I don’t mean this in a mean way, but to me if you have a gap (and I mean like you create one on the paper) it’s sort of an old school “shouldn’t exist anymore but boomers gonna boom” “intelligence” test. Their attitude is basically “no one I hire will have an employment gap.” So, you just simply do not have a gap. Whether it’s true or not is irrelevant because let’s be honest ain’t no one capable of nor willing to prove or disprove your employment status from Jan-June 2022 (random example). Maybe the IRS or whatever relevant tax agency, maybe law enforcement, sure, but if you’re applying for a job as the sales manager or whatever the fuck at Don’s Dogshit Diaper Emporium… just go ahead and stretch the dates together to fit. You could probably put other shit in there if you did it like completing on-going education credits in your relevant field, but, keeping it simple is best. Even a fucking financial institution, a bank or whatever, won’t bother to figure that gap out when they literally pull on the nitrile gloves and shove their entire fist up to the elbow into your financial asshole looking for any reasons to downgrade your eligibility for a mortgage or give you a shit rate- ask me how I know. So, just lie. If they care enough to find that shit that place absolutely sucks anyway. Or it’s a federal law enforcement agency and you should feel bad and stop doing that anyway.