It was a long interview, up to an hour over the phone with two technical guys and the HR person. I don't know if the client was that strict with the qualifications, but the interview questions were very detailed in the technical perspective. Talk about down-to-the-semicolons-in-the-code-line detailed. Prior to applying for this job I had 3 years extensive experience in software development, then the last 2 years was more on production support, so admittedly it was not easy to recall the gritty details, although I KNOW where to find and how to do what they are asking. I am not by the book person, and that keeps me open to new approaches to a code solution/implementation. Apparently they are looking for a by the book person, who can memorize the program's reference guides up to the last punctuation mark.
I'd like to be fair in thinking that the client they are working for needs a highly-technical resource, but I felt this was not a fair assessment of an applicant's abilities. Halfway during the interview, they made me feel quite worthless. Needless to say, the interview was a stressful one, and I was expecting (and was actually relieved) that they would not contact me after this ordeal.
My only advice to potential Software Developers is to really study for the interview, and be ready for extremely technical questions. They are quite challenging.
Soon after, I applied for one of their competitors, and they [competitor] did WAY better in terms of considering my qualifications. They did not ask a lot about which particular XML tag I need to update, but rather actually looked at my timeline in my resume and then asked me the right questions, some technical, but basic ones. And then they asked: "How confident are you in getting back in the position as a Software Developer?" They actually assessed my POTENTIAL, and they made me feel like I actually am worth something.
P.S. I got the job from the competitor for a 6-month contract and I proved to be an extremely valuable resource. When the contract ended, they actually offered me an extension - repeatedly, under a different deal, if you know what I mean. It felt good to be appreciated like that. I respectfully declined because of relocation restrictions (the work was out-of-state), and I was just not quite ready for that.