[s1t5]

> Do I need to make that distinction explicit?

Yes.

> Companies are usually more interested in hearing what the employee can do for them rather than what the employee wants out of their career.

That's true and is in line with what I'm suggesting.

My point is that you shouldn't position yourself as "I have no continuous experience, please hire me for my first real job". Instead it should be more like "I'm an experienced software developer, this is the kind of work that I've done and these are the skills that I have".