The Authentic
MBA Application Project
Curious what working with Career Protocol is all about?
This video answers a lot of questions fast.
We want to share your journey to MBA greatness
Us:
We coach MBA applicants to build up their executive skillset while applying to top business schools so they can rise above their competitive set and earn admission to the most elite schools with thousands of dollars in unsolicited scholarships.
You:
You already have everything you need inside you. Your values, experiences, and strengths are what make you uniquely you. And your weaknesses, failures, and setbacks are an indispensable part of your greatness. You’re going to need all of you to succeed.
Together…
We’ll make sure your applications measure up to the standard of your best self. We’ll guide you every step of the way, making sure you do all the right stuff so that your applications shine like you do. You’ll get in knowing you earned it on your own merits – because the applications you submit are 100% yours – and confident in your ability to tackle the MBA with the personal flair only you bring.
We know you have a baffling and confusing array of options to choose from when shopping for admissions consultants. So we’ll make it really easy to understand how we’re different:
We’re not consultants; we’re coaches. We’re not giving you the answers – we’re teaching you how to get to know, own, and communicate your best self.
Why Career Protocol?
#01
Well, we get results.
That’s the first reason.
ALL YEARS
2022-23
2021-22
2020-21
Total Client Scholarships
Per Successful Client
Overall Client Success Rate
Guided Quest Success Rate*
*excluding unsuccessful clients who did not follow Career Protocol recommended guidelines of applying to a portfolio of schools, including minimum 1 safety.
#02
Second reason? We make it easy.
Our processes and frameworks simplify everything, so you can focus on what matters: giving all your attention to the aspects of your application that will improve your results.
#03
The third reason is that we make it fun.
I mean, our mascot is a dancing unicorn. We know how to work hard, deliver results, and still have a good laugh at ourselves.
#04
Fourth: We make the work meaningful.
As your full partner on this journey, we’re invested in your success – not just for the short-term, but also for the long-term. We help you uplevel your self-confidence, self-awareness, and soft skills while we build your applications.
The Career Protocol is kind of a big deal
This will give you a huge competitive edge
in MBA applications
We have two key questions for you before we can determine fit: what’s your vision for your place in this world, and how are you making the world a better place? If we believe in your answers to those questions, we’re all in on your success. Not just in the short game of MBA admissions, but in the long game of your entire career.
The Career Protocol is a collection of mindsets and soft skills that differentiate top performers from everyone else. We teach the Career Protocol to all of our clients, because we know that if you can master these skills now you can get everything you want in your career.
The truth about MBA admissions:
A pernicious MBA myth is that business school teaches you soft skills
The truth is that it’s impossible to learn self-awareness, communication, and relationship-building skills in a contrived classroom environment. You can only develop these skills live, on the court of your career. The people who are most successful post-MBA are the people who come into business school with these skills fully developed.
That’s why we get such amazing results
By the time our clients reach the interview stage, schools have fallen in love with them because they know they possess the elite soft skills that will differentiate them in business school and beyond. This is why our clients get more scholarships than those of any other firm and why they get into amazing schools despite what might at first appear to be crippling weaknesses.
Success in and after business school depends on these skills
Schools know that students with elite soft skills will rise to the top of their classes, contribute the most to their programs, get more job offers post-MBA, go further in their careers, and make them prouder as alums. That’s why they’re not attempting to teach soft skills; they’re screening for them.
MBA programs are desperate to admit students with elite soft skills
This is why, at Career Protocol, we coach you to build your executive soft skills in the process of applying to business school. Our programs and 1:1 coaching challenge you to expand your self-awareness, develop your ability to communicate who you are with confident humility, and nurture thriving professional friendships based on mutual affinity and kindness.
For your MBA applications, this means (among other things) that you need to explore your experiences, uncover the most inspiring elements of your life story, and weave them together in a brilliant, compelling narrative that makes a bold claim about who you are.
