Having swapped a career in retail to take up her first role in the funeral industry, our latest recruit Hannah Chapman reckons she has definitely made the right choice.
“I’m finding the work really fulfilling,” she says, after starting her work as a funeral arranger at our Stapleford office way back in March.
“It’s a privilege to aid and support in arranging funerals which can help people find closure after losing a loved one.”
Hannah’s previous role was as a stock manager for the high street bath and beauty products firm Lush, but she has also spent time as an English teacher in Italy, a waitress and a student ambassador, having studied Italian at university.
Although all of them were roles that involved working with people and she enjoyed her work at Lush, Hannah says that she was still searching for a job that would give her complete gratification.
Then the loss of her own father to cancer last year led her to arrange his funeral with an all-female funeral firm, whose care and attention during the process showed her that this might be the industry for her.
“They were brilliant for my dad,” she says. “We wanted a church service where people wore bright colours so that it wouldn’t be a traditional funeral but a fitting occasion where we celebrated his life.
“That experience stayed with me. I’m an empathic person and I thought that if the company I went to could do it, then so could I.”
Earlier this year, Hannah saw our advert on Facebook, applied for the role and, six months later, is already planning her next step.
Hannah’s role involves meeting the families, finding out what kind of funeral they want and help our funeral director in Stapleford, Alan Winfield, to put everything together.
“My understanding of funeral homes before working for Gillotts was very different to what it actually is,” she says, “and I’ve learned that the process of organising a funeral can be just as important as the funeral itself.
“A funeral can capture the life and spirit of the person who has passed away. I didn’t realise how unique you can make them. Funerals can be whatever you want and need them to be.
“Acknowledging and honouring the person who has died with personal touches, can help make it a celebration of their life, which makes each and every funeral different.”