Resume template · Updated October 2026
Combination resume template: strengths first, full history below
Short answer
A combination resume opens with what you do best and then proves it with a complete, dated work history. FAANGPath fits that shape: a summary, labelled skill rows, then every job newest first with full bullets. The fictional sample is a quality engineer with nine years in automotive and medical device plants; each of the three strengths named at the top is backed by a job further down.
Download the combination sample
Marcus is a fictional quality engineer. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why FAANGPath suits a combination resume
FAANGPath prints the summary and then the skills block before any job, each skill group on its own labelled line, so the strengths half of a combination resume takes the top of the page. Experience follows in full, newest first, so the history half is not cut short. It is designed for technical candidates, which suits an engineer whose methods and software are half of the pitch.
Second choice: Meridian. Meridian uses the same order in the same black and grey, with rules running beside each heading and colons after the skill labels; it is the editor's default and reads as less technical.
What goes in each section, in FAANGPath's order
FAANGPath prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Write three strengths with a piece of proof each, rather than a career story: supplier quality (about 60 suppliers), root cause work (8D on field returns), quality systems (ISO 13485 audits). A reader should be able to find each of them again in a job entry below.
- Skills. Arrange the rows to echo the summary: methods under Technical, software and measuring equipment under Tools. Leave out anything no job entry mentions; in a combination resume every skill should be traceable to a place where you used it.
- Work Experience. This half is what separates a combination resume from a functional one: every role keeps its title, employer, city, dates and bullets. Inside each job, order the bullets so the one matching your first strength comes first.
- Education. Degree, field and school on one line. Add a minor only if it supports one of your strengths, such as statistics for a quality role.
- Certifications. Give the credential's full name, the issuing body and the year. FAANGPath prints this list near the bottom, so the sample repeats CQE in the headline where it is seen first.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Marcus Webb
Quality Engineer, ASQ CQE
Grand Rapids, MI | marcus.webb@example.com | (616) 555-0131 | linkedin.com/in/sample-marcus-webb
Quality engineer with nine years in automotive and medical device plants. Strongest in supplier quality (PPAP and audits for about 60 suppliers), root cause analysis (8D and DMAIC on returns and scrap) and quality systems (ISO 13485 and IATF 16949). Spends as much time on the production floor as in reports.
Experience
Senior Quality Engineer, Northshore Medical Devices, Grand Rapids, MI (05/2022 to Present)
- Approve PPAP submissions for about 60 component suppliers and lead on-site supplier audits.
- Led an 8D investigation into catheter seal leaks that cut related complaints by about 40%.
- Run the CAPA system for two production lines and report open actions at the monthly quality review.
- Prepared the plant for ISO 13485 recertification, which closed with no major findings.
Quality Engineer, Lakeline Automotive Components, Holland, MI (03/2019 to 04/2022)
- Built process FMEAs and control plans for 14 stamped and welded parts during launch.
- Set up SPC on critical weld dimensions in Minitab, reducing scrap on the line by about 25%.
- Ran layered process audits with shift supervisors in three production cells.
Quality Technician, Lakeline Automotive Components, Holland, MI (06/2017 to 02/2019)
- Measured first-article parts on the CMM and recorded results for engineering review.
- Trained operators on a new gauge R&R procedure.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, West Shore State University (05/2017)
Certifications
- Certified Quality Engineer (CQE), ASQ (2021)
Skills
Supplier quality (PPAP, APQP), Root cause analysis (8D, DMAIC), Process FMEA and control plans, Statistical process control, CAPA, Minitab, CMM and gauge R&R, SolidWorks, Excel, Supplier communication, Training operators
How to make the sample yours
Take the three strengths from the posting
List the requirements in the job ad and pick the three you have done most often. They become the summary's three clauses and set the order of your skill rows.
Back every strength twice
Each strength in the summary should reappear in at least one bullet with a number. If "supplier quality" has no bullet behind it, add one or drop the claim.
Keep the older jobs complete
It is tempting to shrink early roles to make room for the skills block. Give them fewer bullets, but keep their dates and titles; the unbroken history is the point of this format.
Swap the field, keep the frame
A bookkeeper might choose reconciliations, payroll and month-end close as the three strengths; an IT administrator, identity management, device security and help desk leadership.
Watch the page count
The skills block costs space a chronological resume would give to jobs. If the page spills over, trim the oldest job's bullets before you cut the summary to fewer than three strengths.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- quality engineering
- supplier quality
- PPAP
- APQP
- process FMEA
- root cause analysis
- 8D problem solving
- statistical process control
- CAPA
- ISO 13485
- IATF 16949
- Minitab
- internal audits
- Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
Mistakes to avoid
- A strengths summary the job history does not support, such as claiming audit leadership when every audit bullet says "assisted".
- Cutting older jobs down to a title with no dates to make room for skills. That turns the page into a functional resume and invites questions.
- A skills block that repeats the summary word for word. Use the summary for claims with proof and the rows for exact terms.
- Four or five "areas of strength". Past three, the top of the page turns back into a list and none of them stands out.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 9 of 9 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 9 of 9 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 9 of 9 |
Frequently asked questions
What is a combination resume?
A resume that leads with a summary of strengths and a skills section, then gives your complete work history newest first. "Hybrid resume" is another name for the same layout.
Who should use a combination resume?
People whose recent jobs are relevant and who also have a set of specialties worth naming before the history: engineers, technicians, accountants, IT staff, experienced administrators. With a long gap or unrelated recent work, the summary has more explaining to do, and a skills-first page with a plain note on the break fits better.
How is a combination resume different from a chronological one?
A chronological resume can go from a short summary straight into jobs. A combination resume gives the strengths and the skills block more room first, so a reader learns what you specialize in before seeing where you worked.
How long should a combination resume be?
One page suits most people with under about ten years of experience, though the skills block fills it faster than a chronological layout would. Two pages is reasonable once older roles still matter to the job.
Can I add a core competencies section?
The skills rows serve that purpose here. FAANGPath prints them straight after the summary under its own labels (Technical, Tools, Soft Skills), so put your competencies in those rows rather than in a separate list.
Will applicant tracking systems read this FAANGPath PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 9 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
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