After the initial recruiter screening, which focused on my background, work authorization, and overall experience, I was quickly moved to the next stage and scheduled for an onsite interview.
The onsite interview was conducted by a two-person panel. The interview started a bit unusually, as I had already introduced myself before one of the interviewers joined, so I ended up providing my introduction twice.
During the discussion, I felt the interview was heavily focused on finding direct, line-by-line alignment with the job description rather than exploring how my existing experience and transferable skills could apply to the role. Several questions were probed in significant depth, often returning to the same topic multiple times. As the discussion continued, I found myself becoming less confident in my responses, not because I lacked relevant experience, but because it seemed the expectation was for very specific prior exposure that closely matched the position requirements.
My overall impression was that the team may have been seeking a candidate who could step into the role immediately with extensive experience in all aspects of the job, whereas my background offers strong related experience but not necessarily every specific responsibility listed in the description.