Funeral Attendants

Also Called:

Funeral Assistant,

Funeral Attendant,

Funeral Director,

Funeral Home Assistant

What they do: Perform a variety of tasks during funeral, such as placing casket in parlor or chapel prior to service, arranging floral offerings or lights around casket, directing or escorting mourners, closing casket, and issuing and storing funeral equipment.

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Greet people at the funeral home.
  • Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned.
  • Close caskets at appropriate point in services.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Business
  • Customer service

  • Administrative services

Arts and Humanities
  • English language

Transportation
  • Movement of people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal
  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic
  • Notice when problems happen

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions

  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

Social
  • Looking for ways to help people

  • Understanding people's reactions

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Relationships

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Support

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Independence

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop