The key is to be open and transparent about what you did. One major reason that companies are rationally worried about resume gaps is that gaps could mean anyt

The key is to be open and transparent about what you did. One major reason that companies are rationally worried about resume gaps is that gaps could mean anything - for all they know you were running a criminal enterprise or locked up in a mental institution. It could also mean that you couldn't find a job for other reasons that may no longer be documented - there are things that wouldn't show up in your background search after a period of time for instance. Continuous employment history isn't desirable because it's important that you were always working, but because it is verifiable in a way that rules out certain possibilities. Other than explaining your situation in a transparent way that soothes these fears, if you worked for or with others on some projects during this time, you could offer them as extra references.