I went through 9 rounds of interviews at Trustmark and received consistently positive feedback at every stage. I interviewed with senior leadership including the VP of Technology, VP of Strategy, Director of Strategy, VP of Infrastructure, CISO, CIO, and Talent Acquisition. The individuals I met with were professional, and the hiring VP in particular was very pleasant and clearly interested in bringing me onto the team. After completing all interview rounds, Trustmark initiated their internal offer process, which strongly indicated the role was moving toward an offer. However, after investing significant time in interviews, preparation, and a final onsite meeting, the C-suite ultimately rejected the hire because I do not have a college degree. The real issue here is not the decision itself—it’s the complete failure of the Talent Acquisition process. If a college degree was a hard requirement, this should have been identified and communicated at the very beginning, not after nine interviews, hours of discussions with executive leadership, and internal offer conversations already underway. Allowing a candidate to progress through that level of engagement only to be blocked at the very end shows serious misalignment between Talent Acquisition, leadership, and executive approval processes. It demonstrates a lack of coordination and respect for candidates’ time. With nearly three decades of hands-on technology leadership experience, it was surprising to see such heavy reliance on outdated credential requirements rather than evaluating proven experience and the ability to drive real transformation. Many of the most impactful leaders in technology—including Michael Dell, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg—did not complete college degrees, which highlights how disconnected this requirement can be from real-world innovation. Trustmark’s technology leadership appears interested in modernization, but this experience suggests that legacy thinking still exists within parts of the organization, which will make meaningful transformation difficult. Overall, the interviewers themselves were professional and enjoyable to meet. Unfortunately, the process behind the scenes was poorly managed, resulting in a frustrating and completely avoidable outcome after a very large time investment. Advice to Management: Align executive hiring requirements and degree policies before putting candidates through extensive interview processes. Respect candidates’ time and ensure Talent Acquisition is properly screening for executive approval criteria upfront.