Leland+ Content Library

Resume Best Practices: Tips to Take Your CV From Meh to Magnifico!

After 15+ years of reviewing more applicant resumes than I care to count as a recruiter/hiring manager/talent leader at McKinsey and Bain, these are the core tips I coach my clients to always consider when crafting their CV.

Find Your Fit: Where to Apply to Thrive

Where you apply can shape your growth as an engineer as much as the offer itself. In this session, you’ll learn how to evaluate companies by stage, team structure, tech stack, and culture to identify where you’re most likely to thrive. We’ll cover how to align your strengths and goals with the right environments and build a focused, intentional application strategy.

The Hiring Room: Amazon TA Leader’s Interview Playbook

This is not a list of behavioural questions. It’s a comprehensive, end-to-end interview strategy guide from a former Amazon Talent Acquisition leader and Stanford graduate — designed to help you think, prepare, and perform like a top candidate. We begin before the interview even exists: clarifying who you are, what you want, and how to align your narrative with the roles you’re pursuing. From there, we move through resume positioning, strategic storytelling, behavioural frameworks, executive presence, and what interviewers are actually assessing behind the scenes.

Landing an Investment Banking Role

Investment banking recruiting is highly competitive, and success depends on strategy, preparation, and timing. This session breaks down the full recruiting process, from understanding roles and timelines to building a strong resume, networking effectively, and preparing for technical and behavioral interviews. You’ll learn how banks evaluate candidates, what differentiates top applicants, and how to avoid common mistakes that derail otherwise strong profiles.

Cold Emails That Land Warm

Most cold partnership emails fail before the second sentence and it's not because the sender lacks a good product, but because they lead with themselves instead of the person they're writing to. This guide is built from real outreach across nearly two decades of building companies in food, wellness, experiential events, and matchmaking. It covers six partnership types: brand-to-brand, venue and experiential, distribution and retail, media and press, investor introductions, and sponsors and collaborators with two copy-paste templates per section and a bonus section of real emails from actual deals, with breakdowns of exactly why each one landed. Built for early-stage founders sending their first partnership emails. No theory. No generic advice. Just the structure that works.

How to Ace College Admissions Interviews

This event recording provides tried-and-true advice to ace college admissions interviews. You'll come out with a much better understanding of what the interviews are like and how to leave a strong and lasting impression. I also offer highly realistic mock interviews! Book one here: https://www.joinleland.com/coach/felipe-f-1/p/nail-the-college-admissions-interview

The 4 Levels of GMAT Combinations

GMAT combinations questions can feel overwhelming, but they follow clear patterns once you know what to look for. This session breaks combinations into four progressive levels, helping you recognize question types, choose the right approach, and avoid common traps. You’ll learn how to move from brute force to efficient reasoning, improve accuracy under time pressure, and build confidence with one of the GMAT’s most challenging topics.

Personal Statements Deep-Dive

Your medical school personal statement is more than a summary of achievements—it’s how admissions committees assess your motivation, character, and readiness for medicine. In this session, you’ll learn how to structure a compelling narrative, highlight meaningful clinical and service experiences, and avoid common pitfalls that weaken strong applicants. Whether you’re drafting from scratch or refining a final version, you’ll leave with a clear framework to tell your story with focus and authenticity.

Breaking into VC from a non-traditional background

There’s no single path into venture capital—and you don’t need the “perfect” pedigree to break in. What you do need is strategy, positioning, and a clear understanding of how funds actually think about talent. In this session, we’ll unpack how to translate non-traditional experiences into investor-ready strengths, build credibility in startup ecosystems, and network in ways that lead to real opportunities. If you’re ready to turn an unconventional background into a competitive advantage, this is where your VC journey begins.

LinkedIn Launchpad: Profile to Profit

Is your LinkedIn profile a forgotten resume or a powerful asset? In today's competitive job market, your professional brand is more crucial than ever. Join us for this free, dynamic workshop to learn the insider strategies for maximizing your visibility. We'll reveal the secrets to transforming your profile from overlooked to outstanding by focusing on the three pillars of success: 1. Discoverability: Master the strategic keywords recruiters search for to ensure your profile ranks high. 2. Impact: Learn how to craft a magnetic headline and an "About" section that turns profile views into opportunities. 3. Networking: Acquire techniques for building a genuine professional network that expands your career reach. Whether you're job searching, looking to advance, or aiming to establish yourself as an industry expert, this workshop will give you the practical, actionable steps you need to leverage LinkedIn to its fullest potential. Elevate your professional presence and open doors to new opportunities!

Analyzing your LinkedIn Network with Claude Code

Your LinkedIn network holds more data—and opportunity—than you think. The question is: are you using it strategically? In this session, we’ll explore how to leverage Claude Code to analyze your connections, uncover patterns, and identify hidden pathways to internships, jobs, and industry insights. You’ll learn how to map influence, spot high-value clusters, and turn a passive network into an active career asset. If you’re ready to combine AI tools with intentional networking to unlock smarter outreach and real results, this is where you start.

