I've been on the job hunt since I was laid off from my software position in April 2025. To make ends meet, I took a part-time warehouse job for a few months while also trying to build my own app. Now, my resume shows a gap of over a year, and I'm worried about how that will be perceived by potential employers. I'm wondering if I should include the app project on my resume to fill that gap, or if hiring managers are more understanding of the current job market and the lengthy gap won't be a huge issue. I've seen advice suggesting that if I actually worked on a project, it's not just padding, but I'm still unsure about how to present this in my applications.