Employment as a New CPC-A
Frustration can build for a newly credentialed coder especially if they have submitted many resumes and job applications and never receive any feedback as to why they were not selected for an interview or hired when they do receive an opportunity to interview.
To be successful in getting interviews and ultimately a job a coder may need to do more prep to enter the job market as a newly credentialed coder.
The medical coding field is no different than any other field of employment when a potential employee is new with no experience. A coder needs to find an employer willing to take a chance on them so they may need to know what they can do to give themselves the best advantage to get hired.
For example, a student just having passed the BAR exam does not just automatically get handed a job as a lawyer, they too have to go through a hiring process just like any career field and medical coding is no different. There is no fast or easy path to getting a job without due diligence, patience, and persistence.
Apprentice Status:
Some newly credentialed coders feel they need to remove the apprentice status right away which is good but still does not make you experienced as most employers do not count AAPC Practicode as experience, unfortunately.
Multiple Credentials:
Many newly credentialed coders also feel a specialty credential or other credentials can help you get hired faster but that too can also still depend on the potential employer as you still have no experience to back up any credential and an employer will still see that fact, but it may open more doors of opportunity having other credentials, but it is not a guarantee you will get hired over other applicants. More credentials do help you become a better coder and show your dedication to the career field.
Experience:
Employers want experience because an experienced coder can bring in significant amounts of unrealized revenue to a provider. An inexperienced coder can cause revenue delays and possible fraud issues that can lead to damaging consequences which neither employer nor employee want.
Employment Brand:
The first thing a coder needs to do is begin with the things that can assist them in their job search.
Start with creating your own employment brand for a coder. Something that represents your objective based on your professional accomplishments and skillset to a potential employer. Making connections and networking and having a current relevant resume is a good way to start. As a newly certified coder, you want to cause something to happen to get yourself noticed to get an interview, and ultimately a job.
As a newly credentialed coder, you will not have any relevant on-the-job experience which many employers require along with your certification, so you need to find ways to get yourself noticed to be given an opportunity despite this.
LinkedIn:
Start with the #1 networking place for professionals -LinkedIn.
Set up a LinkedIn coder profile if you do not yet have one.
Use a professional photo and cover for your coder profile something that says I am a professional.
Use your real name followed by your certification.
Use a professional email.
Make a complete profile with relevant current content.
Show recruiters you are open for work on your profile.
Complete all sections about, experience, education, certifications, skills, endorsements, accomplishments, and interests.
Start connecting with people you know & people you want to know including recruiters.
Have your connections endorse your skills.
Join and follow groups and people in the medical coding field.
Be active with likes, comments, and sharing to get noticed.
Upload a current resume. Consider using someone like Project Resume who works specifically with medical coders if you want a professionally prepared resume.
Networking:
Join your local AAPC Chapter to network with coders in your area as these coders know where jobs are and can recommend you.
Join Facebook to join coding groups to network and connect with many coders and potential employers and recruiters from all over the USA to broaden your job search.
Other ways to network and possibly get noticed after certification as a possible new hire is volunteering to be an AAPC chapter officer, helping proctor AAPC exams, or mentoring other AAPC coders preparing for certification.
Immerse yourself in coding institutions such as AAPC, AHIMA & other coding resources like CCO’s Community for Coders, and other social media areas like Facebook coding groups by participating to show your coding knowledge and always remember to be professional as you never know who is watching.
Cultivate a relationship with recruiters, companies, employment agencies, HR professionals and other coders.
Resumes:
Use job postings to your advantage by including resume keywords from the jobs posts you apply for such as these examples:
AAPC
AHIMA
Anatomy
Clinic
CMS
Coding Clinic
Compliance
CPC
CPT
Data entry
Denials
Entry level
EPIC
HCPCS
HIPAA
Hospital
ICD-10
Inpatient
Medical Coding
Mental Health
Medical Records
Medical Terminology
Medicare
Outpatient
Surgery
Resume Tips:
Make sure you use a professional font.
Proofread for grammatical errors.
Make sure your personal information is easily seen and correct, especially your name, email, and phone number.
State your objective which can be considered your personal mission statement for your employment goal which should be simple and clearly stated.
Use content that sells you by using active verbs to describe and highlight your relevant skills and accomplishments that relate to the job you are applying for.
It is all about you, not your past jobs but how you performed and what you accomplished in those jobs.
Pay attention to details.
https://www.resumes4coders.com/
Job Titles:
There are many job titles that require the use of coding knowledge.
