Leland+ for MBA

What MBA Interviewers Are Really Evaluating

MBA interviews are less about having the “right” answers and more about how you show up. In this panel, former MBA interviewers will share firsthand insight into what admissions committees are actually assessing during interviews, from leadership presence and self-awareness to clarity of goals and authenticity. You’ll learn how interviewers interpret your stories, what common signals raise red flags, and how to prepare in a way that feels confident rather than rehearsed. Whether you’re interviewing soon or planning ahead, this session will help you understand how to perform at your best when it matters most.

INSEAD Short- and Long-Term Career Goals Essay

Plans for transitioning from Korea’s gaming industry to global digital platforms and building a founder-focused accelerator.

Chicago Booth Interview Series

Chicago Booth interviews are your chance to bring your application to life—and strong preparation can make all the difference. This interview series is designed to help you approach Booth interviews with confidence, clarity, and a compelling personal narrative. Whether you’re preparing for your first interview or refining your approach, you’ll leave with practical strategies and greater confidence.

Harvard Essay 2 Example

Harvard Essay 2 example, female from a CPG start-up, accepted into the class of 2028.

Sample Resume Action Verbs

Using strong, impactful verbs is essential to crafting compelling bullet points on your MBA résumé. This guide includes a categorized list of powerful verbs to clearly showcase your skills and accomplishments.

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.

Sample Resume Bullet Points

This guide includes a set of résumé bullet points designed to showcase a wide range of skills and industries. Each bullet uses a strong action verb and highlights a quantifiable outcome.

Great Alternatives to the US for Grad School

For many applicants, top graduate programs outside the United States offer world-class education, strong career outcomes, and more accessible pathways to admission and visas. This session explores leading international destinations for grad school, how their application processes differ from the US, and what to consider when evaluating cost, career mobility, and long-term goals. You’ll leave with a clearer view of global options and practical guidance for building a competitive international application strategy.

Deferred MBA Planning — Preparing for a Successful Application [3/5/2026] (Recording)

Are you gearing up for the deferred MBA application process sometime in the next couple of years? Join me for a session dedicated to making sure you are well prepared when application season rolls around. I'm John, CEO of Leland, and I'll be your host for this session. Prior to Leland, I was admitted to HBS 2+2 and Stanford GSB deferred, and then founded Deferred MBA Consulting. In the past 8 years I have helped thousands of people with their deferred applications. Space is limited, so make sure to RSVP and secure your spot today!

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.

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 Field to Framework: Crafting a Civilian-Ready MBA Resume

Military experience translates powerfully to MBA admissions when it’s framed in the language schools understand. This session shows you how to convert roles, missions, and outcomes into civilian-ready impact, highlight leadership and decision-making, and align your resume with post-MBA goals. You’ll learn how to quantify results, choose the right stories, and avoid common translation pitfalls so your resume clearly signals readiness for top programs.

How to Write an MBA Resume

A quick, step-by-step guide to writing the perfect MBA résumé.

Sample Resume Metrics

Adding metrics and quantifiable data to your résumé demonstrates your tangible impact and value to potential MBA programs. Use this original list of metrics to clearly highlight your accomplishments.

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.

What Europe’s Top B-Schools are Looking For

Europe’s leading business schools evaluate candidates through a distinct lens, often prioritizing international mindset, clarity of goals, and cultural contribution alongside professional achievement. In this session, you’ll learn what top European MBA programs value most in applications, how their expectations differ from US schools, and how to position your background for maximum impact. You’ll leave with a clearer understanding of how to tailor your strategy and strengthen your candidacy for Europe’s most competitive business schools.

8 Steps to an MBA app: 1) Life Story, Timeline, & MBA Resume

Applying to business school can feel overwhelming! You have dozens of moving pieces: essays, short answers, video content, resume, recommendations, outreach, research, and more. This workshop is the starting point of a structured 8-part MBA Identity Mapping series designed to take you from fragmented tasks to a clear plan of action. In this session, you will build your foundational Life Timeline of all your key stories and begin transforming your resume into MBA format. These sessions walk you step by step through building one fully aligned MBA application. In every workshop, you will be assigned tasks to complete over the next two weeks, keeping you organized and accountable. By the end, you will have strong, authentic essays and a cohesive narrative that runs consistently through your resume, goals, recommendations, school strategy, and interviews. You are absolutely welcome to attend individual sessions if you only need focused help on a specific component(s) of your MBA application. Event 1 identifies your significant experiences and reshapes your resume into MBA format: • Understand the full trajectory of the 8-phase MBA Identity Mapping process and how each piece connects. • Build a comprehensive Life Timeline that captures the raw material of your life. • Begin transforming your professional resume into MBA format. The MBA Identity Mapping process has guided 100+ applicants into every M7 program, all other top 20 U.S. programs, and leading international programs including INSEAD, London Business School, IESE, Esade, Oxford, Cambridge, NUS, and more. Clients consistently describe it as transformative because it replaces scattered effort with forward momentum and strategic clarity. If you are ready to stop juggling tasks and start building an organized, cohesive MBA application, this is where you begin. (Please message me if you would like a copy of the super helpful free resource mentioned in the video: MBA Resume Transformation Guide.)

Crafting Powerful Narratives for MBA Applications

Many MBA applicants have strong experiences but struggle to turn them into a clear, compelling story that resonates with admissions committees. This session is designed for candidates who want to understand how to connect their past experiences, leadership moments, and career goals into a cohesive narrative that strengthens every part of the application. You’ll learn how successful applicants frame their impact, choose the right stories for essays and interviews, and communicate a believable path from where they are today to where they want to go.

What Top MBA Candidates Do Differently [5/4/2026] (Recording)

Top MBA candidates don’t just have strong profiles—they make intentional decisions about how they position their experiences, goals, and story. This session is for applicants who want to understand what actually differentiates successful candidates across top programs. You’ll learn how to frame your impact, articulate clear and credible goals, and avoid the common mistakes that weaken otherwise competitive applications. Join live to hear perspectives from a panel of experienced MBA coaches who work closely with applicants and evaluate what stands out. The discussion will follow a curated set of high-impact questions, offering structured insights and examples typically shared in 1:1 coaching sessions.

MBA Essays That Get You Admitted: Do’s and Don’ts from an M7 Expert

MBA essays are where strong candidates separate themselves, but many applicants struggle to turn their experiences into a clear and compelling story. This session is for MBA applicants who want to approach their essays with more strategy and confidence. You’ll learn what makes an essay memorable to admissions readers, common mistakes that weaken otherwise strong profiles, and how to structure your story so it aligns with what top programs are looking for.