How to Write a Combination Resume That Gets Interviews

Choosing the right resume format is important because it helps you present your career story in a way that aligns with the job you’re after.

In this article, I’m going to focus on the combination resume (also called the hybrid resume). It’s a versatile format that balances skills and professional experience. This makes it ideal for a wide range of situations.

Let me walk you through why I often recommend the combination resume, how it works, and when it is the best option for you.

What is a combination resume?

As its name suggests, the combination resume format combines two styles. It merges the chronological format’s focus on work history with the functional resume format’s focus on skills.

This format treats both equally. Job seekers can show what they can do and where they did it.

In a typical combination resume, the skills section comes first. It shows your technical skills, core strengths, and key abilities that fit the job description. Next is a reverse-chronological work history. This shows where and how those skills were used. In some versions, skills and experience might be grouped under themed headings. They can also appear side by side.

This format supports career changers, freelancers, veterans entering civilian jobs, and those with diverse work backgrounds. It’s a smart choice for candidates. They can highlight transferable skills and show real-world results. It also shows consistent employment.

A combination resume shows your qualifications and experience clearly. This helps hiring managers and applicant tracking systems (ATS) see your value quickly. It’s a strong format that showcases your diverse career story. This is great, especially if your path isn’t linear.

How to write a combination resume

Let’s break it down. Here’s what a solid combination resume should include.

1. Add contact information first

At the top of your resume, include your name, address (city, state, zip code), phone number, email, and LinkedIn profile.

2. Include a resume headline

A resume headline quickly tells me who you are and what you specialize in. This is invaluable when I’m scanning dozens of resumes.

Your headline should always include the title of the job you’re applying for. This is critical for passing through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). ATS software often prioritizes resumes that include the job title, and hiring managers tend to search for that title as a keyword.

But what if the job title doesn’t quite match your current experience? Maybe you’re a career changer or a recent graduate. You can still include the job title by saying you’re “transitioning” to that role or “aspiring” to it.

3. Write a resume summary

A resume summary is a short statement that showcases your skills, experience, and achievements. Think of it as your elevator pitch—it’s your chance to say, “Here’s what I can do.”

Why use a resume summary? Because it’s a great way to “optimize your resume with keywords, catch an employer’s attention, and provide career highlights,” says career coach Jazlyn Unbedacht.

Keep it concise—2-5 sentences are all you need to make a strong impression.

4. Include a skills section

The skills section is one of the quickest ways to make an impression, both for recruiters like me and for applicant tracking systems (ATS). Done well, it can make your resume stand out at a glance.

When creating this section, focus on job-specific hard skills over generic soft skills. Tools, technologies, or methodologies are often what employers look for here.

For example, if you’re applying for a graphic design role, list software like Adobe Creative Suite or Figma. This is far more impactful than simply saying “creative problem-solving.”

5. Write a work experience section

Your work experience section should list your job titles, company names, locations, and employment dates. Start with your most recent position and work backward in reverse chronological order.

Use bullet points to describe your job responsibilities and measurable accomplishments. It’s important to include both.

What’s a measurable accomplishment? It’s when you use numbers to show your impact. For example, “Reduced operational costs by 15% over 12 months” is a measurable accomplishment.

Recently, a bartender friend of mine showed me his resume. It just listed things like “made drinks” and “served customers.” I told him to include measurable accomplishments—like how much cash he handled daily or the revenue he helped bring in. There’s always a way to connect your daily responsibilities to the success of the business.

6. Don’t forget the education section

Just like your work experience, list your education in reverse chronological order. Start with your highest degree or most recent program. Include the school name, location, degree earned, and graduation date (month and year).

Combination resume template

Need a starting point for your combination resume? This simple template helps you highlight your best skills and experience. It also follows the tips we’ve shared.

Simply copy and paste the template and start tailoring it to your career goals.