Only this kind of authenticity will evoke the love of the admissions committee instead of the “Yeah, I guess they’re good enough” that is most applicants’ best case-scenario. (We’re telling you our secret to our crazy scholarship numbers right here.)
That’s why our process is designed to give you so much more than just a great application
Authenticity:
Your Secret to Success
Most candidates approach MBA applications in a backwards fashion. They ask, “What does the school want to hear?” or “How can I convince this school to admit me?”
But this isn’t what schools actually want you to do. The world’s most inspiring leaders are authentic. They’ve learned how to shape the world to fit them, not the other way around. To achieve your long-term vision for success, you don’t need to be different from what you are. You only need to know and communicate your best self. Then the world (and your chosen business schools) can meet you where you are. No imposter syndrome required.
Working 1:1
with a Career Protocol Coach, you will...
Explore and understand your values, strengths, and preferences to build confidence in yourself and shape your stories
Coach your recommenders to sing your praises in an honest and inspiring way
Square away your professional profile and rockstar resume so schools know at a glance that you bring a lot to the table
Create your Career Game Plan to guide your short- and long- term career choices and inspire the admissions committee
Prepare knock-out stories for interviews based on your most important experiences and master the art of personal storytelling
Get ready for MBA recruiting after you get in – getting the best job for you is key to your long-term success and we’re here for it!
Tell the inspiring story only you can tell.
Face the admissions board with unshakable confidence.
What's in the Project?
If you want to know how our process works, please request a call and we will walk you through all the fabulous details of what a year with Career Protocol entails. Yep, a year.
Well, actually more. Our coaching resources extend all the way into the first year of
your MBA, as you pursue summer internships.
Meanwhile, here’s a basic outline of all the steps
you will take 1:1 with your dedicated Career Protocol coach
It begins.
Discovery.
Career game planning.
Research and school selection.
Resume construction.
Story shaping.
Recommender selection and coaching.
Polishing the odds and ends.
Interview Hero.
Waitlist guidance and/or scholarship negotiation coaching.
YOMO and SPITR.
All along the journey.
Project Investment
Authentic MBA Application Projects with the Career Protocol team start at $9,000.
Request a call so we can discuss all the wonderful options you have to work with us and help you choose the best project for you.
Meet the Dream Team
You'll have your own personal Coach, dedicated to your success and guiding you step by step through the application process.
Our Chief International Officer, Charli has over 15 years of experience in higher education in international project management, marketing, and recruitment. She has worked in over 50 countries with clients from countless more!
Charli knows all too well that your best stories are often found in the least expected places. She wants to help you tell your stories with pride and appreciation for how far you’ve come. Plus, she’s our resident cheerleader. No one will help you feel more confident than Charli, and if you don’t already see how freakin’ awesome you are, you will after working with her!
Going the MBA route? It’s worth noting that Charli was also an admissions committee reader for 10 years across multiple institutions, including 3.5 years as the Associate Director for International Admissions at Cornell’s Johnson School of Business.
If you want to meet your inner brilliance, uncover a new level of belief in yourself and your vision, and then bring it to life, choose Charli.
Jenn is the kind of person friends and family count on to help them move – and to pack everything in color-coded, clearly labeled boxes. She teaches us all how much fun and harmony can be found in getting and staying organized. And she’ll do the same for you.
She was a program manager at the NYC Department of Education, helping the system’s 140,000 students who were off-track earn their diplomas. At Booth’s Rustandy Center for Social Innovation, she directed the CRED (Creating Real Economic Destiny) competition for MBA students all over Chicago. And at Pfizer, she managed a multi-national research study to assess the market for new products.
If you need someone to help you organize and structure your thoughts and ideas into cohesive stories and plans, Jenn is your girl.
Louise has dedicated her life to mastering the art of story. She’s a comedy and script writer, a puppeteer, and an improv star (in addition to being a practicing attorney!!).
What makes this especially impressive is that Louise is not a ham or a “big personality.” She’s actually fairly shy and soft-spoken by nature. But her love of story and of making people laugh have compelled her to break through many barriers to achieve excellence in the fields she loves. That’s exactly what she helps her clients do, too.
