I was contacted directly by a recruiter to interview for a role I did not apply for. After reviewing the job description and doing some initial research on the company, I agreed to move forward and shared my resume. I was transparent early on about my experience, including my limited hands on exposure to SQL. Five days later, the interview was canceled the evening before it was scheduled, with the recruiter citing insufficient SQL experience as the reason. SQL was not listed in the job description at the time of outreach or scheduling, which I raised. I was told the requirement had been added recently and may not have updated yet. When I reviewed the job description afterward, SQL appeared only as a “bonus” skill at the very bottom of the posting ("Bonus points for experience with SQL, R, Python, Looker"). Despite this, it was treated as a hard requirement with no opportunity for discussion. The experience felt disorganized and reactive, with shifting expectations mid process. I would recommend confirming that role requirements are fully finalized before investing time in the interview process.