Margit Veszeli was laid off in early spring and immediately enrolled in a 4,200 UAH interview coaching program. Six weeks later, after landing her new role, she reflected on what the program actually delivered versus what free resources could have covered just as well.
Paying for structure that already exists for free
The coaching program spent three sessions teaching STAR-format responses. The same framework is explained clearly in dozens of free YouTube videos and career blogs. Margit later found that practicing with a friend using a printed STAR cheat sheet produced nearly identical results. The paid course added a human reviewer, which was useful — but two free mock interviews with former colleagues would have served the same function.
Skipping LinkedIn as a research tool
One mistake that cost Margit time and indirectly money: she did not use LinkedIn to research interviewers before calls. Knowing that a panel member had a background in lean operations would have helped her frame her answers differently. This takes 10 minutes per interview and costs nothing. Her paid course never mentioned it.
Ignoring company review platforms
Platforms that publish employee reviews of companies — completely free — reveal common interview questions for specific organizations. Margit found, after the fact, that three of her actual interview questions appeared in reviews from the previous year. She had paid for a generic question bank when company-specific data was sitting unused. Free research done consistently outperforms generic paid content in interview prep.