After a recruiter contacted me at a time when I was not looking for employment, I went through an informational interview with 10+ years of credentialing experience. When asked about the recent 3 year gap in my employment I explained I was on maternity leave raising my child. I was then advised that it was best for me to go find a job on my own, work for 6 months and then come back to them to have them help find me a job. My gap in employment was not "appealing" to potential clients. I explained that any employer that viewed "maternity leave" as an inappropriate gap in employment, I did not want to work for. I was soon after offered a position with a different contracting company that did not find my gap to be inappropriate.