Leland+ Content Library

What McKinsey, BCG, and Bain Look For [5/19/2026] (Recording)

FREE COACHING SESSION GIVEAWAY FOR LIVE ATTENDEES. Breaking into McKinsey, BCG, or Bain is highly competitive, and many candidates aren’t sure what actually sets top applicants apart. This session is for those targeting MBB who want a clearer understanding of how these firms evaluate candidates. You’ll learn what interviewers look for across resumes, case interviews, and behavioral assessments, how to demonstrate structured thinking and impact, and the patterns that consistently show up in successful candidates. Join live to hear from a panel of experts with backgrounds at MBB firms and ask your questions about the recruiting process. The panelists regularly work with candidates and will share what stood out to them when evaluating applicants. Expect practical insights and guidance similar to what’s covered in 1:1 coaching conversations.

Defining Your Personal Narrative for MBA Applications [6/3/2026] (Recording)

GIVEAWAY DURING THE EVENT: Join for the chance to win a free seat in Leland's MBA Bootcamp! Many MBA applicants have strong experiences, but struggle to turn them into a narrative that feels clear, cohesive, and memorable. This session is for candidates who want to better define the story they’re telling across their entire application. You’ll learn how to identify the themes that connect your experiences, communicate your goals with more clarity, and build a narrative that feels authentic while aligning with what admissions teams look for. Join live to ask questions about your own application story and get guidance from an expert MBA coach who is a Chicago Booth MBA and former admissions professional. The speaker has worked closely with applicants on positioning and storytelling and will share the patterns they see across successful candidates and standout essays. Expect practical insights and feedback similar to what’s covered in 1:1 admissions coaching conversations.

Personal Statement Jumpstart

Get a strong start on one of the most important parts of your dental school application. In this session, you’ll learn how to choose the right story, structure your personal statement, and clearly communicate your motivation for dentistry in a way that resonates with admissions committees. You’ll leave with proven frameworks, common pitfalls to avoid, and concrete next steps to begin drafting a compelling, authentic personal statement.

How to Use AI to Break Into Investment Banking & Private Equity [5/21/2026] (Recording)

In this session, you will learn how to use AI tools to research firms, personalize cold outreach, and prep for technical interviews in investment banking and private equity recruiting. You will also walk away with a framework for identifying which parts of your application process AI can accelerate versus where it tends to create generic, forgettable work. Attending live means you can ask how these approaches apply to your specific background, whether that is a non-target school, a career pivot, or a gap in your deal experience, and hear the answer in real time rather than guessing from a recording. The coach works directly with candidates breaking into finance and will share the patterns that consistently separate the ones who get interviews from the ones who do not.

Nailing the McKinsey PEI [5/22/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you will know how to structure a Personal Experience Interview response that resonates with McKinsey evaluators, including how to select the right stories, frame leadership moments with the right level of specificity, and avoid the pacing mistakes that consistently undermine otherwise strong candidates. The focus will be on how McKinsey interviewers actually probe PEI stories and what they are listening for beneath the surface of your answer. Attending live means you can ask about your specific story or background and hear how I respond to the details of your situation, which a recording cannot replicate. I work with consulting candidates on PEI preparation regularly, and what I share here reflects the patterns I see across candidates who successfully navigate this round.

Interviewing Strategies for AI Careers [5/22/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you will know exactly where AI tools accelerate sales performance and where they tend to create a false sense of productivity. Specifically, you will walk away with a clear framework for evaluating AI in your pipeline, an honest look at which sales tasks AI handles well versus where human judgment still wins, and practical guidance on integrating AI into outreach without losing the personal signals that actually close deals. Attending live means you can bring your specific workflow or stack and hear a direct response to your situation, not a generic answer recorded months ago. The coach works inside sales organizations daily and will share the patterns and failure modes they observe firsthand, giving you a slice of how a practitioner actually thinks through these decisions.

Personal Statement Coaching Session (Stanford Law Student) [5/22/2026] (Recording)

Are you gearing up for law school applications and looking for guidance on crafting a standout personal statement? Join me, Matthew, a current Stanford Law student, for an insightful coaching session focused on application strategy and essay writing. With a background in Cognitive Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis and diverse experiences ranging from legal internships to public speaking at the United Nations and TEDx, I bring a unique perspective to the table. My journey has equipped me with the insight to help students — especially those with diverse or unconventional backgrounds — craft their stories compellingly and cohesively. Don't miss this opportunity to refine your personal statement and strengthen your application. Space is limited, so RSVP now to secure your spot!

HBS Post-Interview Reflection Letter | 2027 Admit Example

Attached is an example of somebody I worked with who got in last cycle and I think did a great job with their HBS interview reflection letter. My core guidance: - Right after your interview, take a few minutes and write everything down. It's going to be helpful for later so that you don't have to rely exclusively on your memory. Then take an hour or two, decompress and get writing. - Short and sweet — grateful-professional is your tone - Directly reference your convo. Nothing generic whatsoever. If it sounds impersonal, delete it. - Don't brag or flex, but do mention a highlight/detail/nuance or two you would've gotten to with 5 more minutes of time. - About two-thirds of a page is right length-wise.  - Make sure if they don't offer, that you get your interviewer's names anyway. That's important. They probably will but just in case. You'll feel silly writing a letter to someone whose name you don't know.

50 BCG Behavioural Questions That Actually Matter

The exact behavioural questions top candidates prepare for — with insider notes on what interviewers are really testing beneath the surface. This document is Part 2 of a broader 9 Part Consulting Interview Resource Kit. See my page for other related resources.

