And he was interviewing during a time when Covid rules still applied in many places, now post Trump a lot of that shit has been tossed aside and employees need to be back in the workplace a lot more. Competition is much stiffer than even 3 years ago. Also the gaps in employment still matter, they were just being ignored becuase people were desperate for employees. They aren't anymore.
What employment are we talking about?
I understand it if you’re apply for a high level executive somewhere, you want people who are in tune with whatever your market is, or even a grocery store manager should have recent experience managing a team.
Do we really think some investment company’s willing to hire Hankins even if he was managing his own portfolio? The last several jobs he had were what positions exactly? I think his best job was the accounting manager or bookkeeper or whatever he was doing. He can still find those types of jobs. Work history won’t matter as much, getting through an interview will.