I do some volunteer work, and a lot of my collegues are people who temporarily can't do a "real" job because of some medical issue. Many of them are very worried about gaps in their resume. Has stuff like that affected you? Do you just lie during interviews?
I don't think that it's possible to really know. I've never had a potential employer tell me why they chose not to hire me. That said, I don't think they've had a significant impact.<p>But I don't leave time unaccounted for, either. I include the gap times in my resume by explaining what I have done during them that would relate to the position (hobby projects, volunteering, etc.) My resume is a report of my experience, but that doesn't have to be limited to experience that I've been paid for.