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.

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.

How to Give Feedback That Actually Changes Behavior

Most managers give feedback. Few give feedback that sticks. This guide breaks down the four reasons feedback fails, then gives you a repeatable four-part framework — Situation, Behavior, Impact, Next Step — with side-by-side examples showing ineffective vs. effective delivery. Includes a section on handling the most common reactions: defensiveness, denial, and empty agreement.

Cracking Round 3 MBA: How I Got Admitted in the Final Round

Round 3 MBA admissions can feel unpredictable and highly competitive, but strong candidates still win seats with the right positioning and strategy. In this session, we’ll break down how to approach the final round strategically, address timing concerns head-on, and craft a compelling narrative that demonstrates urgency, fit, and readiness. You’ll gain practical insight into how admissions committees evaluate Round 3 applicants and how to maximize your chances even late in the cycle.

From Idea to First 10 Customers: A Playbook

A session dedicated to walking founders through a playbook for going from ideation to landing their first 10 customers.

Build Your Medical School Application Plan

Medical school applications are a marathon, not a sprint—and the right plan can change everything. This session helps you step back, see the full picture, and build an application strategy that actually works. You’ll learn how to map out your timeline, focus on the experiences and metrics that matter most, and avoid common missteps that derail strong applicants. If you want to approach the med school process with confidence and control (instead of stress), this session will give you the framework to do it.

Get Your Master’s in the EU

Earning a master’s degree in the EU can unlock world-class academics, lower tuition costs, and strong post-graduate career opportunities across global markets. This session breaks down how European master’s programs work, key differences from US applications, timelines and requirements, and how to choose the right country and program based on your goals. You’ll leave with a clear framework for evaluating options and taking next steps toward a competitive EU master’s application.

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 Land a Job in the New Frontier: AI Careers

AI is reshaping every industry, and landing a role in this fast-moving space requires more than just technical interest. This session breaks down the AI job landscape, the roles companies are hiring for, and how candidates from technical and non-technical backgrounds can position themselves competitively. You’ll learn how to build relevant skills, craft a compelling narrative, and navigate recruiting for AI-focused roles across tech, startups, and traditional companies.

How To Have the Promotion Conversation

Most promotion conversations fail not because the person wasn't ready -- but because they handled it wrong. This guide covers when to have the conversation, what to say, how to handle pushback, and what to do after. Includes sample language and a follow up email template.

Managing Up: A Field Guide

Managing up isn’t about flattering your boss — it’s about owning the relationship with the person who has the most influence over your career. This guide covers how to diagnose your manager’s style, what to ask them early in any new relationship, the most common managing up mistakes and how to fix them, and how to navigate specific situations when the relationship is strained.

The Internal Pivot Playbook

How to move into a new role, function, or business unit without leaving your company: the full arc most professionals navigate alone and without a roadmap. This guide covers how to diagnose whether an internal pivot is the right move, how to position yourself before anyone knows you’re interested, how to have the conversation with your manager, how to navigate the three most common responses, what to negotiate (and how), and how to land well in the new role without the overconfidence trap.

Venture Capital 101: Players, Funds, and the Deal Process

Venture capital can feel opaque without a clear map of how firms operate and how deals actually get done. This session breaks down the VC ecosystem, who the key players are, how funds are structured, and what the end-to-end deal process looks like, from sourcing and diligence to investment decisions and portfolio support. You’ll leave with a practical understanding of how venture capital works and how to navigate conversations, recruiting, or founder interactions with greater confidence.

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.

Law School: Apps & Their Bits and Pieces

A law school application is made up of many moving parts, and understanding how they fit together is key. This session is designed to break down each component of the law school application and how they work together to tell a cohesive story. In this event, you’ll learn the role of LSAT scores, transcripts, personal statements, resumes, and recommendations, along with common mistakes to avoid. Whether you’re just starting out or refining your materials, you’ll leave with a clearer picture of how to build a strong application.

How to Crush your Finance Behavioral Interviews

In finance interviews, technical skills get you in the room—but behavioral answers often decide who gets the offer. Your ability to tell clear, confident stories about leadership, resilience, and impact can make all the difference. In this session, you’ll learn how to structure powerful answers, anticipate the questions firms consistently ask, and turn your experiences into memorable, results-driven narratives. We’ll break down what interviewers are truly assessing and how to respond with clarity, confidence, and credibility. If you want to walk into your next finance interview prepared to stand out, this is where to start.

The Elements of a Successful Case

What separates an average case from a memorable one? This session focuses on the specific elements interviewers look for when evaluating consulting cases—and how to consistently demonstrate them. You’ll break down how to drive the case forward, ask sharper questions, synthesize insights, and communicate recommendations with confidence. We’ll also highlight where candidates often lose points and how to course-correct in real time. Whether you’re building case fundamentals or aiming to refine your performance, you’ll leave with a clearer sense of how strong cases are actually judged—and how to deliver one.

MIT Sloan MBA Résumé Requirements

MIT Sloan has specific résumé requirements that MBA applicants must adhere to. This guide outlines those requirements.

Strategies for Crushing the New HBS Essays

Harvard Business School’s updated essay prompts demand clarity of purpose, strong self-awareness, and a narrative that goes beyond polished accomplishments. This session breaks down what the new HBS essays are really testing, how to approach each prompt strategically, and how to craft responses that feel authentic while signaling leadership, impact, and future potential. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas or refining drafts, you’ll leave with a clearer framework for writing essays that resonate with HBS admissions readers.

How to Have a Difficult Performance Conversation

Most managers know when a performance problem exists months before they address it. This guide gives you a structured approach to the conversation you’ve been avoiding: how to prepare, a five-part conversation framework, what to say at each stage, how to handle resistance, and what to do in the 24 hours after — including when to involve HR.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​