If you want to work with someone who will listen patiently without judgment, understand your experiences, be as obsessed with telling your best story as you are, and help you break through all your career barriers, Louise is the Coach for you!
Our GMAT genius, Brian worked previously as a top instructor at Manhattan Prep. It was his job to think about how to make achieving dream scores easier, more efficient, and faster for students.
Brian is a curious listener, a compassionate shoulder to lean on, and a great storyteller. But what makes him a rockstar at this job is his reflective, calming presence and his tireless commitment to your excellence.
Vijay was Career Protocol’s first official client when we launched our flagship MBA application service in 2018. We toiled together across two rounds and many months to discover his values, communicate his value adds, and land him the ideal MBA offer for him: admission to Stanford GSB’s MsX program. Knowing his values and strengths so well, especially his love of mentorship and developing others, it was a no-brainer and a great to welcome him back to the team as a coach after he completed his MBA studies.
Our resident Social Impact expert, Vijay brings a ton of love, commitment, and joy to his work guiding clients to fulfill their potential and vision for impact. Vijay is so passionate about the development of others that he founded a social impact corporation during his time at Stanford that helps educational institutions in Latin America succeed. Ask him about it!
Sarah upped our grammar game by about a thousand points when she joined the team. Our resident writing expert and Northwestern University PhD in English, Sarah is an absolute genius at helping clients express themselves in the clearest, most authentic, and most powerful way possible. She’s obsessed with the written word, having studied the craft of writing in educational and professional settings for more than a decade.
Sarah is a teacher at heart and is passionate about the art of self-expression. In addition to Coaching, Sarah is our Client Success Manager, so she’ll make sure you have everything you need to succeed!
Choose Sarah as your Coach if you want to get in touch with your writerly identity, channel your own unique voice, and emerge as a confident and influential communicator.
Our resident entrepreneur, Aziz is a genius at helping you tap into your potential and build your best career path. His passion for new projects is truly something to behold.
In Angela’s words, “His Booth essays (yep, he’s a Boothie) are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever read, so you know he’s a brilliant guide to finding your own story.”
Work with Aziz if you want to chart your course toward new possibilities and unimagined success in your career!
Here's how to
know if we’re the
best team for you:
Do you want to grow as a person instead of just following orders?
Our process focuses on developing the core self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and executive soft skills that will make you genuinely irresistible to the admissions committee instead of editing the crap out of your essays so they sound like everyone else’s.
Do you want a full partner in this process?
Side by side, we’ll go deep into your life story, your values, and every single word of your core applications through unlimited drafts. We get to know you better than your friends do so your application can capture every last shred of your awesomeness.
Do you want a friend you can trust?
We don’t pull any punches. When an essay isn’t living up to our high standards, we let you know. But we’ll also support you through the ups and downs of the process and always treat you with kindness and respect.
Do you want to invest in your long-term success?
Our project extends into recruiting for internships, post-MBA interview prep, and coaching case interview training. And even our core service will uplevel your leadership capabilities while we work together so you’re better off when you get to bschool.
Do you want to work with someone who can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning to read your essays?
Just like a homemade cake, your MBA application may fall flat without the special ingredient of love. We love what we do more than anyone else.
Do you want life to be a little more fun?
We know how to laugh – at life, at the world, and at ourselves. We’ll bring a levity to this process that makes the hard work so much more enjoyable.
If you don’t want to take our word for it,
read what others have to say about us.
Ready to begin your Authentic MBA Application?
FAQs
The unicorns really say it all don't they?
One of the ways we really shine is in the creative process – helping you think through all the many amazing dimensions of your life story, bringing them together in an artful and inspiring narrative, and then helping you take ownership of that as you go through the process so that your core level of self-confidence is permanently upleveled.
To do this, it's required that we approach the whole process from a position of love: we look at all of our clients as magnificent, capable, brilliant beings and hold them in the highest light as we go through the process so that wherever their vision of themselves isn't up to that level, they can catch up while we're working together. No one else does this.
