When a person loses a loved one, often times they enter a state of shock - what to do next is unknown.

Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood aims to ease their hopelessness and guide them as they mourn their loss, treating them with dignity and respect.

This selfless empathy is the kind of character trait Mountain View is looking for in candidates to fill two open part-time, on-call staff associate positions.

"We're looking for candidates who have a heart to help families," said Paul Friden, funeral home manager at Mountain View.

The primary responsibility of the staff associate is to be available either during a day shift or night shift to go to a private residence or hospital and transport a deceased loved one into the care of Mountain View.

"The person that meets the family face to face needs to handle themselves with dignity and compassion for the families," Friden explained.

Friden said the right candidate for the job will exemplify a high degree of professionalism at all times. Friden said this means business suits for women and a nice shirt, tie and slacks for men.

Friden also said candidates must have a reliable phone and a reliable vehicle to get to the funeral home to pick up the company vehicle to use to transport the decedent. They must have a clean driving record. Candidates will undergo a successful background check. Candidates must have the resourcefulness to ask the right questions of families in order to assess the correct equipment to bring to transport the decedent.

Friden will also cross-train the right candidates to assist in funeral and memorial services.

"I'm a big proponent of cross-training," Friden said. "I want them to be available to staff a visitation or a reception after a service."

In other words, the part-time, on-call staff associate position is a multi-faceted job. Friden said it's a great entry level job for someone curious about the funeral home profession.

"You get a good idea of what goes on in the funeral home profession on an entry-level," Friden explained.

Friden said he has been in the profession for more than 25 years. He said he started out as an entry-level staff associate at a funeral home in Great Falls, Montana. He said he will always remember his first night on the job when he was called in at 11 p.m. and it ended up being the home next to his. Friden said the wife of the deceased, who he knew personally, felt comforted knowing he was taking her husband into his care.

"That experience has touched me all my life," Friden said.

Interested candidates are asked to email their resumé to Friden at pfriden@mountainviewtacoma.com.