Medical Billing Specialist Resume Examples

You’re building your career as a medical billing and coding specialist, or a procurement expert in the healthcare field, and you’re ready to create a resume that stands out and helps you land your ideal job. You’re on the right track, but as you start putting your document together, you’ll have a choice to make: you can rely on pre-existing tools and templates, or you can build each section of your resume from the ground up on your own.

No matter which option you choose, LiveCareer can offer the support you need. Visit the site and check out our resume and cover letter building tools if you’d like to work within an established formatting structure, and if you’re heading out on your own, use the specialist resume samples below as models and general guides.

This collection of examples can give you a sense of what your document should look like on the page, the kind of information your employers will be looking for, and the kinds of common mistakes you’ll want to avoid.

In addition to the specialist resume samples presented here, explore the text below for more on how to create an effective resume, section by section.

Billing, coding and procurement are essential positions in the healthcare industry, but these positions can vary widely in terms of job requirements and levels of responsibility. With that in mind, the information you include in your resume will depend on your level of experience, the number and type of certifications you hold, and your long-term career plans. There’s no single right way to create a resume in this field, and if your finished document doesn’t precisely resemble any of the specialist resume samples in this set, that’s fine.

At the same time, there are a few universal elements that almost every employer will need to see in your document, and if any of these are missing or incomplete, this may negatively affect your chances of landing an interview. As these specialist resume samples demonstrate, every professional resume should contain each of the following sections, at a minimum:

• Resume Summary
• Education Section
• Work Experience Section
• Skills Section

For the most part, standard professional resumes are formatted along similar lines within the summary, education, and skills sections. But when you reach the work experience section, you’ll have a choice to make between a few different formatting options.

As you look for a way to present your experience and areas of expertise, you can choose the traditional chronological format, the modern functional format, or a hybrid of these two styles.

Study the specialist resume samples in this collection and you’ll notice that each style emphasizes different aspects of the candidate’s profile.

If you choose the chronological format for this section of your resume, you’ll list each of your previous positions separately and really focus on your career progression and responsibilities in each role. The chronological style typically works better for candidates with an uninterrupted work history and a steady flow of positions with increasing responsibility. This format will help you emphasize your track record of success with the type of work you’re hoping to complete for your target employer.

If you choose to present your experience using the functional format, you’ll be showing off your abilities and your potential, rather than your past responsibilities on the job. If you’ve had a few career gaps or lateral moves, or you’ve spent some time stepping in and out of the workforce, the functional format might provide a better way to stand out.

You can also blend these two styles together into a hybrid format that allows you to show off both your past and your future. Regardless of the formatting style you choose, you’ll need to make sure your potential employers can easily find the information they need.

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Before you tackle your work experience and education sections, you’ll need to start with an opening statement at the very top of the page that introduces you to potential employers and summarizes your most important credentials. This section should consist of three or four clear, concise, and relevant lines of text. In addition to the specialist resume samples in this collection, here are a few models that can help you stay on track:

• Certified Coding Specialist (CSS) with five years of experience in insurance reconciliation, ICD-9 Coding, CPT-4 Coding, and preparation of claim documents. Highly proficient with medical and billing terminology and skilled in the resolution of complex account issues. Able to quickly translate code to align with insurance company systems. Natural problem solver and meticulous critical thinker.
• Healthcare procurement specialist able to manage materials and equipment for multi-million dollar projects, control inventory, and oversee distribution. Excellent ability to communicate with vendors and contractors to ensure procurement goals and keep projects on deadline and under budget.

As a billing and coding or procurement specialist, youll probably have an academic background that measures up to the expectations of your target employers, and the education section of your resume can help you show off your accomplishments in the classroom. You may be an entry-level job seeker with an associates degree or a relevant training program to your credit, or you may hold a bachelors or masters degree and a long list of certifications. No matter what youve learned, youll need to document your track record by listing your degrees and diplomas in this section.