Non-US Elite MBA Pathways: IMD, SDA Bocconi & HEC Paris

This session moves beyond school rankings to give you the strategic framework for building a powerful European career. Join cross-cultural career coach Caolan Hunter (ex-On, Ogilvy) to learn how to integrate your career, education, and long-term life goals into a coherent international strategy. We will explore the specific pathways offered by three of Europe's most influential business schools: IMD, SDA Bocconi, and HEC Paris. By the end of this session, you will understand the unique strengths of these European powerhouses and leave with a strategic shortlist of MBA targets aligned with visa reality, your career goals, and your personal leadership style. Learning Objectives: What You Will Learn 1. The European MBA Power Centers: Discover how IMD, SDA Bocconi, and HEC Paris function as distinct hubs of influence and talent, each with a unique philosophy and network. 2. Decoding European Work & Visa Realities: Get a clear-eyed view of the post-MBA landscape in Switzerland, Italy, and France. We'll analyze post-study work rights, the practicalities of corporate hiring for non-EU nationals, and pathways to long-term residency in each country. 3. Strategic Career Positioning for Europe: Understand how hiring logic for top roles in Europe differs from the US. We'll explore how IMD's focus on executive leadership, Bocconi's dominance in luxury and finance, and HEC's pipeline into continental consulting and strategy can shape your career. Key Outcomes: What You Will Walk Away With 1. A New European Map: You'll see IMD, SDA Bocconi, and HEC Paris not just as top schools, but as distinct platforms for launching specific and ambitious European career trajectories. 2. Visa & Employability Clarity: You'll be able to confidently navigate the nuances of the Swiss, Italian, and French post-MBA work environments, aligning your choice with your passport and life goals. 3. A Personal Viable Pathway Map: You will leave with the tools to build a personal map connecting your background and ambitions to the right program, industry, and country. 4. Unmatched Access Insights: You'll understand why the intimate, senior cohort at IMD, the industry-specific ecosystem at Bocconi, and the elite Grande École network of HEC can provide unparalleled access that larger programs cannot replicate.

Harvard Essay 1 Example

Harvard Essay 1 example of a female from a CPG start-up accepted into the class of 2028.

Gain Competitive Advantage as a Non-Traditional Applicant

Non-traditional applicants often bring unique strengths, but success depends on how clearly those experiences are framed and communicated. This session focuses on how to turn unconventional backgrounds into compelling signals of readiness, impact, and fit, whether you’re applying to school or recruiting for competitive roles. You’ll learn how to address perceived gaps, highlight transferable skills, and position your story with confidence and clarity.

Ace the INSEAD Interview

The INSEAD interview is known for being conversational yet deeply probing, designed to assess leadership maturity, cultural adaptability, and clarity of purpose. In this session, you’ll learn how INSEAD structures its interviews, what interviewers are truly evaluating, and how to craft responses that reflect global perspective, self-awareness, and impact. You’ll leave with practical strategies to prepare confidently and stand out in one of the most distinctive MBA interview processes.

Grad Student Loan Paydown Schedule

Stop Guessing. Start Seeing Exactly When Your Loans End. Most people with student debt make their monthly payment and hope for the best. This template lets you run the actual math so you can see, month by month, exactly what happens when you pay more. Built in Excel. No subscriptions, no logins, no apps. Just a clean, professional model you'll actually use. What's inside: Three side-by-side paydown scenarios run simultaneously your base schedule, a flat monthly extra payment, and a fully flexible column where you can plug in one-time lump sums for any month. Salary bonus coming in March? Tax refund in April? Type it in and watch your payoff date move in real time. Built for people who just finished an expensive degree and are serious about what comes next. Whether you're in consulting, finance, tech, or any high-growth field, this tool helps you layer your paydown strategy around how you actually earn, raises, bonuses, tuition reimbursements, and surplus months, not just a flat monthly payment. What you'll know in five minutes: > Your exact payoff date under any scenario > How much interest you'll save with different payment levels > The true cost of waiting vs. paying aggressively now Fully editable. Works with any loan amount, rate, or term. One-time purchase, yours to keep.

Session 2 - Your Application's "Supporting Actors"

Session 2 from Mar26 Medical School bootcamp

How to Prepare and Standout for PE Interviews

Breaking into private equity is competitive, and strong technical skills alone won’t separate you from the pack. This session is for candidates preparing for PE interviews who want to understand what actually stands out in the room—and the subtle mistakes that can quietly weaken your candidacy. You’ll learn how to position your deal experience with clarity, master the nuances of case studies and LBO discussions, and communicate investor judgment in a way that reflects how firms truly evaluate talent. Join live to ask your specific questions about headhunters, modeling tests, or navigating on-cycle and off-cycle processes, and get real-time feedback grounded in 20+ years as a principal and investor. The speaker works 1:1 with candidates and will share the patterns they see across successful applicants and what they personally look for when evaluating hires. If you’re serious about breaking into PE, this is a conversation worth being in live.

Interview Insider: Decode the Hiring Manager

You landed the interview—now, how do you secure the offer? Most candidates focus on what to say, but successful professionals focus on how to think like the person doing the hiring. Join this free, dynamic workshop to gain the ultimate edge in any interview setting. Leveraging my experience as a former Finance Recruiter and Sourcer, I'll reveal the simple, repeatable strategies you need to master behavioral questions and confidently approach the final salary negotiation. This workshop is essential for you if: - You struggle to talk about your weaknesses or past failures. - You freeze up when asked tough, unpredictable behavioral questions. - You don't know your market value and feel anxious about negotiating salary. What you'll get out of this event: - The STAR Method Masterclass: Learn the clear, reliable framework for telling compelling stories that answer any behavioral question with precision. - Recruiter Mindset: Gain insider perspective on the real goal behind tricky questions (and how to deliver the answer the hiring manager is actually looking for). - Negotiation Foundations: Get practical, step-by-step guidance on researching your worth and approaching the salary discussion with confidence. Stop guessing what they want to hear and start interviewing like an insider!

Crafting a Winning Narrative: Harvard and Stanford Graduate Break Down Elite College Admissions

Elite college admissions are driven by how clearly and authentically you tell your story, not just by grades and test scores. In this session, graduates of Harvard and Stanford will explain how top schools evaluate applications and what makes a narrative resonate with admissions committees. You’ll learn how to connect your experiences, values, and goals into a cohesive story across essays, activities, and recommendations, while avoiding common pitfalls that weaken otherwise strong profiles.