Soulmate & Life Coach For Internationalists

I grew up in Shanghai, China and moved to the United States when I was 19 to pursue my undergraduate degree in economics and international studies. The idea of pursuing an MBA first occurred to me when I started my career in management consulting, as getting an MBA was a typical promotion path for consultants. Three years into my job though, I was ready for a career change. My reason for getting an MBA quickly shifted from climbing the consulting ladder to building leadership/management skills and lasting relationships that will help me launch a more global and impact-oriented career.

Applying to business schools can be a daunting, stressful, and lonely process. Personally, I struggled a lot with the GMAT. I studied on and off, took the test four times, and still ended up with a 690. My coach’s support and guidance throughout the application journey really helped me pick myself back up and focus on what mattered – embracing who I am as a person and authentically showcasing my stories in the applications. From the beginning of our relationship, I felt that she really made an effort to listen and understand who I am and my journey to date. As an internationalist herself, she really gets me and celebrates my identity as a worldly individual. This level of person-to-person, soul-to-soul connection was really valuable during the editing process of application essays. I appreciated her encouraging yet candid feedback on my application, and her dedication to reviewing dozens of iterations until we mutually agreed that each essay was in its best shape possible.

Thanks to my coach, I got into my dream school INSEAD with a Forte scholarship! She made the application journey much more fun and enjoyable because she made sure that I know I’m a rock star even when I doubted myself. Getting into business school is merely a short-term benefit of working with her. She continues to connect me with people with shared interests and gives me advice on career planning prior to business school. She has become my life coach, career coach, and a friend I will certainly be in touch with during business school and many years after. I highly recommend her to any globally minded applicants out there. Applying to business schools doesn’t have to suck. Prepare to become a master of articulating your impact and having fun celebrating who you are during this life-changing journey!

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Phenomenal Storyteller With A Non-Traditional, Creative Background

If you want a phenomenal storyteller who also knows exactly how to bring the best stories of your life to light, my coach is your perfect fit. I did a lot of introspection before drafting my application essays, and she did an amazing job in identifying the gems from my past experiences and worked with me tirelessly to bring out my authentic voice in a meaningful and delightful way.

During the essay drafting process, she asked important probing questions to tune in to the most vivid, significant details of my stories. She also played the devil’s advocate to read my story from different angles and challenge me to make the story comprehensible, significant and memorable to a broader audience of different backgrounds while maintaining my authentic tone.

I have to admit choosing to work with her was a risk I took, because at the time she was quite new to MBA consulting and had a non-traditional background (law, comedy, screenwriting), without an MBA herself. However, I knew what I personally am good at and what complementary skills I needed from an MBA consultant, and she far exceeded my expectations.

My coach and I make a dream team. Her creative mind, tireless work ethic, and kind heart brought so much value and joy to our work together. I got into 2 out of the 3 schools on which we worked together (Harvard Business School and INSEAD). She also provided constructive feedback on other schools I applied to which brought me much more comfort and confidence in turning in those applications. Thank you for your tremendous help!

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If you're an MBA hopeful, you may already know that you need to take a holistic view of your career, pre-MBA and post-MBA. So, it makes sense to start planning your strategy to get to your dream job, before even applying for an MBA.

This is where Angela comes in. She gives both career and MBA advice, helping you to structure your career path, so that you'd eventually end up in a job that isn't just a good fit but also immensely enjoyable or satisfying. You don't just get good advice from years of experience in the careers and MBA industries, you'd also be getting honest, no-nonsense advice from a friend who genuinely wants to see you succeed. Angela is also a student of the world. She's lived in the U.S., Asia and Europe, and is very culturally fluent. So, no matter where you come from, you will be able to work very easily with Angela (speaking from personal experience, as I come from Asia and was really impressed with how well she understood my mannerisms and cultural characteristics). Also, Angela has this unique ability to understand personalities and "get" you. It's this innate ability that helps her to determine in what role your experiences and strengths would best fit.

