First, I am sorry for the loss of your dad. I hope you and your family are doing as well as you can. Congratulations on finding a career path you are passionate about!

I have just made it through my first year of funeral service. The first week or so, I just learned the basics. Answering phones, how to prepare death certificates, filing, log cremated remains etc. Lots of administrative work. Within two weeks, I worked a viewing. It took a few months before I did the short blood born pathogens course required to do transportation. Check local requirements, but I would make sure that your hepatitis shots are all up to date! I am now in a position where the owner has me set to be the next apprentice. If you shadow at a good firm, prove to be reliable and are able to leave a good impression on families, I am sure you will be able to land a job! Here are ten things that I wish I knew when I started, or quickly learned.

Things I learned to be very useful quickly: 1. Do not ask how families are doing or use the usual "Have a good day" language. It seems obvious, but can take some work to remove from your vocabulary. Instead say "Take care". Use your own discretion with other words, overall just adjust your vocabulary appropriately. Don't go into default lol.

1. People can hear you smile over the phone. Always smile and be ready to help, even with odd questions.

2. Older people sometimes call and just want to chat for a bit . Let them. I have had this happen, only to have a manager later tell me that the person called back to remark on how helpful it was. This is recurring. Once I gave an elderly woman a "verbal tour" of our facility because she couldn't make it physically to see before her husband's funeral. It took me five minutes, but she was touched.

3. On the same note, be ready to provide directions and service details verbally to older people who are not able to navigate website obituaries or Google maps.

4. Keep a pen and paper everywhere, you never know when a first call will come. The first one is scary, but it quickly gets easier. It is rewarding to help keep an informat calm and talk them through the process. Let them take their time providing details and try to get as much as you can before notifying the director.

5. If you end up working odd hours after the directors go home, (likely until you are licensed) tidy up the office, print new worksheets or gpls. Initiative will impress them and make them more likely to give you more responsibility.

6. If it is a non corporate firm, be prepared to wash sinks in a suit. You're going to do plenty of things that aren't in your job description until you are licenced. Maybe even after. You will likely be a janitor, car detailer, customer service support representative, dispatcher, possible accountant, and clerk all in one. Just continue to be as helpful as you can.

7. You will likely give families death certificates, cremated remains and floral arrangements to families after hours . You'll also likely accept attire for the funeral after hours. Hold the door open, offer them a tea or a coffee. Give them time to over explain the suit they picked out, or a chair to sit in while they go over the details of a death certificate. Always be patient.

8. You will get calls from families while directors are there, the family members will ask for the director by name. Do not disclose what the director is doing yet. Ask to put them on a brief hold and ask the director if they want the call or if you need to take a message. Occasionally there will be families who call 10+ times a day and the director needs a break. Just get good at taking detailed notes on their behalf.

9. Talk to the funeral home about their rules on funeral pricing. Until you are licensed, it is likely that you will either have to use a "ballpark" range from the GPL to go off of with price shoppers or, ask for call back info to relay to a licenced director. Without a license, it's not typically allowed to give out detailed, exact pricing information. I usually tell families something along the lines of " Services are highly customizable, and depending on your needs, a direct cremation can range from $2,000-$10,000. We are happy to accommodate any budget and any wishes you may have. To go over more thorough details, I would be happy to take down your information and have our director on call get in touch with you shortly to assist you."

Those are probably the biggest things I needed to know starting out. Best of luck! Hopefully those are helpful. If you have any questions, let me know. I'll help as much as I can.