But we're also the only firm who's seeking to build up your executive skill-set and help lay the groundwork for long-term success, not just MBA admission. So our approach is pedagogical, exploratory, and focused on building capacity, not giving you the answers (there are no right answers, BTW.)
Wow, thanks!!! We love you too! And though we'd really love to support you in your goals, the only way we engage with clients is on a project basis. This is simply because we don't know how to do this halfway.
It's not just that every last word of your MBA application matters and to ensure success, we need to be involved in all of it. It's also because things frequently heard by Career Protocol clients go something like this: “I woke up in the middle of the night last night and had an important insight about your essay!”
If you give that much to too many people, you become a dry, squished out, shell of a human being. We all need our beauty rest. Ha!! Since we don't know how to care less about clients who only pay for a few hours, instead of changing how much we care, we decided instead just to go all in with only a handful of folks.
Three. That's the simple answer. Of course you can buy more, and if you're budget-constrained, two might be enough. But for almost all of our clients, three is the sweet spot. You get complete support, training and development on all parts of those three schools. Then high-level strategic guidance on three more. Almost everyone feels that this is enough support and training to be able to crush all their applications. Once we do three together, you'll be a semi-pro and you'll feel confident tackling any number of other schools on your own.
No problem. It costs just a little more to add schools later than if you include them in your base project.
Perfect! Even better in fact. Throughout our work together, we'll continually revisit the school choice conversation and steer you to a portfolio of schools that maximizes your chances of getting into a dream school or two while attempting to ensure you have at least one admission by the end of the journey via safer schools. We'll also counsel you on which ones from your whole portfolio you should do with us vs. which ones you should do on your own based on the complexity and overlap of essays in the applications.
We're scattered all over the world and so are our clients. We'll meet most of the time in Zoom (with optional video chat) and via email. Most of our clients say they feel so supported and understood that they can't believe we weren't sitting right by their side the whole way. That said, if you happen to be in or passing through the towns where we are, we'd love to meet for a coffee and maybe even prep for an interview if the timing is right.
The Authentic MBA Application Project
We coach MBA applicants to build up their executive skillset while applying to top business schools so they can rise above their competitive set and earn admission to the most elite schools with thousands of dollars in unsolicited scholarships.
Curious what working with Career Protocol is all about? This video answers a lot of questions fast.
You:
You already have everything you need inside you. Your values, experiences, and strengths are what make you uniquely you. And your weaknesses, failures, and setbacks are an indispensable part of your greatness. You’re going to need all of you to succeed.
Together…
We’ll make sure your applications measure up to the standard of your best self. We’ll guide you every step of the way, making sure you do all the right stuff so that your applications shine like you do. You’ll get in knowing you earned it on your own merits – because the applications you submit are 100% yours – and confident in your ability to tackle the MBA with the personal flair only you bring.
We’re not consultants; we’re coaches. We’re not giving you the answers – we’re teaching you how to get to know, own, and communicate your best self.
Why Career Protocol?
#01
Well, we get results.
That’s the first reason.
Total Client Scholarships
Per Successful Client
Overall Client Success Rate
Guided Quest Success Rate*
*excluding unsuccessful clients who did not follow Career Protocol recommended guidelines of applying to a portfolio of schools, including minimum 1 safety.
Please note the scholarships!
That’s mostly unsolicited money. Just free cash our clients got because the schools loved them so much. That’s what happens when you submit an authentic and inspiring application.
#02
We make it easy.
Our processes and frameworks simplify everything, so you can focus on what matters: giving all your attention to the aspects of your application that will improve your results.
#03
We make it fun.
I mean, our mascot is a dancing unicorn. We know how to work hard, deliver results, and still have a good laugh at ourselves.
#04
We make the work meaningful.
As your full partner on this journey, we’re invested in your success – not just for the short-term, but also for the long-term. We help you uplevel your self-confidence, self-awareness, and soft skills while we build your applications.
