What skills should a Funeral Attendant put on a resume?

O*NET rates Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Coordination, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Funeral Attendant list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Bookkeeping software, iCIMS Talent Cloud software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, and Microsoft Word. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Funeral Attendant work?

O*NET records 16 titles for this occupation, including Funeral Assistant, Funeral Director, Funeral Home Assistant, and Embalmer Apprentice. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Funeral Attendant need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 47% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Funeral Attendant role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Funeral Attendant resume example

A resume for a Funeral Attendant needs to show the work itself: 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. Day to day that means work like this: 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. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Funeral Assistant
Funeral Director
Funeral Home Assistant
Embalmer Apprentice
Funeral Associate
Funeral Greeter
Funeral Home Associate
Funeral Home Attendant
FSA
Funeral Service Attendant
Funeral Services Assistant
Greeter
Mortician Helper
Pallbearer
Undertaker Assistant
Undertaker Helper

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

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.
Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held.
Place caskets in parlors or chapels prior to wakes or funerals.
Offer assistance to mourners as they enter or exit limousines.
Clean funeral parlors or chapels.
Arrange floral offerings or lights around caskets.
Clean and drive funeral vehicles, such as cars or hearses, in funeral processions.
Act as pallbearers.
Supervise funeral processions and assist with cemetery parking.
Deliver floral arrangements or other items to family members of the deceased.

24 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Greet people at the funeral home, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Close caskets at appropriate point in services, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Direct or escort mourners to parlors or chapels in which wakes or funerals are being held, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Bookkeeping software
iCIMS Talent Cloud software
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Word

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Body bridges
Casket carriages
Casket lowering devices
Compaction tampers
Cremation stands
Dump trailers
Funeral church trucks
Hearses
Mausoleum lifts
Monument lifts
Mortuary bier pins
Mortuary cots

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

handle caskets
deliver items
maintain facilities
embalm corpses

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Service Orientation
02Social Perceptiveness
03Active Listening
04Coordination
05Monitoring
06Speaking

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Administrative
Transportation

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

47%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
22%Associate's Degree
13%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Funeral Attendant 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. Day to day that includes work like greet people at the funeral home and Perform a variety of tasks during funerals to assist funeral directors and to ensure that services run smoothly and as planned.
What skills should a Funeral Attendant put on a resume?: O*NET rates Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, Active Listening, Coordination, and Monitoring among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Funeral Attendant list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Bookkeeping software, iCIMS Talent Cloud software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, and Microsoft Word. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Funeral Attendant work?: O*NET records 16 titles for this occupation, including Funeral Assistant, Funeral Director, Funeral Home Assistant, and Embalmer Apprentice. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Funeral Attendant need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 47% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Funeral Attendant role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.