Combination Resume (Template & 5+ Combo Examples)

Every person is different—and each resume must reflect that. Sometimes, the cookie-cutter templates don’t match a person’s career profile. Should you limit your vast experience to a chronological resume, just because many people do?

Certainly not! This guide will show you another option. A combination resume that not only presents your career achievements, but also highlights your key skills.

This guide will show you:

• A combination resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• A handy checklist for a combination resume format template.
• How to write a combination resume that will land you more interviews.
• How to describe your experience on a hybrid resume.
• Tips and examples on how to put skills and achievements on a combination resume.

Want to save time and have your combination resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Use this resume template

Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.

Looking for various resume examples? See:

• Resume Examples for Any Industry
• Functional Resume Example
• General Resume Example
• Targeted Resume Example
• Easy Resume Template
• Entry Level Resume Examples
• Microsoft Word Resume Template
• Best Resume Templates to Fill in & Download

Before we go into details, see this sample combination resume template for reference.

Combination Resume Examples

1. What is a Combination Resume Format and When to Use It?

Who doesn’t love a great duo?

Just think about peanut butter & jelly, Thelma & Louise, Netflix & chill.

Recruiters like duos too: especially a duo of stellar skills and impressive work experience in their candidates.

And you can get them their fave duo by submitting a well-written combination resume.

Rather than provide you with a dry definition of the combination resume, we will show you how it works:

The combination resume format combines the best features of a chronological resume and a skills-based resume. Its focal point is your skills summary, also called a professional profile or a qualifications summary. This section comes at the top of a hybrid resume, just below your resume contact information.

The skills summary lists skills relevant to the job and validates them by providing examples of past achievements and professional experience in bullet points.

Let’s have a quick look at a handy table that shows pros and cons of a combination resume template and explains how it differs from other resume layouts:

As you can see, the major weakness of a combination resume is that it can be used by relatively few types of job seekers.

Who can benefit most from creating a combination resume template:

1. Seasoned professionals with very extensive work experience: for them, a combination resume is a perfect way to emphasize their most impressive achievements.
2. Career-changers who haven’t yet worked in their target industry, but have otherwise developed key skills relevant to the job they’re trying to land.
3. Employment-gappers who, nonetheless, have many years of relevant work experience. With enough verifiable wins under their belt, they’ll be able to assure the recruiters any potential gaps don’t matter.

If you think you'd benefit more from choosing a classic reverse chronological resume, here's a must-read piece for you: 3 Resume Formats: How to Choose the Best One [Examples]

2. How to Write an Effective Combination Resume and What Sections to Include

When you’re looking for a job, a proper layout of a resume is your best friend.

Why?

Because it keeps the recruiters from getting frustrated.

Recruiters usually spend only 6 seconds on each resume they review.

If they find what they’re looking for during those 6 seconds, you’ve passed to the next stage. If not - say goodbye to your dream job.

To make your combination resume template scannable, you have to divide your resume into specific sections.

Here’s what sections a good template for a combination resume has to include, from top to bottom:

Combination resume made with our builder. See 20+ resume templates here.

Now, let’s break down how to make the most of each of the combination resume format sections.

1. Contact information

Yup, the basics first. If the recruiters are interested in interviewing you, they need to know how to reach you.

In the contact information, enter your:

• Full name,
• Email,
• Telephone number,
• Web addresses,
• Licence number,
• Your home address (optional).

2. Skills summary

Now, time for the real make-or-break part of a combination resume. This section is critical.

How do you write it?

In your skills summary, you file a list of your skills that are most relevant to the job you want to get. Underneath each skill-related subheading, you put bullet points describing your professional achievements that validate the skill you’re mentioning.

Here’s a real-life example:

Meet Christian. He’s applying for an IT executive position with a tech company that specializes in mobile apps development.

That’s why he needs to identify the key skills required from a successful candidate. In this case, these will be related to programming, team leadership, and business management.