In each entry, include your degree/diploma, your institution and your course of study. You can also add your graduation dates and GPA if you choose. Dont fail to mention any special honors or awards you gained during the course of your education, including your cum laude status or special scholarships.

If youre like many candidates in this field, you may also hold some formal certifications, which you can list in this section as well. You can include them among your academic achievements, or you can create a separate list with its own subheading; just make sure these accomplishments stand out and are easy for reviewers to find.

As mentioned above and illustrated by the specialist resume samples in this collection, youll have a few different formatting options as you tackle your work experience section.

If youd like to show off your past jobs and past accomplishments, you may want to choose the chronological presentation. In this case, youll create one heading and youll list each of your past positions under this heading one by one. Each entry will contain your past job title, your employer, your employment dates, and a brief list of your basic responsibilities. You can also provide a few highlights and special accomplishments that you achieved during your tenure in this role. Consider listing these last two bits in bullet point form and making your achievements quantifiable.

If you rely on the functional format instead, youll break this section down into two subsections with separate subheadings. Under the first, youll list your core competencies, which may include your software proficiencies, the types of projects youve worked on in the past, or the specific account problems youre best able to resolve. Below this list, youll present a quick overview of your past job titles. You wont need to add your employment dates or special accomplishments, since these will be implied by the section above. Again, review the specialist resume samples here and use them to guide your decision.

As you complete your work experience section, youll be using action verbs to share your capabilities and accomplishments, and youll want to keep these verbs specific and precise. Here are a few dynamic examples:

• Prepared
• Assigned
• Reviewed
• Reconciled
• Entered
• Translated
• Managed
• Ordered
• Scheduled
• Charged
• Posted
• Resolved

Just like the specialist resume samples in this collection, your document will need to include a section dedicated to your special skill sets, specifically the skills that havent received mention in the sections above. After your education and work experience, create a new subheading and list any capabilities or areas of special training that might interest your target employers. These might include software skills, language skills, leadership skills, communication and teamwork skills, or even clinical capabilities or special safety skills.

If you hold a skill set and you arent sure if you should mention it in your formal resume, err on the side of inclusion. Its often better to provide too much information than miss an opportunity to shine.

And above all else, use the employers job description to inform which skills you should include. If theyve mentioned theyre looking for someone with strong Excel skills, and you possess this ability, be sure to mention it.

Theres a strong chance that your target employers will ask you for a list of professional references at some point before they decide to offer you a job. But this step usually takes place at a later point in the hiring process, so theres usually no need to include the names of your references within the text of your resume.

Collect these names—along with phone numbers and email addresses—and place them in a separate document that you can send to your employers at their request. Make sure you choose references who know you well and can be trusted to speak in depth about your personality and your work ethic. In the meantime, read the job post carefully so you dont miss any specific instructions the company may provide on this point.

As you complete your profile using these specialist resume samples as a guide, youll want to keep an eye out for some of these common mistakes.

Underused keywords: Some of your employers may be large companies or hospital systems that send resumes into database before theyre personally reviewed by hiring managers. So to get past various scanners and filters, youll need to use lot of likely search terms in the text of your document. These may include the official titles of your certifications, relevant software platforms, and other formal credentials that your employers will be looking for. Dont neglect this critical step.

Crucial Omissions: Read the post carefully before you customize your resume to target a specific position. Its a real tragedy when your employers require a rare skill set, you have that skill set, and yet somehow that detail goes either unmentioned or unnoticed.

Clerical errors: In billing, coding, and procurement, punctuation and attention to detail can mean the difference between success and failure. Keep an eye on small mistakes that can send the wrong message.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical billing and coding technicians, also called medical records and health information technicians, will experience promising job prospects between 2014 and 2024. More specifically, opportunities in this field are expected to grow at a rate of about 15 percent. This is higher than the average rate across all industries. Buyers, purchasing agents, and procurement clerks can all expect a slightly slower rate of growth, at about 12 percent.