Why I like the combination resume

Recruiters like me tend to favor chronological resumes. They’re easy to skim, and they give us a quick snapshot of your career progression. But that’s not always enough, especially if you’re making a career change or have a diverse work history.

The combination resume addresses these challenges. By leading with a summary of your skills, you immediately tell me what you bring to the table. Then, when I scroll down to your work history, I can see how those skills were applied in real-world settings.

It’s a smart way to guide the recruiter’s eye and ensure your resume gets the attention it deserves.

I often tell job seekers: “Think of your resume as your personal marketing tool. It’s not just about listing jobs. It’s about sharing a story that matches what the employer wants.”

When should you use a combination resume?

If you fit into one of these three groups, think about using the combination resume.

1. You’re changing careers

The combination resume is perfect for career changers. It puts your transferable skills front and center. Employers value transferable skills. They indicate you’ve mastered abilities that apply to the new role.

At the same time, the combination resume includes your work history. This shows you’ve been around the block, even if your background isn’t a perfect match. Using this format tells employers that you can hit the ground running.

One candidate I worked with was transitioning from teaching to corporate training. Their combination resume highlighted their expertise in curriculum development and public speaking. It also showed a clear timeline of their teaching experience. They easily landed several interviews right away!

2. You have employment gaps

Life happens, and so do gaps in your employment history. Maybe you took time off to raise children, go back to school, or deal with health issues.

A combination resume highlights your strengths first. It showcases your skills and achievements. It shifts the focus away from gaps and onto where it should be: your value.

3. You are a freelancer or have diverse work experience

If you’re a freelancer or have diverse work experience, a combination resume can tie it all together. First, it shows off the wide range of skills you’ve gained. Then your work history shows where you developed those skills.

Again, it’s all about the value you can bring to a new role. The combination resume format helps employers see the overall picture. It focuses less on the details of your past jobs.

This chart can help you figure out which resume format to use:

Combination resume examples

Here are two combination resume examples. They show how your finished resume might look.

How to write an ATS-friendly combination resume

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. It’s software that gathers, organizes, and analyzes the resumes companies receive for each job.

If your combination resume isn’t formatted right or lacks the right keywords, it might get filtered out. A recruiter like me may never see it.

Our latest study shows that 98.4% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS to manage their hiring process. That’s 492 companies out of 500.

To create a professional resume that’s ATS-friendly, just follow these three steps.

1. Identify the most important keywords

Review the job description and find the key skills or keywords. These keywords matter. Hiring managers enter them into the ATS search bar to find the right candidates.

Here’s an example of a job description with some important keywords highlighted:

2. Tailor each resume

Once you’ve identified the most important keywords, incorporate them into your resume. Do this for each resume you send out. This is called tailoring your resume.

Do not make the common mistake of creating only one resume that you use for every application. This is easier but it won’t get results.

You may be highly qualified for the job. But if your resume lacks the exact keywords from the job description, you won’t get an interview

3. Format your resume so it’s ATS-compatible

Make sure your resume is formatted so an ATS can read it properly. I get quite a few resumes in my ATS that I can’t read at all because they come out as jumbled messes.

To prevent that from happening to you, follow these formatting tips:

4. Use an online tool to help tailor your resumes

Tailoring each resume manually can be time-consuming. Fortunately, there are online tool that can help.

For example, Jobscan’s resume scanner analyzes your resume and the job description. It then provides you with a match score. This score shows how closely your resume aligns with the job requirements.

The higher your score, the better your chances of catching a recruiter’s attention. The tool even provides actionable feedback to help boost your score.

Below is an example of a Jobscan report. The keywords “call center” and “computer skills” are in the job description but are missing from the resume. By adding these keywords, you’ll increase your score–and your chances of getting an interview!

Jobscan’s tool also points out formatting errors that could prevent an ATS from properly reading your resume.

Using this tool can provide immediate results. One Jobscan user said “I went from not getting interviews for months at a time and then I got three or four interviews. It was a definite change.”

Key takeaways

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