I am waiting on a call back to find out if I am the one picked out of two final candidates for a front desk position at one of my local Urgent Care centers. The Clinic Manager had an add posted on Craig's List and I sent him my resume and cover letter. He told me he had actually planned on ending the interviews and making a decision the day that he received my email, but decided to give me a chance due to my resume. He said my resume was very unique because I have my picture on it, I had check boxes of all of my skills, ICD-9, ICD-10, CPT, pathophysiology, pharmacotherapy, etc. I also listed my character traits: positive, friendly, detail-oriented, team player, accurate, etc. Next, I listed my education and certification. Finally, I listed my previous work experience. Another point he mentioned was that he was glad that I had my name, phone number, and email address in the body of my email. When you respond through Craig's List, your email address does not show since the reply actually comes from Craig's List back to the poster.
The position is mainly front desk duties, check-in, check-out, insurance verification, scanning, etc., but he said that I will be doing some coding. He told me that many other physicians in the area will want to grab me up once they see that I have experience from there, should I want to venture out into strictly coding in the future. The hours will be a huge change from what I am used to... They are open 9am - 6pm 7 days a week, so I will have to work later than normal and will have to work some weekends. However, it is right down the street from my house and my daughter's school, and right in front of my son's daycare. Right now I drive 35 miles away to work. Also, I think the pay will be more than what I currently make! However, I am a tad scared to make the change... At my current job I have my own office, flexibility, respect, status, responsibility, obligation. I feel like I will let a lot of people down by leaving. That makes me feel a little weird about the situation, but I have worked so hard for this, and my family has sacrificed so much while I have been studying and test-taking, that there is no way that I let anything hold me back.
My husband is being really supportive and says that he'll step it up with making sure the kids are taken care of so that I can take this opportunity if it is offered. I'm so excited, scared, determined, hopeful, and grateful that he is thinking about giving me this chance. Fingers crossed!
My point of posting my little mini-novel, is to check all different avenues of finding jobs, Craig's List, Monster, Career Builders, temp agencies, recruiters, Indeed, hospital websites, physician websites, chapter meetings.... Also, look for positions that aren't directly coding, but will get you healthcare experience, such as front desk, insurance, billing, patient representative, etc. And, when something comes up, jump on it! Good luck everyone! :)