Here are some examples of “foot in the door” job titles a coder can start also applying for as many of these jobs include doing tasks like verifying codes, charge entry, payment posting, insurance collections, denials etc. All of which can potentially lead to your first coding job opportunity.
- A/R Biller
- Account Receivable Representative
- Account Receivable Specialist
- Admissions Representative
- Appeals Specialist
- Biller
- Billing Coordinator
- Billing Data Entry Operator
- Billing Representative
- Billing Technician
- Charge Entry Specialist
- Charge Master
- Chargemaster Analyst
- Chart Processor
- Claims Processor
- Clinic Manager
- Clinical Documentation Specialist
- Coder
- Coding Educator
- Coding Instructor
- Coding Technician
- Collections Representative
- Collector
- Compliance Coder
- Compliance Data Analyst
- Customer Account Representative
- Customer Service Representative
- Customer Service Resolution Associate
- Denials Specialist
- Dental Tracker
- Documentation Imaging Technician
- DRG Coder
- DRG Coordinator
- Eligibility Advocate
- Entry Level Billing
- Entry Level Coding
- Facility Coder
- Front Office Coordinator
- Front Office Assistant
- Front Office Representative
- Clinic Health Information Coder
- Health Information Technician
- Health Insurance Specialist
- Health Services Representative
- HCC coder
- Insurance Authorizations
- Insurance Biller
- Insurance Coordinator
- Insurance Representative
- Insurance Verification
- Intake Coordinator
- Medical Billing Specialist
- Medical Insurance Claims Specialist
- Medical Office Billing
- Administrative Assistant
- Medical Records Clerk
- Medical Records Coder
- Medical Records Support Services Assistant
- Medical scribe
- Medicare Insurance Follow-Up Representative
- Medicare Representative
- Member Relationship Specialist
- Office Administrator
- Office Manager
- Outpatient Coder
- Patient Financial Representative
- Patient Financial Service Representative
- Payment Review Representative
- Physician Billing Representative
- Physician Coder Physician Coding
- Compliance Specialist
- Physician Documentation Specialist
- Pre-certification Representative
- Prepayment Review Representative
- Pro-Fee Coder
- Provider Services
- Call Center Representative
- Registrar
- Release of Information Specialist
- Revenue Integrity Analyst
- Reimbursement Coding Specialist
- Account Billing Specialist
- Risk adjustment coder
- Scheduler
- Scheduling Coordinator
- Self-Pay Medical Collector
- Senior Patient Services Representative
- Surgical Coder
- Suspended Billing Representative Technical Support Analyst!
Potential Employers:
These employers listed are just some examples of companies that have been known to have employment opportunities for coders ranging from entry-level to many years of experience with some jobs being remote and some only available in various states or local areas for coders with no experience to a few years of experience.
Advent Health
https://jobs.adventhealth.com/join
Ajilion
https://www.ajilon.com/jobs/resume-submission/
Gebbs
https://gebbs.com/about-us/careers/
Ascension
Change Healthcare
CHRISTUS Health
https://careers.christushealth.org/career-opportunities/coding-medical/#|||||1|1|0
Ciox Health
https://www.cioxhealth.com/about-us/people-culture/careers/
Clinics (Search your local area)
Conifer Health Solutions
https://www.coniferhealth.com/careers
CorroHealth
https://careers.corrohealth.com/
CSI hires new CPC-A send your resume to Alexis Darnall [email protected] & tell her I sent you.
Dr. Offices
Franciscan Health
https://jobs.franciscanhealth.org/job/12015261/coder-iii-mishawaka-in/
Guidehouse
https://guidehouse.com/careers
HIA- Health Information Alliance
Himagine Solutions
https://himaginesolutions.com/candidates/careers/
Hospitals (Search your local area)
Humana
https://careers.humana.com/job-search-results/
IMedX
Inovalon
https://www.inovalon.com/careers/openings/
Insight Global
https://jobs.insightglobal.com/
Kaiser Permanente
https://www.kaiserpermanentejobs.org/search-jobs/coder/641/1
Maxim Healthcare Information Services
https://www.maximhealthcare.com/careers
MediRevv
https://www.medirevv.com/careers
NThrive
https://www.nthrive.com/careers/
Optum/United Health group
https://careers.unitedhealthgroup.com/job-search-results/?parent_category[]=Optum
OS2 Healthcare Solutions
https://os2u.org/apprenticeship/
Peak health Solutions
https://www.peakhs.com/candidates/revenue-cycle-solution-available-job-for-candidates/
Specialty medical clinics (Search your local area)
Temp agencies (Search your local area)
The Coding Network
https://codingnetwork.com/jobs-with-the-coding-network/
UNC Health
https://jobs.unchealthcare.org/search/jobs
University of Michigan
https://careers.umich.edu/search/
University of Colorado Medicine (Apprentice CPC-A program see Lensa below)
https://www.cumedicine.us/about-cu-medicine/employment-opportunities
VillageMD (Apprentice program coming soon)
https://www.villagemd.com/open-positions
Vituity
https://www.vituity.com/careers/medical-billing-jobs/
Job Databases:
Tip: Using the same username and password you create especially for job searching may save you frustration so you do not have to remember many different logins.
