Leland+ Content Library

Ace your Behavioral Interviews! [7/30/2026] (Recording)

Are you ready to ace your behavioral interviews and make a lasting impression? Join me, Fiona, for an insightful session where we'll dive deep into the art of behavioral interview preparation. With my extensive experience as the CEO of QuantMinds and former Executive Director at Haas School of Business, I've guided countless professionals and students in mastering their career stories and interview skills for Finance, IB, Quant, PE and Hedge Fund Interviews! In this event, we'll cover essential topics such as promotion strategy, technical interview prep, resume and cover letter reviews, and even LinkedIn optimization. Whether you're aiming for a role in commercial banking, private wealth management, or any other subcategory within quantitative finance, this session is tailored to help you succeed. Spaces are limited, so be sure to RSVP and secure your spot. Let's transform your interview approach and set you on the path to success!

Your Investment Banking Resume [8/18/2026] (Recording)

A banker reads your resume in about ten seconds. The format is solved. One page, three sections, one line per bullet, strongest first. Most people know some version of that and still spend weeks iterating, because they are trying to be completely understood on the page. That is the most common mistake and it is the one people refuse to fix. Your resume is a conversation starter and a first impression, not a full account of you. We will go through the whole page. What each section is for, how to rank what goes inside it, and the bullet formula that makes a line worth reading. Then the words to cut, starting with the ones nobody says out loud in an interview. What we'll cover: - Why ten seconds decides the format, and what that rules out - The three sections, what belongs in each, and which one should be longest - The bullet formula: strong verb, specific work, scale, result - Resume-ese and what to say instead, including why "reported" beats "researched" - Putting a number in every bullet, and how to round it - The most common mistake, which is over-explaining Want to solidify your resume and be done with it? Send it over and I will pass back a full rewrite, at a discount for anyone here. Book a free 15-minute intro to learn more. Part 1 of Coffee Chat Ready, a six part run on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Each one stands alone, so jump in anywhere. I'm the founder of OFFERGOBLIN and ex-Centerview tech.

How to Structure an MBA Application Essay: The Classical Arrangement [7/25/2026] (Recording)

As a former AP English teacher and college essay tutor now pursuing an MBA, I want to share how I used certain classical writing and rhetorical strategies to write cogent and compelling MBA application essays.

The AI-Powered Investment Banker: Claude Workflows for Excel & PowerPoint [10/15/2026] (Recording)

AI is changing how investment bankers work, but knowing how to use Claude effectively can mean the difference between saving hours and simply adding another tool to your workflow. This session is for investment bankers and finance professionals who want to use AI to work faster and more efficiently across the tasks they do every day. You’ll learn practical Claude workflows for Excel and PowerPoint, streamline repetitive banking tasks, and see how AI can accelerate analysis, modeling, and presentation work. Join live to hear from an investment banking expert and former Lazard banker who understands the demands of the industry firsthand. The speaker will walk through real-world workflows and show how to integrate Claude into your existing processes without sacrificing accuracy or quality. Bring your questions and leave with practical AI workflows you can start using immediately.

Why MBA, Why Now, Why [X] Program: Answers that Define Your App [6/11/2026] (Recording)

Few questions matter more in MBA admissions than why you want an MBA, why this is the right moment, and why a particular program is the right fit. Yet many applicants answer them superficially. This session will explore how to develop thoughtful, credible, and differentiated responses to these foundational questions, and why the quality of those answers often determines the strength of the entire application. Attendees will leave with a framework for articulating a sharper and more persuasive admissions narrative.

The First Manager Job: Getting Promoted Into Leadership [10/1/2026] (Recording)

Are you ready to take the leap into leadership? Join me, David, for an insightful session on how to secure your first managerial role and excel in it. With extensive experience in talent acquisition and recruitment for top tech companies like Meta, Intuit, and Zoom, I have a deep understanding of what it takes to climb the career ladder in AI and cyber-security. During this event, we'll cover essential promotion strategies, skill-building techniques, and networking tactics to help you stand out and get noticed for leadership opportunities. Whether you're aiming for a promotion or preparing for future leadership roles, this session will equip you with the tools and insights you need to succeed. Spaces are limited, so be sure to RSVP and secure your spot today. I look forward to helping you navigate your path to leadership!

Developing Your MBA Story [6/24/2026] (Recording)

**GIVEAWAY FOR LIVE ATTENDEES: ONE FREE YEAR OF LELAND+ ($120 value)** A strong MBA application starts with a clear story, yet many applicants struggle to connect their experiences into a narrative that feels focused and compelling. This session is for candidates who want to strengthen how they present their goals, leadership, and personal journey throughout the admissions process. You’ll learn how to identify the themes that make your background distinctive, connect your experiences into a cohesive narrative, and communicate your “why MBA” with greater clarity. Join live to hear from a panel of MBA admissions experts and ask questions about your own application story. The panelists regularly work with applicants on positioning and essay strategy and will share the patterns they see across successful candidates. Expect practical guidance and insights similar to what’s covered in 1:1 admissions coaching conversations.

