Choosing the Right Resume
The best resume style to pick is the one that showcases your work experiences in the most marketable fashion. So you
really want to choose a resume format that best highlights both your job skills and accomplishments.
That's the reason that there are three different types of resumes used today. Each resume format has a distinct set of
advantages and disadvantages - including combination resumes. Choosing the right resume, or picking the right resume,
really comes down to two important factors:
 The amount, consistency and depth of work experience you have accumulated so far in your career.
 How well the job you're seeking is aligned with your past work experience.
As you'll see later on as we look at the advantages and disadvantages of the combination resume that we've outlined
below, they're all related to the two factors mentioned above.
The Combination Resume Format
The combination resume is one of the three main types of resumes used today. The other two resume styles include the
chronological resume and functional resume format. As its name implies, the combination resume borrows the best
features from each of the other two styles.
The combination resume generally starts with a functional resume format that allows the reader to see the skills,
accomplishments and qualifications of the job applicant. This is sometimes referred to as the "page one" format.
The second page of the combination resume is a reverse chronological ordering of the work experiences you've had so
far in your career. The combination resume first lets the reader see all of the experience you have that is related to the
job opening, while the second page or part of the resume lets the potential employer look at your work history. This
format allows the reader to first match your qualifications up against the needs of the job opening, and then gives the
reader a sense of security by identifying where you've actually accomplished these things.
Later in this article we provide you with a link to a sample of a combination resume. But for now, we're going to run
through each of the sections used in a combination resume format so you get a better idea of how information is arranged
in this particular resume layout:
Name / Contact Information
Like most resumes, combination resumes start off with a banner that includes your name and contact information such as
street address, telephone number and email address.
Education
The next section you'll find in a combination resume is a table of your educational background. Many jobs today list a
"required" or "desired" educational background. If it's that important to someone screening a resume, it
might as well be right up front in the resume.
Honors / Certifications / Licenses Held
The third section in a combination resume contains a bulleted list of the certifications, educational honors or professional
licenses you might hold. For example, a certified public accountant would include that certification in this section of the
resume.
Careers Skills / Knowledge
The fourth section you'll find in the combination resume is a bulleted listing or table of the skills and knowledge you've
accumulated. Since this section is so visible on this type of resume, you'll want to take a great deal of time making sure
it projects the right image of your experience.
For example, if you're looking for a sales position, you'll want to emphasize skills such as sales training, P&L
responsibilities, client development or product management.
Career Achievements
The next section of a combination resume should contain a bulleted listing of what you believe are your most significant
career accomplishments. Listing out your career achievements, skills and knowledge up front adds to the overall
attractiveness of the combination resume format.
An example of a career achievement might look like:
Developed custom accounting application for use in start up business, reducing the number of accounting data reporting
errors by 90%.
Work Experience
This sixth and final section of the combination resume is a listing of your work experience. This is identical to the section
appearing in a chronological resume. Since a resume is your personal advertisement, you want to pick the style that
showcases your strengths and de-emphasizes your weaknesses. If you've read the other two articles in this series then
you know that the easiest way to help you figure out which style to use is to run through the strengths and weaknesses of
the combination resume style.
Advantages of the Combination Resume
 If you're a student with little work history, the combination resume format allows you to showcase your skills
first before revealing your short work history.
 If you've worked for the same company for a long time or held the same type of position for a while, a
combination resume allows the reader to see the skills you've accumulated along the way.
 If you are making a radical career change, once again, this format places emphasis on achievements and skills
first, rather than pointing out that this is a big change in your career path.
Disadvantages of the Combination Resume
 If you have switched jobs frequently, then the chronological portion of this format still highlights the frequently
switching and the timeline gaps in employment history.
 If you have unrelated experience or have followed a career path that might seem illogical on the surface, then
the chronological portion of this resume would highlight that path.
 Finally, if you are trying to conceal your age, the combination resume format would give a potential employer
enough information to get a rough idea of your age.
Functional and Chronological Resumes
If you're not sure the combination resume is the correct format to use in you situation, don't forget there are two other
resume formats that you can use. In fact, we suggest that you read the information we've provided on both the
functional resume and chronological resume formats before starting to write your own resume.
You might also want to take a look at many of the other resume writing resources we've got on this website including
additional free resume examples for you to download as well as our resume writing tips.
The Chronological Resume Format
Name / Contact Information
Like most resumes, the chronological resume starts off with a banner that includes your name and contact information
such as street address, telephone number and email address.
Education
The next section you'll find in a chronological resume is a table of your educational background. Many jobs today list a
"required" or "desired" educational background. If it's that important to someone screening a resume, it might as well be
right up front in the resume.
Honors / Certifications / Licenses Held
The third section in a chronological resume contains a bulleted list of the certifications, educational honors or
professional licenses you might hold. For example, a certified public accountant would include that certification in this
section of the resume.
Work Experience
This fourth and final section of the chronological resume really helps to define this particular resume format. In the work
experience section of this resume you will include the reverse chronological listing of all of your work experience. But as
we will see later on when we look at the example we've given you there are some advantages and disadvantages of
showing this information in this manner.
Advantages of the Chronological Resume
 If your more recent job experiences are aligned with the job that you are seeking then one of the advantages of
the chronological resume is that these job descriptions and job titles are highlighted in the chronological format.
