I was initially contacted by a talent acquisition consultant and had a brief phone screen, during which time I pointed out that the original job description indicated the need for a four year degree and that I did not have one, and wanted to know if this would be an issue going forward. I was informed that it would not. I was informed that the next steps in the process would be to speak with the hiring manager and a senior team member. I was scheduled for two 30 minute blocks of time to speak with the hiring manager and the senior team member. During my discussion with the hiring manager I was asked about my background in GCP auditing as well as my experience with QMS auditing. I was also asked about my educational background, during which time I again pointed out the fact that I did not hold a college degree, but that I held several professional certifications. I was again told that the degree was not necessary and that my background was reflective of what was needed for the open position. I was told that I would be brought in for a face to face with some additional team members. The next step was the 30 minute conversation with the senior team member. This time was spent going over my background, in particular my GCP experience. We discussed the types of audits I had conducted, my knowledge of various international regulatory requirements, and a background of the team I would be potentially working with. The next steps appeared to be getting on schedule for the face to face, but the process seemed to stall here, as a couple of weeks went by with no contact from the TAC. I finally reached out a couple of time and then was told "i am in the process of getting you scheduled, but the team is sooo busy". Ok. I finally get scheduled for the on-site with initially 3 interviewees schedule, the HM, the Sr. Team Member that I spoke to previously, and one other individual. This schedule changed "multiple" times before the scheduled interview until finally, I was scheduled to meet with 4 people - the HM, the Department Head, an audit team member, and a peripheral team member. During these interviews I was given a wealth of background that border lined somewhat inappropriate, (i.e. who would not accept a package to leave, who is now "just an auditor"). I was also informed that the team had been "sort of blind sided" by the need to conduct these audit types and that they did not have much experience in doing so. I was told that the position had been open for quite some time, and that there had been more than 70 interviews for the position. But most notably I was told by the hiring manager (whom I had previously spoken with during the phone screen) as well as the department head that I interviewed with that "they did not know I did not have a degree". needless to say, I was "astounded" as I had specifically spoken to the hiring manager about my lack of degree and the professional certifications I held. During my time with the hiring manager, I was told "I didn't realize you had no degree, and I just want to be transparent, that might be an issue-- see because...some of the business management groups on the clinical side have not taken well to the audit process, and the "push back" on some of the observations has been somewhat extreme, I personally have had managers call me up and demand the credentials of the auditor who conducted the inspection". Basically implying that since I didn't have a degree...I had no "credentials". During the end phase of the interview process, was told that I would be scheduled to speak more with the sr. team member that I initially spoke with during phone screen...as she was the expert in the area of GCP and that he was just "the pretty smile". That additional conversation was never scheduled, and I had to repeatedly reach out to the TAC for feedback. After several attempts at contact, the TAC finally responded to me via a phone call in which I was told..."Oh I thought I'd left you a voice mail on Friday"...well anyway...they felt you didn't have enough experience. (I was floored).