Sarah Mason

I chose Career Protocol’s Catalyst Program because as a non-traditional MBA candidate and first-gen college graduate, my network related to MBA programs was almost non-existent. The program gave me clear steps to follow from school selection to story crafting in essays and my resume. The introspective structure increased my confidence as an applicant and certainty that pursuing an MBA is my desired path. In particular, Sarah answered my many questions throughout and left encouraging and clear feedback. During our coaching call, she read through my essay and asked clarifying questions to ensure the essay reflected the exact story I wanted to share. She celebrated my wins (invited to interview at 4/4 programs, accepted and scholarship offers to 3/4). I can’t recommend working with Career Protocol and Sarah enough; through their support I submitted an application I knew reflected who I was and what I wanted.

I am immensely grateful to the entire Career Protocol team, and especially to Sarah Mason and Angela Guido, for their invaluable guidance throughout my MBA application journey. Sarah’s profound understanding of MBA application essays and exceptional knowledge of resumes were truly instrumental. I firmly believe that the guidance and insights provided by CP significantly enhanced my chances of admission to HEC Paris.

I can only say good things about Sarah. I wholeheartedly recommend her, and I sincerely hope she continues making a positive impact on helping people achieve their dreams.

After working with Career Protocol for my MBA application, I only have amazing things to say about their process and my coach Sarah Mason.

The process started with a kick-off call during which we spoke on a high-level about my background, target schools, and goals. Career Protocol’s process for the MBA application is very holistic and my coach – Sarah – spent a tremendous amount of time getting to know me, learning about my life story, passions, and motivations. Once I was set up in the system, I had access to modules created by Angela Guido and other great resources that served as a guide for everything I needed to do at every step in my application – from reaching out to current students, alums and recommenders to establishing a compelling case for the MBA and preparing for interviews.

The deep dive into my life story started with me filling out the youDiscovery form for my coach. I was most impressed by the accuracy of my key character themes, anecdotes, personality traits, and other very rich details Sarah deducted from the simple life narrative I shared. These details were critical to not only the individual stories told in my essay but also the entire structure of it. And many times, we referred back to the document to come up with a unique but compelling essay to make a strong case for my MBA.

Even though I paid for only one application of the five I had planned to submit – Harvard, Wharton, MIT, Booth and Ross, Sarah was still very generous with her time to provide high-level feedback on my application packet for the other 4 applications. Sarah often worked weekends just to cut short the turnaround time on my application material. I couldn’t be more grateful.

Career Protocol’s process is very rigorous and each of my application documents (essays, resume etc) was reviewed numerous times (in some cases more than 15 times) by Sarah before approving for submission. Initially, I felt like I was being punished but by the end of the process (after concluding interviews) I had not only greatly improved my writing skills but also felt better prepared for the highly competitive MBA program.

Without Sarah’s guidance and Career Protocol’s resources, I would have been overwhelmed by the grueling MBA application process and probably have submitted weak applications. With Sarah’s help, I secured an interview with 4 of the 5 programs I applied to and got admitted to Wharton and MIT with funding.

I am very pleased with the services I was provided and the outcome of my applications. I highly recommend Career Protocol for candidates who want to significantly strengthen their MBA application.

If you’re like me and haven’t written an essay since college, you ABSOLUTELY NEED Sarah on your team! Given her untraditional background (she doesn’t have an MBA), I was at first a bit skeptical. After my first conversation with Sarah, I was convinced I had hit the jackpot. Sarah is an English PhD candidate at one of the nation’s top universities and can effectively communicate- verbally and on paper- better than most CEOs. She is literally a MASTER of the English language and is able to take your thoughts, analyze them, and convey them better than anyone I have every worked with to date.

With a GMAT score of 680 and a pretty generic profile, I knew I needed all the help I could get if I was going to have a shot at landing even one single interview at a top MBA program. I’m thrilled to say that because of Sarah’s vision, guidance, and patience, I secured an interview at almost every M7 school and was accepted to Columbia- my dream school! (Closed out all my other apps in compliance with ED requirement)

To provide some insight on the type of person Sarah is, let me explain: I live on the West Coast, travel quite a bit for work, and have some crazy working hours. Sarah, who lives in Chicago, was up for the challenge and took my schedule in stride. She agreed to take phone calls with me before 6AM, after 9PM, and pretty much everything in between. When it came to essay turnarounds, there wasn’t one single time that Sarah wasn’t almost an entire day early, constantly pushing me to stay on track. Don’t underestimate the importance of keeping to a strict schedule when it comes to MBA applications! If not for Sarah’s constant motivation, there is no way I would have ever been able to produce six full applications that I was proud of for R1 deadlines. If you’re even considering Career Protocol, you probably already know that they aren’t going to write your essays for you BUT the critiques and advice Sarah provided has forced me to actually think and write in a different way—something I’ll be taking with me to business school and beyond! I actually used to read her critiques in awe, thinking to myself, “how the heck does she know that is what I’m really trying to say?”

Sarah is an intent listener and has the ability to recall small details you might have forgotten you ever even said and turn that in to the missing piece of your story. Throughout the process, I began to look at her as more of a friend and coach than a “consultant”… she was actually one of the first people I told when I received my offer. I think she was as excited as my own mom! To have someone so personally invested in your success is unheard of after talking to some friends who decided to go with other consulting firms.

While Sarah is fairly new to the Career Protocol Team, she is supported by the best in the business and it shows! If there was something Sarah hadn’t seen before, she fired off an email and gave me a response within minutes, keeping my anxiety as low as possible (which is pretty hard) during the stressful application process!

The MBA application process is tough enough- you don’t want to do it alone. Knowing I had Sarah in my corner to answer even the most ridiculous questions when I’d think of them at 2AM the night before an interview, made the process as smooth as it could possibly be. If you have the opportunity to work with Sarah, you should jump on it! I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything and really do feel more prepared to start business school next year because of her!

I have worked with Sarah on numerous occasions and all have had wonderful outcomes. Sarah helped me secure a place at one of the most prestigious colleges, for my program, in the world. We worked together on my application essay starting from a rough draft I had developed, and through several sessions of revisions, she helped me really perfect my entry. Through this process, she helped me to amplify my voice with a more sophisticated tone. I have also consulted Sarah on other pieces, just to ask basic questions about constructing a piece and how to approach the writing process. Specifically, building a cover letter template for summer internship positions at various firms. She is always happy to answer any questions and eager to share her expertise!
Sarah is a great enhancer, who can help you order and refine your thoughts to best communicate your message.
She has done a lot for me throughout my educational journey. Thank you, Sarah!