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Include your name, email address, phone number, and location. If applicable, mid-career applicants should consider adding links to their LinkedIn profiles, professional website, or online portfolio.
Your professional summary should be two to five sentences that highlight the most impressive skills and experience you have cultivated up to this point in your career.
The summary of qualifications consists of a high-level overview of your most job-relevant professional skills. Contextualize them with verifiable achievements to show recruiters you meet key job requirements.
Study the job ad to determine the most critical hard and soft skills for the role. Then, add in any other relevant skills and training that will make you stand out. Since a combination resume focuses on skills and experience, feel free to make this a comprehensive list—but keep it up to 8 skills.
List your work experience in reverse-chronological order, with your most recent job at the top of the list. This section should be detailed, so be sure to include any metrics that will highlight your professional successes.
List your advanced degrees in reverse-chronological order. If you don’t have a college degree, list your high school diploma or GED in this section. Otherwise, leave it off.
As you can see from the diagram above, the combination resume puts equal emphasis on skills and experience.
Its sweet spot balance makes this resume format ideal for a wide range of job seekers, especially those in the middle of their careers, re-entering the workforce after a break or those changing industries.
Below, we’ll share some tips for writing a resume that takes it out of the park and includes everything employers are looking for.
Because the combination format can benefit less experienced job seekers as well as more senior-level professionals, you can choose between a resume objective or a resume summary—the latter being the one we recommend for most job seekers.
The resume summary is the more traditional approach and it exclusively showcases those key qualifications you possess. Although less direct in its approach, the career objective may be a better choice for applicants on the lesser end of experience since it also allows you to share your career goals.
One of the standout characteristics of the combination resume format is that you can include a summary of qualifications that serves as a preview of your achievements and further convinces employers you really have all it takes to succeed at the role.
In just a few bullet point phrases, you’ll highlight the skills that make you most apt for the role and share some context as to how you utilized that skill in past jobs.
Although the combination does prioritize skills in the section order (the skills sections and summary of qualifications go first on your resume), you still have to include a classic work history section.
Organize a list of your past jobs in reverse chronological order and for each role, and share a few accomplishments that show you meet the skills and experience required for the position.
One of the most effective ways to instantly capture a hiring manager’s attention with your resume is to include numbers to quantify your achievements. When employers read resume after resume, they’re bound to become repetitive.
Therefore, instead of repeating the same generic job duties as everyone else, focus on the results you achieved on the role. Use numbers, percentages and dollar amounts to give employers a clear picture of the impact you can bring to their organization.
A common resume mistake is being too generic or focusing only on your qualifications without aligning them to the job requirements. Even a strong resume can be overlooked if it’s not tailored to the role.
Use the job ad to find repeated skills and key qualifications—these are your resume keywords. Highlight them to show you’re a strong fit and catch the hiring manager’s attention.
A combination resume works well for many, but it’s not ideal for everyone. You may want to consider a functional or chronological format instead if:
Combination resumes still include a timeline, so gaps will be noticeable. A functional resume can help you highlight skills and minimize attention on dates.
If you’re new to the workforce, a functional format allows you to focus on transferable skills rather than a limited or nonexistent job history.
Resume Success Stories
If you’re an executive-level job seeker:
If you worked for years at a single company in various roles:
If you are reentering the workforce:
If you are making a career change:
If you are early in your career:
On a combination resume, include the five main sections in this order: contact info, summary, skills, work history, and education. Since it’s skills-focused, you can expand the skills section or add accomplishments to highlight your strengths.
Use a combination resume if you have strong skills and a solid work history. It’s ideal for mid-career professionals, career changers, those reentering the workforce, or anyone with steady growth at one company. This format highlights both your qualifications and your career progression effectively.
A combination resume highlights both your skills and work history, making it ideal for showcasing qualifications and career growth. It helps employers quickly see your strengths while still providing a clear job timeline. This format is especially useful for career changers, mid-level professionals, or those with diverse, transferable skills.
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