Here are some popular databases for job searching: (Not an all-inclusive list)
AAPC
https://www.aapc.com/medical-coding-jobs/
https://www.facebook.com/jobs?source=jobs_shortcut_in_search_result
Glassdoor
Indeed
https://www.indeed.com/q-Medical-Coder-jobs.html?vjk=e5d60ee109b6b785
JFAMC
https://jfamc.org/category/coding/
Lensa
Please note: Limited opportunities & Colorado residents are preferred.
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/medical-coding-jobs/
Simply Hired
Smart Recruiters
https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/
Unemployment (Search your state)
Zip recruiter
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/Remote-Medical-Coder
Hiring Considerations:
Your knowledge and experience in these examples can be beneficial for a coder to know and utilize. A simple Google search will give you more information on each topic as it relates to coders.
Appeals
Authoritative references
CMS.gov /MedLearn Policies / Medicare
Coding Compliance
Coding Guidelines
Denial Edits
EHR/EMR/MR
EPIC
ERISA
HEIDIS
HIPAA
LCD’s/NCD’s
MIPS
MUE’s
NCCI Edits
OIG
Payor Policies
SNOWMED
Specialty Associations
A potential employer may want to know how long you have stayed at previous jobs because most coding managers do not have the time or inclination to train and retrain new hires repeatedly so be prepared to explain any gaps or short-term employment you have had.
Do not limit yourself to only a remote job on your resume as this may likely eliminate you altogether from being considered for a job that could eventually become remote in some cases as an employer may want to start you with training on site.
Be aware of what the public can see of your social media presence as potential employers do sometimes look at these for many reasons like what professional groups you may be in and your behavior there if it was positive or negative.
Experience is golden in this field so any way you can get some whether it be an internship, or a temporary assignment is always helpful.
HIPAA can be a roadblock to an easy internship in some cases depending on how a coder is working with the code sets and if confidential patient records are involved in training.
Other opportunities you may want to consider may include Risk adjustment/HCC or even billing opportunities.
Interview tips:
This is your biggest opportunity to sell yourself as the best candidate for the job and become a name they will remember when considering which candidate to extend the position to.
Arrive on time.
Ask questions to show interest in the job.
Be confident.
Be honest as an embellishment of skills you do not have when called upon to use will only endanger your employment and can possibly hurt the career brand you are trying to establish.
Be polite.
Don’t be afraid to talk about yourself but keep it professional.
Dress for success.
Express your interest in learning things as a challenge and a way to better yourself on the job.
Express why you would be a good candidate for hire.
Have a good attitude.
Keep eye contact.
Research the company and explain why you applied there.
Use appropriate language to clearly communicate.
Interview Question Examples:
Do you have a thorough understanding of medical terminology and anatomy?
What is a principal diagnosis?
What is a modifier?
What is a DRG?
What is an open reduction?
What medical forms are you familiar with?
What types of software are you familiar with?
How do you keep current with insurance and healthcare coverage changes?
What are the types of repairs?
Pre-employment Exam Question Examples:
Pre-employment exams should not be feared or delayed as that could make you look unprepared or not eager to work, timely completion is a must if you receive one.
Choose the correct level of service based on the documentation provided.
Circle the correct definition of critical care.
Is there an ICD-10-CM guideline for HIV?
Circle examples of a correctly documented chief complaint.
Circle the correct documentation for a 99214 if you are doing time-based coding.
Which is the diagnosis, and which is a symptom in this example?
Code an operative report or several operative reports.
After the interview send a brief email expressing thanks for their consideration showing that even if you do not get this job, you still would like to be considered for future job openings.
Be patient, your chance will come but a little help never hurts.
Good Luck!