Master in Management (MiM) decision- What it is, What it takes, and What you get [10/1/2026] (Recording)

Most Master in Management (MiM) advice comes from school marketing or one stranger's forum post. This is the version I give paying clients. I did a Master in Management and have spent 8+ years in the field of strategy and finance across six countries. I have mentored clients on their Master in Management applications across the US, Europe and Asia. I have been on both sides of this decision, which means I can tell you what the brochures leave out. In 1 hour, I will cover whether you are still eligible, which is not about your age and is the question that catches most people out. How a MiM differs from an MBA and from a specialised master's, and which your situation actually calls for. Why programmes run anywhere from one to three years, and what a gap year really is. Where this degree is taught across the US and Europe, why almost no American programme is called a MiM, and how to read a ranking properly, including why most major US programmes are missing from the rankings table and why that has nothing to do with quality. What you actually do afterwards, named concretely rather than described aspirationally. What a strong CV, essay, letter and interview look like. And where AI helps you, where it quietly sinks you, and the completely honest mistake that gets applicants flagged as dishonest. This is for anyone considering a MiM in the US or Europe, whether you are a year out or midway through a shortlist. If you applied before and did not get in, come. Forty five minutes of content, then live Q&A, hands or chat. Everyone who attends gets the Profile Evaluation Workbook by email afterwards.

Home for Ambition #12 — Weekly Live Show [6/17/2026] (Recording)

Home for Ambition is a weekly live show, by Leland, for people trying to stay ahead as work, learning, and opportunity keep changing. Each episode tackles a handful of timely, high-signal topics across AI, careers, education, and the future of work. We expect thoughtful debate, unique perspectives, and practical takeaways you can actually use. It is not a typical interview show or a generic news recap. It is a live roundtable built to help ambitious people make sense of what is changing, understand what matters, and leave with a sharper point of view on how to navigate what comes next.

Ultra Practical Playbook for Job Searching in 2026 [7/22/2026] (Recording)

I'll share the step by step framework that I used to secure 5 different job offers over the last 3 years. Job searching is tough, but when you go about it in a strategic way you can see results. This workshop is all about how to get a good job fast. It's for people who don't have months and need to get a lot done in a little amount of time.

Should You Go to Grad School? [8/22/2026] (Recording)

Are you contemplating whether grad school is the right path for you? Ask yourself these 5 questions first. Here, I'll share my personal experiences preparing for (and going through) grad school, what has worked (and hasn't) for my students, and my perspective as a former AdCom member of Carnegie Mellon University's MSCF program (the #3 financial engineering master's in the US). Spaces are limited, so be sure to RSVP and secure your spot today!

Home for Ambition #17 — Weekly Live Show [7/29/2026] (Recording)

Home for Ambition is a weekly live show, hosted by Leland CEO, John Koelliker, for people trying to stay ahead as work, learning, and opportunity keep changing. Each episode tackles a handful of timely, high-signal topics across AI, careers, education, and the future of work. We expect thoughtful debate, unique perspectives, and practical takeaways you can actually use. It is not a typical interview show or a generic news recap. It is a live roundtable built to help ambitious people make sense of what is changing, understand what matters, and leave with a sharper point of view on how to navigate what comes next.

Think Your Career is Too Unconventional for an M7? Watch This Before Round 2. [10/12/2026] (Recording)

A classical musician and a water sustainability expert share the application strategies that got them into top B-Schools, and elite Tech & MBB roles post-MBA. In this session, we will cover how to position your application across your essay, resume, who to choose as your recommenders, and how to leverage your background for scholarships & aid.

Summer Leadership Series: Clarity For Your Next Chapter [7/22/2026] (Recording)

How Great Leaders Make Decisions Without Perfect Information Have you ever felt stuck between multiple good options? Whether you're considering a promotion, changing careers, transitioning from the military, starting a business, or simply trying to figure out what's next, uncertainty can make even capable leaders feel overwhelmed. The challenge usually isn't a lack of information—it's the pressure to make the "right" decision. In this interactive 45-minute workshop, we'll explore why high performers often struggle with major life and career decisions and introduce practical tools to help you move forward with greater clarity and confidence. This isn't a presentation about finding the perfect answer. It's a conversation about learning to trust yourself, align your decisions with your values, and take the next step with intention. What You'll Learn During this session, you'll: • Understand why capable leaders often feel stuck during periods of transition. • Learn a simple framework for making decisions when certainty isn't possible. • Explore the role values, identity, and energy play in creating clarity. • Work through a guided reflection exercise to identify your own "next waypoint." • Leave with practical questions and tools you can immediately apply to your career and life. Who Should Attend? This session is designed for: Mid-career and senior professionals. Anyone navigating transition. Executives and emerging leaders. Entrepreneurs and business owners. Anyone facing an important decision or a new chapter in life. No matter where you are in your journey, you'll leave with a greater perspective and a practical framework for navigating uncertainty with confidence. What You'll Walk Away With By the end of our time together, you'll have: ✅ A clearer understanding of what's driving your current decisions. ✅ A framework for moving from uncertainty to intentional action. ✅ Reflection tools you can continue using long after the session. ✅ Greater confidence in identifying and taking your next step. My hope isn't that you leave with your next ten years figured out. My hope is that you leave knowing your next waypoint. Because you don't have to see the entire horizon. You only have to trust yourself enough to steer toward the next waypoint.

