[georgieporgie]

FWIW, I've been "out of work" for ~2.5 years, traveled SE Asia, lived in Japan for six months, and bicycled from Canada to Mexico. When a Google recruiter talked to me, he seemed really impressed, and not put off in the least.

[shorttime]

You get it, as long as you have a legitimate story and reason people who you would actually want to work for wouldn't care or even be envious. However, if you just sat around the house, went out drinking with your buddies all the time, and lived off savings - that could look bad to most people (not all, but most).

[georgieporgie]

That's basically exactly what I did for the six months in Japan. It's amazing how people's impressions are changed by one small detail. :-)

[jimbokun]

"When a Google recruiter talked to me, he seemed really impressed, and not put off in the least."

Did they hire you?

[georgieporgie]

No. I told them I wasn't ready to make the sort of long-term commitment I would want at Google.