The Career Protocol is kind of a big deal
We have two key questions for you before we can determine fit: what’s your vision for your place in this world, and how are you making the world a better place? If we believe in your answers to those questions, we’re all in on your success. Not just in the short game of MBA admissions, but in the long game of your entire career.
The Career Protocol is a collection of mindsets and soft skills that differentiate top performers from everyone else. We teach the Career Protocol to all of our clients, because we know that if you can master these skills now you can get everything you want in your career.
The truth about
MBA Admissions
The truth is that it’s impossible to learn self-awareness, communication, and relationship-building skills in a contrived classroom environment. You can only develop these skills live, on the court of your career. The people who are most successful post-MBA are the people who come into business school with these skills fully developed.
Schools know that students with elite soft skills will rise to the top of their classes, contribute the most to their programs, get more job offers post-MBA, go further in their careers, and make them prouder as alums. That’s why they’re not attempting to teach soft skills; they’re screening for them.
By the time our clients reach the interview stage, schools have fallen in love with them because they know they possess the elite soft skills that will differentiate them in business school and beyond. This is why our clients get more scholarships than those of any other firm and why they get into amazing schools despite what might at first appear to be crippling weaknesses.
This is why, at Career Protocol, we coach you to build your executive soft skills in the process of applying to business school. Our programs and 1:1 coaching challenge you to expand your self-awareness, develop your ability to communicate who you are with confident humility, and nurture thriving professional friendships based on mutual affinity and kindness.
Authenticity: Your Secret to Success
Most candidates approach MBA applications in a backwards fashion. They ask, “What does the school want to hear?” or “How can I convince this school to admit me?”
But this isn’t what schools actually want you to do. The world’s most inspiring leaders are authentic. They’ve learned how to shape the world to fit them, not the other way around. To achieve your long-term vision for success, you don’t need to be different from what you are. You only need to know and communicate your best self. Then the world (and your chosen business schools) can meet you where you are. No imposter syndrome required.
For your MBA applications, this means (among other things) that you need to explore your experiences, uncover the most inspiring elements of your life story, and weave them together in a brilliant, compelling narrative that makes a bold claim about who you are.
Only this kind of authenticity will evoke the love of the admissions committee instead of the “Yeah, I guess they’re good enough” that is most applicants’ best case-scenario. (We’re telling you our secret to our crazy scholarship numbers right here.)
That’s why our process is designed to give you so much more than just a great application.
Working 1:1 with your Coach, you will...
01.
Explore and understand your values, strengths, and preferences to build confidence in yourself and shape your stories.
02.
Coach your recommenders to sing your praises in an honest and inspiring way.
03.
Square away your professional profile and rockstar resume so schools know at a glance that you bring a lot to the table.
04.
Create your Career Game Plan to guide your short- and long- term career choices and inspire the admissions committee.
05.
Prepare knock-out stories for interviews based on your most important experiences and master the art of personal storytelling.
06.
Get ready for MBA recruiting after you get in – getting the best job for you is key to your long-term success and we’re here for it!
Tell the inspiring story only you can tell. Face the admissions board with unshakable confidence.
What's in the Project?
If you want to know how our process works, please request a call and we will walk you through all the fabulous details of what a year with Career Protocol entails. Yep, a year. Well, actually more. Our coaching resources extend all the way into the first year of your MBA, as you pursue summer internships.
Meanwhile, here’s a basic outline of all the steps you will take 1:1 with your dedicated Career Protocol coach
It begins.
Discovery.
Career game planning.
Research and school selection.
Resume construction.
Story shaping.
Recommender selection and coaching.
Polishing the odds and ends.
Interview Hero.
Waitlist guidance and/or scholarship negotiation coaching.
YOMO and SPITR.
All along the journey.
Project Investment
Authentic MBA Application Projects with the Career Protocol team start at $9,000.
Request a call so we can discuss all the wonderful options you have to work with us and help you choose the best project for you.
