A data analyst was shocked after being rejected from a job interview due to a small grammatical mistake in a SQL query.
In the post titled, "Got Rejected Over a Missing Comma - This Market Is a Joke," the job seeker said that they successfully cleared the initial interview at "a well-known company", but then things went downhill during the second round.
"Had my second-round interview for a Data Engineer role at a well-known company (The name has a resemblance to 'quantity'). Cleared the first round, and in the second, I answered everything correctly-except I forgot a comma between two column names while writing a SQL query in Notepad," they said.
The user went on to add how the focus then shifted to this small oversight, stating the "interviewer went off on me for 20 minutes about relying on AI tools and IDEs, completely dismissing my experience working with complex analytical queries and building ETL pipelines at a leading CDP."
The applicant ended the post, saying, "It was a simple oversight, not a lack of knowledge, but I still got rejected for it. Frustrating, to say the least. Any advice on navigating my first transition from DA to DE?"
The Redditor shared their frustration online, seeking advice on transitioning from a data analyst to a data engineer. Many users sympathized, sharing similar experiences of unreasonable interview expectations.
Some commenters saw the rejection as a blessing, suggesting the company’s culture might be toxic. Others debated whether a missing comma warranted such a reaction.
The post gained significant attention, sparking discussions about fairness in tech interviews.