Home for Ambition #15 — Weekly Live Show [7/8/2026] (Recording)

Home for Ambition is a weekly live show, hosted by Leland CEO, John Koelliker, for people trying to stay ahead as work, learning, and opportunity keep changing. Each episode tackles a handful of timely, high-signal topics across AI, careers, education, and the future of work. We expect thoughtful debate, unique perspectives, and practical takeaways you can actually use. It is not a typical interview show or a generic news recap. It is a live roundtable built to help ambitious people make sense of what is changing, understand what matters, and leave with a sharper point of view on how to navigate what comes next.

Recommendation Letters: from Selection to Submission [9/25/2026] (Recording)

Part 4 of 6 — Build Your Best MBA Application: One Piece at a Time, a free series (5:00–5:45pm ET). Letters of rec are the one piece of your application you don't fully control — so start them first. This session covers the full arc, selection to submission: picking recommenders in the right priority order (your most recent direct supervisor beats the biggest title who barely knows you), asking early with a gratitude-first outreach that makes it easy to say yes, and prepping your recommenders with talking points and evidence so they write something specific and authentic instead of generic praise. We'll also go inside what recommenders actually fill out — the GMAC Common LOR's competency grid and free-text questions — and the ratings guidance most applicants get wrong: why all 5s can hurt you, and how "lower" ratings tied to real growth areas make a letter read as credible. You'll leave with a recommender plan you can put in motion the same week: who to ask, how to ask, how to follow up, and how to make sure every letter lands before the deadline.

What's Next? Deciding Whether to Cancel your Score and/or Retake the LSAT [9/23/2026] (Recording)

Getting an LSAT score you're proud of is only part of the equation. Deciding whether to keep your score, cancel it, or retake can have a major impact on your application strategy, especially when you're already scoring in a competitive range. This session is for LSAT test takers who want to make a smart, informed decision about what to do next. You'll learn how to evaluate your current score, when a retake makes sense, and what factors should guide your decision. Join live to hear from an LSAT expert with 12,000 hours of tutoring experience helping clients reach scores between 170 and 175. The speaker will break down how to think through score cancellation and retakes, including the risks, potential upside, and common mistakes to avoid. Bring your questions and leave with a clearer plan for your next move.

Leading Teams in the Era of AI: Crucial Skills for 2026 and Beyond [9/16/2026] (Recording)

Teams and organizations, along with their managers, are working (or struggling) to 'adapt as they adopt' new AI-enabled processes and tools. First taught as a course at Stanford, 'Leading Teams in the Era of AI' explores key managerial challenges that AI transformation can catalyze, which include: - maintaining motivation and a strong team culture in the face of rapid change and fear - communicating effectively when info saturation is a reality - clarifying roles and rules as AI augmentation and agents blur traditional boundaries - understanding different high level organizational strategies for AI adoption and their associated tradeoffs - increasing the pace and depth of team and organizational learning - recognizing how and why generative AI technology in particular requires new mindsets This session will summarize and highlight key findings and takeaways from the course, while offering a few simple tools to help leaders manage change when technological change keeps accelerating.

Investment Banking Kickoff: Your Guide to Securing an Offer [10/12/2026] (Recording)

Investment banking recruiting can feel like a maze of applications, networking, technicals, and interviews, but there’s a clear strategy behind how successful candidates navigate it. This kickoff session is for students and professionals who want to understand what it takes to compete for IB roles and turn recruiting efforts into real opportunities. You’ll learn how to build a stronger recruiting strategy, position yourself for the process, and prepare for the key stages that can ultimately lead to an offer. Join live for a panel of IB experts who know what it takes to navigate investment banking recruiting. They’ll share practical strategies, firsthand lessons, and insights into what successful candidates do throughout the process. Bring your questions and leave with a clearer roadmap for approaching IB recruiting with confidence.

How to Nail the “Why Us” & Other Supplemental Essays [9/13/2026] (Recording)

Your personal statement tells colleges who you are. Your supplements show them why you belong at their school. At selective colleges, the “Why Us” essay is one of your biggest opportunities to stand out—and one of the easiest places to blend in. Too many students write a generic essay: great academics, great location, great community, felt like home. That essay could have been written for any school. I’m a Stanford- and Columbia-educated writing coach, and in this livestream I’ll show you what a strong “Why Us” essay is actually asking you to do, the mistakes that can undermine an otherwise strong application, and how to write supplements that are so specific and personal that no other applicant could have written them. We’ll also tackle other supplemental prompts you’re likely to encounter, including community, identity, and extracurricular essays. Bring your college list—you’ll leave with a clear strategy for researching each school and turning what you discover into compelling, highly specific essays.