After an initial phone screen, HR contacted me to schedule an in-person interview. I showed up 5min early, checked in with receptionist and was given an application to fill out. I was directed to have a seat in a large conference room. I was expecting to interview and then do paperwork online if an offer was extended (like most companies do these days). I think it was to keep me busy while waiting for the interviewer. I waited about 20 minutes before my first interview. They ended up not even wanting my application (I thought, for legal reasons, employers had to keep job applications on file for at least one year regardless of the hiring decision). I was supposed to interview with 4 people. I thought it would be a panel style, but it was supposed to be four 1-on-1 interviews on the same day. 2 people were out sick. I was scheduled to be there for 2 hrs. So I only interviewed with 2 people, 1 at a time. The first interviewer suggested we move to another conference room because the one we were in was reserved and going to be used within the next hour. We moved to a much smaller conference room. They explained what the company did. They presented me with a sales brochure about the company and their products and went over it to give me an understanding of the company's core business. They asked a lot of questions regarding my work ethics, commitment, why I wanted to work there, etc. We talked for 40min. It seemed like it was going well. They said the next interviewer would focus more on technical questions and my technical abilities. The 2nd interview lasted about 30min. The interviewer did most of the talking and spent most of the time picking apart the gaps in my resume. I felt very much put on the defense as it pertained to my resume. It seemed they already knew they weren't going to hire me. They didn't really ask many technical questions or ask for details to probe the depth of my experience/knowledge. A lot of the focus seemed to be on the "Additional skills that aren’t required but are sought include..." part of the job description. We didn't discuss much about what it was like to work there, what a typical day would look like, etc. They flat out told me about 20 minutes into the 2nd interview that they didn't think I was a good fit for the position and cut the interview short. I at least appreciate that they said they didn't want to waste my time or string me along. 2hrs (not including prep time and commute) of my day down the drain. Theirs too, but at least the interviewers were getting paid. Oh well, no biggie. I asked if they would mind providing me with some feedback as to why they didn't think I was a good fit. I know I am capable of doing almost everything in the job description - all the core responsibilities, and I could quickly learn to do the additional non-required skills. They said it's because I did not have MS Server experience (which is not 100% true, I had said I was not an expert in that area but knew basic AD administration and have installed and configured MS Windows Server before as a Domain Controller running AD, DNS, etc). I have been in many situations where I had to solve a problem or perform a task I have never done before. I am usually able to figure it out on my own 99% of the time without calling anyone for help or posting questions in any forums. I guess I did a poor job of explaining this to them. I didn't want to come off as a know-it-all or oversell myself and my skills. I guess I ended up underselling my skills or coming across as lacking confidence. I was just trying to be honest about my skills and experiences and not embellish my skills like a lot of candidates might be tempted to do to get an advantage in these situations. Besides, as most people are in an interview situation, I was a little nervous. There's tons of info online regarding MS products, most things can easily be looked up. Also, no 2 environments will be 100% alike. Some companies are more lax about who touches their servers and some are very strict (one needs to be approved, vetted, etc before they can touch a production server). And if one knows basic SQL (which I do), I'm pretty sure that I could quickly learn how to write reports using a well known report writing software. I've been learning new software pretty much my whole adult life as various software comes and goes. I think I could've performed well in this role as I am willing to learn quickly with minimal supervision. I think I either did not explain my skill-set properly, they just didn't like me, or they already had someone else in mind who looks better on paper. The 2nd interviewer and I are roughly the same age and have a very similar background with regard to how we got started in IT. Anyways, I appreciate their candor and time. It was good interview practice for me as well as a good learning experience, since I have not had a formal in-person interview in a few years, since before COVID-19.