Raven Industries (PA) interview questions

Interview process was lengthy. It took a week from them receiving my resume to the time they decided they wanted to do an interview. There must have been a huge disconnect or lack of communication between the upper management and hiring managers for this role for both salary range and experience requirements. I was contacted by the staffing agency to apply, obviously based on my relevant experience and past positions. The interview itself went well, so well that you could say neutrality about if I was a good fit for the position was lost. The interviewers very much made me feel as though they wanted me in the role, to the extent that they asked me what type of computer operating system I preferred and telling me details about their PTO and healthcare benefits unprompted. From how the interviewers came off, I expected a call with potentially a salary negotiation before some type of an official offer. I provided many references, a full portfolio of design work, and thought the interview went extremely well. So well, they made it seem as if they truly wanted me to work there. Again, almost no neutrality was maintained, so I had optimistic expectations. It took 8 days after the interview for the CEO of the company to review my resume, etc. The feedback I received from the staffing agency was that they maybe wanted to extend and offer. After nearly 3 weeks into the process, they had passed on my application entirely due to not having a bachelor's degree, something that is clearly stated in black and white on my resume. I was told their decision was based on not wanting to pay someone their provided salary range, not for not having the work experience and skill sets, but for not having the degree. I clearly demonstrated during my interview that I had relevant experience meeting all job requirements and experience driving growth for companies 10x their size. I asked for a fair salary at 55K, in relation to my experience level and skill level based on my past roles in the field, successes in those roles, and added experience in other industries. I would say this company is unsure of the labor market value for this role and the CEO seems rather out of touch with day to day communications. If you are outright unwilling to pay someone without a bachelors degree, please make that clear to the hiring managers before wasting a candidate's valuable time with a lengthy interview process. I left my last role due to lack of communication, I may have actually dodged a bullet here.