What you need to know about a job in funeral pre-arrangement

Have the heart and soul of a counsellor and like everything to be well-planned? Maybe you should take a look at funeral pre-arrangement jobs.

If you’re thinking about careers, don’t overlook the benefits of funeral pre-arrangement jobs.

• If you’re someone who loves bringing peace of mind to people and if you have an eye for detail, this might be the field for you.
• Funeral pre-arrangement jobs are all about giving people the reassurance they need that when their time comes, all will be taken care of.

There still aren't many vocational college programs designed to train people for funeral pre-arrangement jobs. In fact, until recently, the embalmer or funeral director most often played the role of advisor to clients wanting to make pre-arrangements.

• However, in recent years, funeral homes and centres have begun to hire specialized administrative staff, such as funeral directors, funeral planning counsellors and pre-arrangement planners.

In the role of pre-arrangement advisor, the funeral centre’s representative meets with prospective clients to develop a contract and conclude a sale for the funeral arrangements they would like to have in place in the event of their death.

The contract is changeable at any moment during the person’s lifetime and elaborates two major elements:

1. Funeral services. The client decides on a budget and prepares the funeral in advance by choosing the type of ceremony, flowers, music, coffin and layout for memorial bookmarks. The pre-arranged contract ensures that all will unfold exactly according to plan.
2. Burial services. The client buys the right to use a plot in a cemetery or a niche in a columbarium and specifies the kind of monument to be placed there.

In most cases, the pre-arrangements are paid in whole or in part prior to death, upon the signing of the contract.

If all has been paid in full ahead of time, the family won’t have to worry about financial matters while they’re grieving.

Besides making sure that you get the exact funeral you want for the budget you know your family has agreed upon, making pre-arrangements has other benefits, too:

• It takes away some of the burden placed on loved ones. When you decide on your budget and set everything up yourself, you save your loved ones from having to make these difficult decisions quickly and in a time of distress. It's also a way to avoid any potential conflict about details and tastes.

• It can cost less. With pre-arrangements, you’re protected from the cost of inflation; all prices for the chosen services are fixed at the contract signing. You pay only the amount you agreed to pay.

Because it's advantageous on so many levels, more and more people are pre-planning their own funerals. That means there is more of a need for specialized funeral centre staff.

• If you like to advise people and give them peace of mind, a funeral pre-arrangement job could be for you.