That's right!! As of today, I officially have a JOB!!!!!
I'm going to post the whole story, because I'm just that freakin' excited.
Back at the beginning of December (or at least that's about what I figure based on email) I sent my resume in response to a Craigslist ad for a medical billing position at a cardiology clinic. I figured that with my front desk experience I at least had a decent shot at it. But I never heard anything, and at the time I was applying for job after job after job, so I pretty much forgot about it.
So fast forward to December 19th. It was late at night, and I randomly decided to check my "professional" email (aka my email address that actually has my name in it, which I use on my resume and for more professional than personal stuff). I check that email very, very rarely, since all that usually comes to that email are mailing lists and newsletters. Well, that night, I had an email from a woman (the practice manager) that was in response to my resume for the billing position, thanking me for my interest in the job and asking me when I could come in for an interview. I was thrilled, and I emailed her back right that second. By the next afternoon she'd emailed me back, and the following day (Friday, Dec. 21st) I went in to interview with her.
It went incredibly well. She mostly told me about the practice and the doctors, went over hours and benefits, asked me about my experience in medical office, and all that. I felt completely at ease with her, and at the end of the interview she told me she wanted me to meet the business manager for a second interview. The problem was that it was a Friday, and on Friday the billers and the managers only work until noon, and at the end of my interview it was already 11:30. The business manager was on vacation the next week, which meant that after the 21st, she wouldn't be in the office until the 31st. And naturally, the clinic would be closed on the 1st of the year--which meant I'd have to wait until the 2nd or 3rd of January for my interview. That was a little crappy, but oh well--I was just happy to have had an interview and to have been asked back for a second one.
I left felling really, really good about the whole thing. I thought the interview had gone as well as it could have, I thought I'd come across really well, I thought the practice manager and I clicked well, and I just had a good feeling about this one. I felt like . . . yep, this one's mine. I was feeling superstitious so the only people who knew about the interviews were my family, Jerbs, and Theresa. (My mom said she had a good feeling about it too, which gave me a confidence boost). I literally didn't say a word to anybody else, and in the time between interviews, I prayed, crossed my fingers, and wished on every star, eye lash, and 11:11 I possibly could.
I waited as patiently as I could until the 31st, and called their business manager to set up my interview. She asked me to come on the 2nd (a Wednesday). I got to the clinic on the 2nd and the practice manager, who did my first interview, took me back to the conference room to introduce me to the business manager. To my surprise, the business manager had brought the three other members of the billing department to sit in and ask questions as well--which at first totally unnerved me. As the practice manager left, though, she patted me on the shoulder and wished me luck, which was just really sweet.
Well, the second interview went fantastic. All 4 women asked me questions, and they seemed to love a lot of my answers. And it was pretty clear right away that my personality would mesh really, really well with all of them. It was seriously the best interview I've ever been on. It was a great blend of serious questions and telling them why they wanted me on their team, to just sharing stories about working in medical offices and laughing. It was awesome. Again, I left with a really, really good feeling. I was just really sure that I could work well with the people I'd met, and that I'd fit in well with their staff.
The business manager said she wanted to decide by the end of the week, and by Friday I hadn't heard anything. I was so disappointed, but I still had a good feeling about it. I didn't hear anything on Monday either, so I checked my email again, just in case. Well, I had an email from the business manager. It was basically a link to this website and I had to take these 4 little assessment things--they were just like those personality things that are on every application, so I did those, and the following morning, I left a voice mail for the business manager letting her know those were done.
I heard nothing during the rest of Tuesday, and nothing on Wednesday. I was starting to panic a little and then, this morning, at around 11 AM, I finally got the call. The business manager apologized for not calling sooner and said she'd been sick and mostly voiceless, told me the results of my little assessments indicated that I'd be a good fit for them, and offered me the position! (And told me how much it paid, which made me even happier). I just keep thinking of all the interviews I had up till now, all the disappointment in not being offered those jobs--but it was for good reason, because I ended up right where I was supposed to, I think.
So I went in this afternoon and picked up an official application and signed off on allowing them to do a background check, and as soon as that comes back clean or whatever, I get to start work.
I am beyond thrilled. I can't even describe the relief I felt when she told me I got the job. Relief and gratitude. My hands were shaking when I hung up the phone and I actually started crying. I am so, so grateful for this opportunity. For so many reasons. I'm so happy that I can stop being a burden to Jerbs, that I can start to take care of myself, that I can just not be constantly panicking about money, that I'll have something that makes me feel not useless.
Honestly, I owe a lot of it to the clinic. One of my jobs as a receptionist was posting charges and payments to patient accounts--which at most medical offices is something the billing dept., not the front desk, does. It was aggravating at times, but knowing at least a little of the billing side of things definitely worked in my favor. Plus working at the clinic taught me what questions to ask, if that makes sense: I asked at my first interview about the services the clinic did and their scope of care, what insurances they were contracted with, what medical software they used for front desk and billing, how much of their records were EMR, etc. I think asking things like that made me look interested, serious, and knowledgeable.
I think this is going to be a great thing for me. I already really like the people I'll be working most closely with. And I love the clinic itself. It's a cardiology clinic that opened less than four years ago (I remember when they opened, because I was at the clinic at the time, and they gave us a ton of their info. pamphlets) and in four years they have grown tremendously. They started out with four doctors and two administrators and now have a staff of 54 . . . I guess 55, counting me! They have a big scope of care, because they have not only cardiologists, but a psychologist, a nutritionist, an electrophysiologist (who comes up from PHX once a week), and a full sleep clinic. They co-own a fitness center (which is right across the street from them, so yes, I'll definitely be joining when I can). They do satellite clinics in Winslow, Page, and Sedona. It's an incredibly successful practice, and I'm excited to be working for them. I've never been so excited about a business I'm working for. I love how many services they offer in the name of heart health--who would have ever thought that psychology and sleep studies were necessary in cardiology? It's innovative, and I like that a lot.
Plus, I'm glad I'll get to learn medical billing, because that's a skill that'll come in handy. I'm really looking at this as a career move, not a job. Because as much as I want to use my degree someday, I would probably be OK doing something like medical billing as my career, because I have plenty of ways to indulge my lit. nerdiness elsewhere. There's a lot of potential in medical billing, and I really believe that it'll make getting a job wherever I move to a lot easier.
And that's that. I'm so happy, and this is the best way to really start the year that I could imagine. My friend Bridget once said (in a comment on this blog about another job interview, actually) that it was about time for me to hit my "up and over" phase. I think that's a perfect way to describe it.
So up and over I go.
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