Successful UCLA Anderson Essays

See how this applicant made the most of Anderson's very short essays, securing admission and a full-ride scholarship!

Build Your Personal Brand & Thought Leadership System with Claude + Notion [5/20/2026] (Recording)

Personal branding is your ticket to excelling in the AI age. Most professionals know they should be creating content yet almost none of us do it consistently. Not because we lack ideas, but because we have no system to enable consistency. In this session, we'll build one. Using the network analysis from last week, we'll use Claude to generate a content calendar built around your actual expertise, then turn each idea into multiple formats: a LinkedIn post, a story hook, a networking pitch, and more. Everything lives in a pre-built Notion template you duplicate at the start of the session, so you spend the full session generating content, not building infrastructure. Outcome for attendees: A content calendar tailored to their specific network audience and a reusable Claude + Notion workflow they can run every month independently Session pre-requisites: Claude account & Notion account — free is fine 🙂

Sample Columbia Business School Essays

Stuck staring at the Columbia essay prompts? See exactly how admitted applicants pulled it off. This collection includes more than twenty complete essay sets covering every recent CBS question. Read across industries, geographies, and career stages to find approaches that resonate with your own story.

Applying to College in 2026? Here’s What You Should Be Doing Each Month [5/27/2026] (Recording)

In this session, former admissions director, Loubna Bouamane, will walk students and parents through the real college admissions timeline from May through December — including what actually matters each month if you're aiming for competitive U.S. universities. We’ll cover: How to build a balanced college list strategically When students should start essays (and why waiting until September is risky) How extracurriculars and summer activities should be positioned What admissions officers notice early in the review process Common mistakes students make over the summer Testing timelines, recommendation strategy, and application planning How to avoid creating an application that feels overly polished or AI-generated This session is especially helpful for: Rising seniors applying in Fall 2026 International students navigating the U.S. admissions process Families targeting selective colleges and universities Students feeling overwhelmed or behind

3 GRE Secrets to Raise Your Score TODAY! [6/2/2026] (Recording)

GIVEAWAY DURING THE EVENT: Join for the chance to win a free seat in Leland's GRE Bootcamp! Many GRE students spend hours studying without improving because they focus on the wrong habits and strategies. This session is for test takers who want practical, high-impact adjustments they can apply immediately to start raising their score. You’ll learn three proven GRE strategies that improve accuracy and efficiency, how high scorers approach difficult questions under pressure, and the common mistakes that quietly cost students points across the exam. Join live to see how an experienced GRE instructor teaches these techniques and the patterns they see across students who improve quickly. You’ll also have the chance to ask questions in real time and get actionable guidance you can apply to your studying right away.

The Mental Habits of High Performers [5/19/2026] (Recording)

Your thoughts, interpretations, and mental patterns have a direct impact on how you perform at work. Many high-performing professionals experience patterns like overthinking, perfectionism, fear of failure, self-doubt, or harsh self-criticism, often without realizing how much these patterns influence decision-making, confidence, communication, and performance. In this session, we’ll explore how the mind works, how thoughts shape performance, and practical tools to build more intentional and supportive mental habits in high-pressure professional environments. We’ll cover: • How thoughts influence emotions, behaviors, and performance outcomes • Common mental patterns experienced by high performers • Why the mind is wired to detect risk, pressure, and potential failure • A practical framework for questioning and reframing unhelpful thoughts • How awareness creates more intentional responses under pressure • Practical mindset shifts and habits that support stronger mental performance over time You’ll leave with practical tools to better manage your internal dialogue, improve resilience and decision-making, and approach your work with greater clarity, confidence, and intentionality. This session is designed for professionals who want to strengthen their mindset, improve performance, and build a healthier relationship with pressure, growth, and high expectations.

The BCG Offer Blueprint

The unfiltered insider playbook on how BCG actually evaluates candidates — from interviews to promotions to what separates offers from rejections. Written by a former BCG Partner. This document is part 1 of a 9 part Consulting Interview Resource kit.

REAL Sample Wharton MBA Essays

Multiple real, successful applicant essay sets covering all Wharton prompts. See exactly how admits structured winning answers before you write your own.

The Resume Formula That Gets MBB Interviews

Learn how top candidates structure bullets, quantify impact, and position experience to pass the brutal MBB resume screen. This document is part 5 of a broader 9-part consulting interview resource kit. Please visit my page for the other templates and guides.

Beyond the Deal: How Private Equity Actually Creates Value [5/27/2026] (Recording)

After this session, you will understand how PE firms actually measure and drive value creation after an acquisition, not just how they talk about it in interviews. We will cover the operational levers that matter most in a typical hold period, how value creation plans get built and stress-tested, and what separates firms that consistently hit their return targets from those that struggle. Attending live means you can bring your specific questions, whether you are trying to understand a firm's portfolio strategy or preparing to discuss value creation in an interview, and get a direct answer grounded in how these situations actually play out. The coach works inside this world regularly, and this session is a chance to hear how a practitioner frames problems that most candidates only encounter in case studies.

GMAT Quant Short-Cuts Used by Top-Scorers [5/26/2026] (Recording)

In this session, you will learn how top GMAT scorers approach quantitative problems faster and more accurately by recognizing pattern types before choosing a method. The focus will be on number properties shortcuts that eliminate answer choices early, strategic back-solving for algebra-heavy problems, and how to identify when estimation beats exact calculation on data sufficiency questions. The coach works with GMAT candidates regularly and will be sharing the reasoning process they actually teach, the kind of situational thinking that is hard to absorb from a recording alone.