Home Funeral Director Resume template
Funeral Director resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what funeral directors actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most funeral directors should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Funeral director experienced in coordinating end-to-end funeral services, from the first family consultation through to statutory documentation and on-the-day delivery. Comfortable balancing compassionate client care with strict attention to legal and logistical detail, and confident managing staff and suppliers under time pressure.
Key skills
- Operations management
- Regulatory compliance
- Client relationships and advisory
- Stakeholder management
- People leadership
- Empathy and interpersonal care
- Funeral management software (e.g. Funeral Ally, Dece Manager)
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook)
- Scheduling and rostering systems
- Document management systems
Experience: example bullet points
- Consulted with bereaved families to confirm service preferences and cultural or religious requirements, translating these into detailed, workable funeral plans
- Coordinated venue hire, catering, floral arrangements and transport of the deceased, ensuring all elements were confirmed and on schedule ahead of each service
- Prepared and lodged permits and statutory notifications for burial and cremation, keeping arrangements compliant with state registration requirements
- Rostered and briefed pallbearers, celebrants and support staff for services, resolving scheduling conflicts before they reached the family
- Maintained follow-up contact with bereaved families after services, referring people to grief support services where appropriate and building a base of repeat and referred enquiries
Education
Certificate III in Funeral Operations or Certificate IV in Funeral Services (nationally recognised, commonly completed as a traineeship while working under a licensed director), with some directors progressing to a Diploma of Leadership and Management for operations or management responsibilities.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- funeral director licence
- cremation permit
- burial permit
- coronial notification
- Births, Deaths and Marriages registration
- Australian Funeral Directors Association (AFDA)
- work health and safety (WHS)
- cemeteries and crematoria compliance
- funeral management software
- bereavement support
- statutory declarations
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.