You only need to provide graduation dates if you are still enrolled in a degree program and then you include your expected graduation date (Month Year). In any other case, do not include graduation dates.

A resume is a summary of your most relevant qualifications, not an exhaustive employment history provided to conduct a security clearance. So, yes it's fine.

To your second question, you do not have to provide graduation dates. If they need to confirm your education, you'll provide transcripts at some point.

OP here. Thanks for your replies. I've been redoing my resume and it looks much better-- more focused-- with those first jobs eliminated. What about not including the years you graduated from college and grad school? Do you really need the year in a resume, or let HR deal with that for your background check if you get that far?

That's fine.

That sounds fine. No need to apologize or explain; if they ask, just give them the facts (I worked at XX doing YY, nothing about 'poor choices' or 'bad luck')

I agree, it sounds fine. I've only had 3 jobs in the past 25 years, so I would have to include them all, but that's not the case for you.

What you want to do sounds fine.

I ask because I'm in my early 40s, been working for 20+ years and I made some poor career choices/had bad luck my first 5 or so years of employment. I'd like to hack off my first few jobs-- two PR firms with awful bosses that I quit in under a year at each place and a third job I was laid off from after two years. I was unemployed for several months and then found a decent job. I'd like my oldest job to be that one on my resume rather than include the first five years which make me look like a job hopper. Is there really any harm in only having the last 10-15 years of work on my resume at this point rather going ALL the way back?