 The progression of your career is easy to follow since the chronological resume lists jobs in a timeline
sequence. The sequence of jobs listed in this resume format is uses a reverse chronological order.
 A chronological resume highlights not only your job position or job titles but also the organizations you've
worked for in the past.
 Since the chronological resume has a built-in timeline, it is believed to be more fact based. The advantage here
is that the chronological resume carries with it a lot of credibility in the eyes of the hiring manger or recruiter.
Disadvantages of a Chronological Resume
 Your work experience is listed in reverse chronological order if you use this resume format. If there is a gap or
break in your work experience timeline then the chronological resume makes that gap stand out.
 The chronological resume allows potential employers to figure out if you've been switching jobs every couple of
years. This is something they might not like in a job candidate.
 A chronological resume makes it nearly impossible to hide your age from potential employers. This can be a big
disadvantage for both younger and older job seekers.
 If your career path might seem somewhat illogical to the reader then a chronological resume would highlight
that fact.
Career History Section of a Chronological Resume
The chronological resume format arranges the applicant's career history section into a timeline sequence that runs
through what they've accomplished in their careers. An example of how that format is shown on a resume appears
below:
ABC Manufacturing Corporation, Some City, Kansas 2000 - 2004
Plant Manager
Responsible for managing the operation of a 150,000 square foot plastics manufacturing facility operating on a 24 / 7
work schedule. Maintained the quality of product while setting annual records for production quantities at that facility.
CBA Laboratories, City Harbor, Maine 1996 - 2000
Laboratory Supervisor
Managed plastics research laboratory responsible for replicating small scale extrusion operations. Developed several low
temperature techniques that later became the primary patent under which second generation plants were constructed.
Functional Resumes
If you're not sure the chronological resume is the correct format to use in your situation, don't forget there is another
format that you can use. The functional resume is one of the three main types of resume formats used today. Most
people are confused when it comes to figuring out which type of resume they should build. But we believe the answer to
that question is pretty simple.
Choosing the Right Resume
To answer the question you need to think about why you are putting a resume together in the first place. Most likely you
are trying to highlight your career experience so that you can get an interview for a job. So your resume is like a
personal career advertisement. Like any advertisement, you want the consumer to buy the product - you. In today's job
market there is a lot of competition, so you want to use a resume format that will best showcase your skills and
accomplishments. So how do we know if a functional resume is the one that does the trick? Let's first take a look at the
components of a functional resume and then we can talk through some of the advantages and disadvantages of this type
of resume. After that we can run through a couple of examples of the functional resume format.
The Functional Resume Format
The functional resume places a good deal of emphasis on what you know and what you've accomplished rather than
where you've worked. This allows the reader to see all of the skills, accomplishments and qualifications of the job
applicant presented in a logical fashion.
As we examine each of the sections of a functional resume below, the one thing you'll notice is that there is no listing of
prior work history. That particular feature is very well suited to some job applicants. We will address that "feature" in
the advantages / disadvantages section of this article.
Name / Contact Information
Like most resumes, functional resumes start off with a banner that includes your name and contact information such as
street address, telephone number and email address.
Education
The next section you'll find in a functional resume is a table of your educational background. Many jobs today list a
"required" or "desired" educational background. If it's that important to someone screening a resume, it might as well be
right up front in the resume.
Honors / Certifications / Licenses Held
The third section in a functional resume contains a bulleted list of the certifications, educational honors or professional
licenses you might hold. For example, a certified public accountant would include that certification in this section of the
resume.
Careers Skills / Knowledge
The fourth section you'll find in the functional resume is a bulleted listing or table of the skills and knowledge you've
accumulated. Since this section is so visible on this type of resume, you'll want to take a great deal of time making sure
it projects the right image of your experience.
For example, if you're looking for a sales position, you'll want to emphasize skills such as sales training, P&L
responsibilities, client development or product management.
Career Achievements
The next and final section appearing in a functional resume is bulleted listings of what you believe are your most
significant career accomplishments.
An example of a career achievement might look like:
Developed custom accounting application for use in start up business, reducing the number of accounting data reporting
errors by 90%.
It might seem rather strange to some of you that a functional resume does not include a listing of where you've worked
and the job titles you've held. As we will discuss in this next section, this can actually be a very big advantage to some
job applicants.
Advantages of a Functional Resume
 If your career path is not immediately apparent, then a functional resume can help conceal that perceived
"problem." You don't want the recruiter to get the impression that you don't really know what you want to do - because
you probably do. You avoid this problem with the functional format.
 If you're new to the workplace - such as a graduating college student - a functional resume helps you to
highlight what you know, not where you've worked.
 When you've had employment gaps in your career, a functional resume can help to cover up those gaps. Unlike a
chronological resume, you don't need to show where you've been in the past.
 If you've changed jobs every two years, you might not want your next employer to pick up on that habit. You
may have been rewarded with higher compensation, but no one wants to invest money getting you up to speed only to
have you leave their company. A functional resume can help you hide what might look like job hopping.
 Finally, if you are "overqualified" or are looking upwards from your past jobs, then a functional resume can help
to emphasize your skills and avoid bringing attention to job titles.
Disadvantages of a Functional Resume
 The big disadvantage of a functional resume is that the hiring manager might be looking for the very information
that the functional resume allows you to avoid putting on your resume. Unfortunately, this can make the hiring manager
suspicious or nervous when the job seeker uses this format. You need to make sure the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages before using a functional resume.