The Guide to Combination Resumes (with Examples and Templates)

Although not as common as traditional format resumes, combination resumes can be of great value for job applicants as well. A combination resume underscores the job seeker’s professional experience and skill sets. Job seekers who are in the middle of a career change or are skilled in a wide range of areas can reap the most benefits of a combination resume.

In this article, we will cover what a combination resume is & its format. how to write a combination resume, tips for writing a combination resume, as well as combination resume samples and templates.

A combination resume, or also known as a hybrid resume, mixes the formats of reverse-chronological resume and the functional one. 

The combination resume format offers quite a few advantages. It allows you the flexibility to tailor the content of your resume for a particular position. With the combination resume format, you can skip irrelevant job history and gaps in your CV that would otherwise be obvious in a reverse-chronological resume with a combination resume. You can also showcase your top skills, certifications, and qualifications in detail with a combination resume. 

Combination resumes are not always the best choice. The combinational format will especially help enhance the quality of your resume if:

• You are changing careers.
• You have limited work experience.
• You have gaps in your employment history.
• You have a wide range of skills and experience.

For job seekers in these situations, a combination resume can either help emphasize the strong suits and relevant information or avoid showing weakness.

If you are changing careers, you can highlight the relevant work experience and transferable skills that can be an asset to the new job with a combination resume. If you are a recent graduate from high school or college, using a combination resume helps you to focus on your skills instead of your lack of work experience. 

Of course, apart from a hybrid resume, there are other resume formats. They all have their own pros and cons.

• Functional (Skill-based) Resume Format

Similar to a combination resume, a functional resume highlights the applicant’s skills, which is why they are both most commonly used by teenagers or those with limited work experience. 

• Chronological (Reverse-chronological) Resume Format

The reverse-chronological format is considered the standard format and most common among job applicants. Unlike a combination resume, it details the employment history and shows the job applicant’s career development.

• Combination (Hybrid) Resume Format

A hybrid resume also combines the pros and cons of the other two formats.

Now you know the different types of resumes; if after carefully weighing the pros and cons, you decide to use a combination resume, here’s a template for you.

1. Resume Header

In the resume header, you should mention your basic information, name and LinkedIn profile, and your contact information in a combination resume. 

2. Resume Summary

Like other resume formats, a hybrid resume should also include your top achievements, career highlights, and relevant skills in the summary section. It should be 2-3 sentences-long.

3. Skill Summary

Skills are the main focus of a combination resume. In this section, you should list skills that are required for the job you are applying for in bullet points. 

4. Work History

The work experience section in a combination resume functions as a support to the skill section. So carefully pick relevant work experiences that demonstrate the skills you have listed.

For the achievements and responsibilities listed under each job, you should be specific and provide hard evidence, statistics and data, to demonstrate the changes you’ve made.

5. Education

The education section can also help to highlight your skills in a combination resume. The information you need to specify in this section includes: 

• The type of your degree
• The name of the school
• The years in which you attended the school
• GPA (if above 3.5)

Also, if a course you took can help to bring out your skills, also include it in bullet points on your combination resume.

Now that you know the essentials about a combination resume, you can start working on yours. Below we have gathered some tips that you can follow to take your combination resume quality to the next level.

💡 Tailor the resume writing according to the job description.

First of all, make sure you read the job description carefully and learn the skills and qualifications the hiring manager is looking for. Pick out keywords from the job description and include them in your combination resume. 

💡 Highlight skills relevant to the job description.

Once you know the skills the hiring manager is seeking in a candidate, you can include them in your combination resume and make sure they are the first thing the recruiter would see when they review your resume. 

Use action verbs and adjectives to describe your skills and leave a strong impression on the recruiter.

💡 Include transferable skills. 

Transferable skills are skills that you can use in many different jobs, no matter what fields the jobs are in. As mentioned before, a combination resume is a great choice for people who are going through a career change. Transferable skills on a combination resume, thus, can help to show you are an ideal candidate.

You can list them in either the work experience section or the education sections of a resume with a combinational style.

💡 Group and put related skills together.

For example, if your skills include SEO, digital marketing, Google Analytics, content writing, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, CSS and HTML, categorize them in a combination resume as:

• Digital Marketing: SEO, content writing, Google Analytics 
• Graphic Design: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator
• Programming: CSS, HTML

💡 Use free combination resume templates.

Nowadays, there are many combination resume templates provided by online resume builders, such as CakeResume, or downloadable hybrid resume templates and edit them with word processing software, like MS Word and Google Docs.

Making good use of free templates available online help you navigate the complicated, if not confusing, process of resume writing and save time, especially when you decide to use a combination resume, a less common format.

If you are still not sure how to write a combination resume, here are some examples you can follow:

Combination Resume Template for a Stay-at-Home Mom:

Combination Resume Template for Project Manager:

Combination Resume Template Example for Teenagers (High School Students):