I recently interviewed for a position through a referral and had a call with the recruiter. During the interview, I was asked to discuss my interest in the company, my past experience, experience in SQL, Tableau and data modeling and also to answer some specific SQL questions. I was confident in my responses and even double-checked the SQL answers afterward to ensure accuracy. However, I was unexpectedly rejected without a clear reason. When I asked the recruiter for feedback to help me improve for future interviews, I received a vague response stating that I did not meet the requirements in SQL, data modeling, and Tableau—areas where I have 5-7 years of experience and had spoken about in detail during the interview. The recruiter also mentioned that I had mixed up an answer to a SQL question, which I had carefully verified and confirmed was correct. I further inquired if my answers were perhaps unclear or not detailed enough, but I didn’t receive any substantial response. If the recruiter felt my answers were unclear, I believe it was their responsibility to dig deeper or ask for clarification. I’m convinced that this role was an excellent match for my skills, and I should have at least been given the opportunity to advance to the next stage and meet with the hiring manager. Overall, I’m highly unimpressed with the process. It seems the recruiter may have relied more on a checklist of keywords rather than fully understanding my qualifications and experience.