A job at a funeral director's is probably not the 'dream career' that many 18-year-olds aspire to.

But Jack Stanisstreet was thrilled when he 'jokingly' asked for a job at the firm opposite the cafe he worked in at the time, and was given a role.

Intending to stick it out for six months to save enough money to go travelling, Jack did exactly that - but went back to the company on his return, and has worked in the funeral industry ever since.

Now 28 - still considered very young for the role - Jack is a senior funeral director at Deric-Scott funeral home in Bournemouth, and says he finds his career 'incredibly rewarding'.

"It's so face to face with clients," he explains.

"You are brought in and become part of the family for a couple of weeks. It's just rewarding being that rock for someone, that helps people at a difficult time, which you probably don't get in a lot of jobs. It's easy to get drawn into it.

"I didn't intend this to be my career path as an 18-year-old, but it has been."

Jack, who lives with his family in Christchurch, began his career as a chauffeur bearer - driving and preparing cars, preparing bodies and carrying coffins.

In his role at Deric-Scott, part of the CPJ Field family, he now spends his time as a custodian of the deceased and as a technical advisor, agent and master of ceremonies when it comes to arranging a funeral with the family.

"We are an eternal middle man really," he explains, "because whatever happens, good or bad, the first person that the family will come to is likely to be us.

"We sit down with families and find out what they want and make sure that happens. I think people will not realise the extent of time that anybody in this industry dedicates to the role. There's a lot of time spent on each funeral, making sure that everything is done correctly and efficiently.

"People don't realise until they need us that we are 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We split the on-calls - there's three funeral directors here and we have three full-time chauffeur bearers. At any one time there are two people here."

People may also not realise that, even following the funeral service, Jack and his team stay in touch with families, and even run memorial services, book clubs and knitting clubs for their clients.

"It's not a one-way relationship," he stresses.

"You forge a relationship with the clients, as they do with you. The face-to-face time with clients is probably the bit that most people enjoy. Being able to help them at a difficult time is a really nice thing to do.

"Because of the people that we deal with and what they're going through, it's really nice to see that often brings out the best in people - both in the industry and in clients. It's nice to see my colleagues here step up and do things that are above and beyond the job description."

Jack, whose father is a farmer, is quite unusual in that he is not following in the family business, as many funeral directors do.

He says there are more 'outsiders' working in the funeral industry now, but admits it is not a career for everyone.

"It's an industry that you probably don't think of as being a popular industry to come into," he says.

"But I quite regularly have people come in and ask if we are employing. I think it's certainly something that you don't want to jump into without seeing the reality of it. Go and see firsthand and talk to people that are in the industry and be sure of what you want to do within the industry.

"I think you quickly know whether it's something you can deal with or not."

Jack admits that, while he enjoys his role, it takes a certain mentality to become a funeral director.

"In the very first instance, you are dealing with grieving families in a very raw and emotional state. We try and spend a lot of time with our clients to find out about the person. You do have to be a stable entity for them to come to and talk to.

"There's the practical side of things as well - dealing with someone once they've passed away is perhaps not for everyone.

"I think people often assume that we become numb to it and it becomes the 'every day'. It doesn't, actually. It's always a life."