Cv work history how much to put?

[246810k]

Been in my current role 17 years but plenty of previous jobs which don't show any skills to jobs applying for. Do I put them in/leave or just maybe list them and dates?!

I minimise as much as possible anything irrelevant to the role I'm applying for.

So you could just list them with dates or clump some together to say something like:
2001-2005 Various roles in retail sector

Have you had the same job title for 17 years or been at the same company but changed roles? You might want to list any internal promotions as separate jobs.

A cv should be a career highlights document which show why you are a good fit for the role. rule of thumb is to focus on the last 10 years. Hiring managers are rarely interested in a complete job history.

I left my first few jobs off my cv as they were not relevant.

I used to go with last 5 roles or 5 years. Unless there was something further back which was very pertinent to the role I was applying for. I used to change roles every 9 to 18 months, as was typical for progression my profession.

Thanks all. Been a while since I've applied for a job! All complete and submitting! Fingers crossed