I applied over a year ago for a position, and recently contacted by a recruiter from the UK for a job in NY. It was confusing getting grilled over a job that I applied to LAST YEAR, and not paying attention to the fact that I did not return to banking not because other employers were not interested, but that COVID got in the way of many things for a lot of people: closures, relocations, etc. The gig sector does exist, and if I chose to seek contracts as a freelancer in lieu of regular employment, I give myself a pat on the back for trying and being motivated--it is not a reason for criticism, as to not supposedly having minimum 2 years experience, or the fact that I refused to discuss salary range of any type on my first conversation with someone I have never met, calling me on a 12 month plus old profile I submitted (and I happened to not initially not be able to update online due to tech issues on their company site). Do I need to say more?

Overall, I had a very positive impression of the firm and everyone was very friendly and focused on the client experience. The only hiccup that I had was that one of my phone interview confirmations did not include the time zone, so if you are outside of ET in the US you may wish to double check this.