Have a look at Christian’s executive combination resume skills summary:

Programming and App Development

• Developed and built 20+ mobile apps and 30+ websites providing exceptional user experience.
• Named BCD M&E’s “Top Programmer of The Year” for three consecutive years 2009-2011.
• 15+ years experience in C/C++, Cocoa, and Objective-C.
• C Certified Professional Programmer (2006), C++ Certified Professional Programmer (2009).

Leadership

• 8+ years experience in team management (teams of 10-50 colleagues) and project coordination.
• Designed and implemented a new IT management model with Apple’s New York Branch, increasing the quarterly productivity by 33%.
• Trained and mentored 50+ junior developers to help them prepare for certification exams (88% success rate).

Business Management

• Coordinated 20+ projects with a budget over $200,000.
• Optimized procurement processes to reduce BCD M&E’s annual costs by 27%.
• Successfully cooperated with sales and marketing teams on new business strategies which helped increase Apple New York’s sales volume by 23%.

This is a great example of a combination resume put to proper use.

See what Christian did here?

He didn’t want to make hiring managers hunt for his achievements.

Instead, he pulled out a standalone skills-related summary of what he’s accomplished and spiced it up with a mix of his awards and certifications.

That’s exactly how you should do it if you’re writing an executive combination resume.

ProTip: If you’re writing a combination resume for a career change, focus on highlighting those skills that your potential employer is looking for. Don’t place too much focus on achievements unrelated to the job offer, even if you’re insanely proud of them.

Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide and use content from Certified Professional Resume Writers to have a resume ready in minutes.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and our ATS resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

3. Additional skills

If you’re an experienced candidate, your skills summary section probably does not include all of your key skills - only those that show you’ll excel in the position you’re applying to.

But other skills also matter. They present you as a high level professional with a comprehensive professional knowledge.

Name the skills section “Additional skills” or just “Skills”. Include up to five bullet points describing your abilities. And be specific - briefly explain your level of proficiency in each of your skills.

Need some ideas on what skills to list and how to describe them? See our guide:

30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume (Proven Tips)

4. Work experience

A combination resume highlights your skills and achievements before anything else, true.

But your work experience section is still vital. The recruiters are interested in your career progress and want to see where exactly your skills came from.

On a combination style resume, put your work experience section below the skills-related sections.

Start with your current or most recent job. Then, enter your previous positions in reverse chronological order.

Under each job, add up to two bullet points that illustrate your responsibilities and achievements.

Here’s a sample hybrid resume work experience entry:

Project Manager

Electronics Fab

January 2007‒April 2014

Atheon MDC, Massachusetts

• Led electronics fab project management for Raytheon MDC’s 85 employees.
• Managed Lean Training project for three years. Improved quality by 32%, cut lead times 21%.

ProTip: It’s fine if you repeat some achievements from your skills summary in your work experience section. It makes your resume consistent and highlights your best wins.

Want to learn more about how to describe your work experience on a combination resume format? Read our guide: Job Description Bullet Points for a Killer Work Experience Section

5. Education

Your education section comes last on a hybrid resume template.

And it’s pretty straightforward.

All you have to do is list your highest degree of education. Include:

• The type of your degree.
• Your major.
• The name and location of your school.
• Your honors or awards.

Here’s an example of a combination resume education section:

2015 MA in Journalism and Social Communication, with Distinction

Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY

So there you have it. A complete combination resume format template.

ProTip: Once you’re done with writing,

Want some more expert tips and examples on how to structure your resume sections? Read our guide: Resume Sections to Include on Your Resume: Guide (+20 Examples)

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

If you’re an experienced professional, making a combination resume is a great way to make sure the recruiters pay attention to your stellar skills.

To make sure your combination resume is up to par, use these key strategies:

• Validate your skills by linking them to relevant professional achievements, awards, or certifications.
• Tailor your skills summary to the job description. Don’t show off the skills that you’re most proud of, but those the employers are looking for.
• When listing your work experience, remember to briefly explain your duties or highlight your top achievements.
• Repeating some information from the skills summary is perfectly fine—it makes your resume consistent and your skills more convincing.

Do you have any questions on how to write a combination resume? Want to discuss the pros and cons of the combination resume format? Give us a shout in the comments and we’ll answer your questions!

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