[notabee]

Just to commiserate, I also had a health issue years ago that really threw my career off track. I managed to land a steady job after some long and stressful months and eventually got some treatment that got me back to 95% health-wise, but the job is way below what I think I'm capable of and it's really hard to get back out there and interview for something better. Unfortunately mentioning any kind of health issue during the interview process (typically when the associated resume gap comes up) seems to be a kiss of death, even with supposedly "enlightened" companies that rattle on about their great culture and acceptance. I recommend not mentioning health issues during the interview process at all if you can help it.

If anyone has a different viewpoint on this or has discovered some better way to approach this touchy topic while job hunting, I am quite open to input.

[em-bee]

are health issues among those forbidden topics that an interviewer is not allowed to ask about?

i definitely agree that mentioning health issues is a bad idea.

but how does one explain gaps if they are caused by a hospital stay?

i don't have any such gaps, but in my CV i only mention years, not months, so one job ends in 2012 and the next one starts in 2013 regardless of the month where that actually happened. if i get any pushback on that, i'd see that as a sign of trouble. besides in any gap i was freelancing anyways.