Meet the Dream Team
Our Chief International Officer, Charli has over 15 years of experience in higher education in international project management, marketing, and recruitment. She has worked in over 50 countries with clients from countless more!
Charli knows all too well that your best stories are often found in the least expected places. She wants to help you tell your stories with pride and appreciation for how far you’ve come. Plus, she’s our resident cheerleader. No one will help you feel more confident than Charli, and if you don’t already see how freakin’ awesome you are, you will after working with her!
Going the MBA route? It’s worth noting that Charli was also an admissions committee reader for 10 years across multiple institutions, including 3.5 years as the Associate Director for International Admissions at Cornell’s Johnson School of Business.
If you want to meet your inner brilliance, uncover a new level of belief in yourself and your vision, and then bring it to life, choose Charli.
Jenn is the kind of person friends and family count on to help them move – and to pack everything in color-coded, clearly labeled boxes. She teaches us all how much fun and harmony can be found in getting and staying organized. And she’ll do the same for you.
She was a program manager at the NYC Department of Education, helping the system’s 140,000 students who were off-track earn their diplomas. At Booth’s Rustandy Center for Social Innovation, she directed the CRED (Creating Real Economic Destiny) competition for MBA students all over Chicago. And at Pfizer, she managed a multi-national research study to assess the market for new products.
If you need someone to help you organize and structure your thoughts and ideas into cohesive stories and plans, Jenn is your girl.
Louise has dedicated her life to mastering the art of story. She’s a comedy and script writer, a puppeteer, and an improv star (in addition to being a practicing attorney!!).
What makes this especially impressive is that Louise is not a ham or a “big personality.” She’s actually fairly shy and soft-spoken by nature. But her love of story and of making people laugh have compelled her to break through many barriers to achieve excellence in the fields she loves. That’s exactly what she helps her clients do, too.
If you want to work with someone who will listen patiently without judgment, understand your experiences, be as obsessed with telling your best story as you are, and help you break through all your career barriers, Louise is the Coach for you!
Our GMAT genius, Brian worked previously as a top instructor at Manhattan Prep. It was his job to think about how to make achieving dream scores easier, more efficient, and faster for students.
Brian is a curious listener, a compassionate shoulder to lean on, and a great storyteller. But what makes him a rockstar at this job is his reflective, calming presence and his tireless commitment to your excellence.
Vijay was Career Protocol’s first official client when we launched our flagship MBA application service in 2018. We toiled together across two rounds and many months to discover his values, communicate his value adds, and land him the ideal MBA offer for him: admission to Stanford GSB’s MsX program. Knowing his values and strengths so well, especially his love of mentorship and developing others, it was a no-brainer and a great to welcome him back to the team as a coach after he completed his MBA studies.
Our resident Social Impact expert, Vijay brings a ton of love, commitment, and joy to his work guiding clients to fulfill their potential and vision for impact. Vijay is so passionate about the development of others that he founded a social impact corporation during his time at Stanford that helps educational institutions in Latin America succeed. Ask him about it!
Sarah upped our grammar game by about a thousand points when she joined the team. Our resident writing expert and Northwestern University PhD in English, Sarah is an absolute genius at helping clients express themselves in the clearest, most authentic, and most powerful way possible. She’s obsessed with the written word, having studied the craft of writing in educational and professional settings for more than a decade.
Sarah is a teacher at heart and is passionate about the art of self-expression. In addition to Coaching, Sarah is our Client Success Manager, so she’ll make sure you have everything you need to succeed!
Choose Sarah as your Coach if you want to get in touch with your writerly identity, channel your own unique voice, and emerge as a confident and influential communicator.
Our resident entrepreneur, Aziz is a genius at helping you tap into your potential and build your best career path. His passion for new projects is truly something to behold.
In Angela’s words, “His Booth essays (yep, he’s a Boothie) are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever read, so you know he’s a brilliant guide to finding your own story.”
Work with Aziz if you want to chart your course toward new possibilities and unimagined success in your career!