the experience!!

 

[Pam Warren]

Those front-office positions are an excellent place to start. You will learn about how the revenue cycle begins....insurance. And how important it is to get that information correct.
Very few individuals get a production coding job with no experience. The industry is too complicated, but there are other roles you can take that will later make you a much better coder. I would encourage you to take whatever job you can to get your foot in the door, and then be the best employee that they have.

I would echo the comments above about having your resume reviewed.

 

[juliannegrant7185@gmail.com]

Thank you!
I appreciate your advice, I do wish this was the honest feedback I received upon paying so much money for coding. I would have waited for coding school and certification, I am having a very difficult time with reception jobs as well. I’ve gotten denied for every one I’ve applied too, coding and reception.

 

[Jolyn123]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

Same, I passed my exam last year... and still havnt been able to find anything. I went to my work force and found an internship for a few weeks but thats all the experience I was able to get(i applied for xternship programs here and also taken many classes on resume and cover letters but still hear back from no one its so awesome :}) now im back to looking again. My apprenticeship application was rejected due to lack of experience. Everything is so vague, and wishy washy on the website it says you need to use "ICD-10, CPT OR HCPCS" but the template says "ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS," so what is it? a waste of ppls time? I told AAPC of this error yet they do not care to fix it, just to put my app in and hope for the best basically. I feel like I was scammed out of 2 years of my life. Wasting away, applying to every posting I could find, just to get no response. Its like the job doesnt even exist and my information is just being collected. I know a few people that are CPC but didnt get a CPC-A after the exam, but that was YEARS ago.
Even if you remove your A with experience and you are applying to jobs, is that experience counted or is it just dropped off. Seniority RULES I guess. Its not only confusing for students trying to make their life better, its also very confusing for recruiters. The ones I was able to talk to didnt really know what they were asking for, experience wise.
I have also tried "networking" my self right? well every time I try to RSVP for any meeting somehow something comes up like the meetings was canceled or people arnt responsive. I have tired to attending three meetings. its like the local chapters dont actually exist. Soon my local chapter was gone like it was no longer a group anymore so I went to a different one and now they are also canceling their meetings.
Anyhow, all this insanity can cause someone themselves to go a bit mad. After constantly being beaten down my whole life and every time I try to better myself I just end up right back where I started its awesome. Thanks AAPC for selling me false HOPE.

 

[VMueller]

I am in the same situation as you are. I got my CPC in April of 2023. I have 6 years of healthcare experience and 2 of those being a front office representative. I have applied to many places and all of them are rejecting me. Even within the organization I work for they are not counting any of my experience. This is so discouraging!!

I'm in the same boat, I've had mine since 12/2022. no luck yet

 

[jjoach]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years of experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

Hi! I cannot tell you how much i related to this for the past 2 years. I was about ready to give up. All of the advice in this chat and the hundreds of others are true though! I applied to a coder with my new company and they required 2 years of experience. I honestly thought it was going to be another rejection. But I applied, did one interview, and I start on the 19th.

This will change for you! You just have to give it some time. Build your network. Do you CEU's in the meantime 9don't wait like I did). And apply, apply, apply and then apply some more! Someone will take a chance on you.

 

[lflanigan]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

I share your frustration with the experience thing. It is even worse where I live because all of the health facilities within 200 miles outsource their billing and coding. I am hoping that having the A designation removed will help. You can get the A designation removed without getting a position by completing the education requirements, either through the AAPC courses or maybe through your local community college. Then AAPC has a program called Practicode that you can purchase. Once you successfully complete the modules, it counts as the experience requirement to have the A removed. I'm hoping that if I can put the Practicode completion on my resume that it may help. Good luck!

 

[dlk051218@icloud.com]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

I feel like I wasted my money too. I got my CPC-A 10 months ago and ended up becoming a medical biller/secretary instead. I’m so sorry for what you are going through. It really hurts.

 

[apoland]

When I got my cert in 2015, I had been working in medical billing for 4 years already. I was able to submit a letter of recommendation from my manager, who was also a CPC, explaining my experience in order to have the A removed. If you are already working in a healthcare adjacent position I would absolutely sit down with someone in management and see about getting a letter written about your experience and submitted. I also believe on top of Practicode, AAPC offers a mentorship program. Maybe someone there would have good advise for your specific situation. I wish all of you the best

 

[mecalcafaro]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

I received my CPC-A almost 3 years ago. I was also a SAHM for 10 years. I tried to find a job for 1.5 years. Never worked out for me, so I am now a Para at my kids school. I'm considering going back to school to finish my Early Childhood degree. But to keep my coding credentials I still have to pay the $200 every year and try to stay on top of my CEUs. It's extremely frustrating and expensive.

 

[kferrell370@Gmail.com]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

Have you found a job yet?

 

[Elsie16]

This is such a common issue, and has been pretty much for anyone in any industry whatsoever. It’s always difficult to get your foot in the door. The fact is, there’s no easy way, and the coding industry is no different. Having your certification for a month or even a few months does not guarantee finding a job will be easy.

The best advice I can give is to apply for any clerical positions in hospitals or doctor‘s offices. Do not limit yourself to applying for coding positions because chances of getting one this early in your career are slim to none. By applying for other positions, it will allow you to prove your work ethic and dependability. When a coding position does become available, they may be more open to giving you a chance.

Keep in mind that on-the-job training is pretty much nonexistent these days, so it’s not going to be an easy adjustment at first. Studying for and passing the certification exam are great accomplishments, but the actual practice of coding is different depending upon where you work.

I’ve been coding for 13 years, and I still learn something new on a regular basis. it’s a constantly changing industry and it’s not as easy as the media ads out there claim it is. Billing deadlines are tight, so you need to be able to work both accurately and quickly, which is why places require prior experience. They don’t have the luxury of losing money because something is coded inaccurately or deadlines are missed. That may sound harsh, but that’s the reality. I don’t say this to further discourage you, but very few new coders actually know what it really entails, and I wish I’d been armed with this information when I first started out

Best of luck to you. Keep pressing on. You’ll find your way!

 

[Isfor84]

I got my certification last month. I was so excited to get a job, but now I'm realizing that it's pretty much impossible for somebody with a CPC-A to get one. Everybody wants you to have at least 2 years experience, but how am I supposed to get the experience if I can't get hired?? It's honestly ridiculous at this point. I was a SAHM for the past 7 years, so I don't think that's helping me either. I'm just ready to get back into the workforce, but this doesn't seem to be panning out

It took me over a year of applying for everything vaguely related both in person and remote. I ended up getting a job but it ended up being because my college advisor recommended me. It's really important to network. If you have local chapter meetings in person I'd go to those. If they're virtual try sending messages out to local members introducing yourself and asking for help. Good luck!

 

[roshellegreen]

I can relate to this post as well. I worked at a company for almost two years after becoming a CPC-A. I used my coding books daily but upon asking for a reference letter no response was received. I sent my request to HR because you cannot contact the managers directly after leaving. Human Resources never responded. I am not sure if they actually forwarded it to my previous manager or not. I have been certified since 2020 but still hold only the CPC-A designation. I am considering Practicode but that is still only one year of experience. I cannot believe how hard it is to get an employer to submit the reference letters. It is not fair.

Coding books, medical coding books