When I first met Angela, I was just about to throw myself into the MBA applications process. Angela didn't just help me to structure my career path, confirming that what I wanted to do in future was the best match for my background, she also guided me through the MBA process, cheering me on when I has moments of self-doubt, pushing me when I was exhausted. She reverted to all my queries extremely quickly and nothing was ever too much for her. Angela even went the extra mile for me and tapped into her extensive network to hook me up with professional contacts, so I could get first-hand information on the realities of the various roles I was exploring. And this was after the one-to-one package I had paid for had come to an end! It's thanks to her that 1) I've a solid career path; 2) I know exactly what I need to do to get to where I want to go; and 3) I was admitted into INSEAD, currently rated number 1 in the world for MBAs and my dream school.

Angela isn't just a highly competent consultant, she sees her clients as friends and It's not just about the money to her, she wants to share her knowledge and zest for life with everyone. If you ask me, that's exactly what you should want in a consultant.

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My Best Friend & Mentor From Across The Globe!

Coming from a nontraditional background and with little to none resources due to my niche profession and where I live, I did extensive research after deciding to apply for an international MBA. Luckily, I soon discovered Career Protocol’s YouTube channel, and it turned out to be not only textbook material but a life-changing opportunity. After partnering up with my coach, I quickly discovered that the support and guidance I got exceeded from the MBA applications to my personal growth.

While juggling between work and GMAT preps, the online sessions with her were my favorite moments. It was a safe space to share all my ambitions, doubts, and life stories. She did a great job of letting me do me and at the same time showing me a whole new perspective toward myself. I gained confidence and a deeper understanding of who I am and what I want in life. Through the dozens of essay revisions for each of the three schools I’ve applied to with her, I found myself laid out on paper in the most beautiful way, showcasing my bravery and ambitions, and most importantly it was all authentic me.

I’ve acquired so many tools that I could take along to benefit my MBA journey and future career goals. I learned how to network, how to fight for my rights, and how to be a persuasive storyteller. Living away from the capital of my country, I benefited a lot while networking with numerous alumni and seniors in the same industry. I even got myself a pre-MBA internship role while reaching out. The whole process has always focused on my individuality, and I was always the priority. I felt even more so during the process of choosing schools. My coach gave me a lot of advice specifically tailored to my situation and even offered some flexibility.

I am really grateful to have my coach along the way. And with her support and guidance, I was successfully admitted to INSEAD and waitlisted by UCLA. The whole experience with her empowered me to be ready for all the challenges ahead. I can’t wait to share my ups and even downs in my B-school life with her and work on my future career goals with an amazing kick-off.

Yen-jung Chen

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Angela - The Master

I had the opportunity to work with Angela Guido. Angela stands out in many different aspects. Angela is very intelligent and very dedicated to her job. During the brainstorming period, Angela challenged me with specific questions to gather as much information as possible. She is a very experienced consultant and she recommended me specific areas of my application that I could improve during the process. I got to know more about me thanks to her. Angela´s communication skills are outstanding and she reviews your essays in a way that help you growth during the process. At the beginning my writing skills were very poor. But thanks to her feedback, always focusing on how I could improve, I improved them a lot. I have used everything I learnt from her in other writing activities such as speeches for Toastmasters with incredible results. Angela is a master at storytelling, the best way to convey your ideas.

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Personal Cheerleader

When I decided to apply for business school, I had no idea how intense it would get. As an International Student, I felt so far away from the adcoms that would make the decision between admit and reject. Between juggling work commitments which seemed to be escalating, the GMAT which seemed like a continuous struggle and the number of schools that all seemed so perfect, I felt so overwhelmed. My coach was tremendous support in helping sort through the noise and focus on a game plan to work through my applications. From the very start, I feel she made a huge effort in trying to understand me, my background and my personality to give me the very best advice. Bonus of which was also having some amazing conversations that helped me sort through my own life journey that got me to this point! Even as I was changing up at the last minute which school to apply to, she was with me making sure we were both working to accomplish 100% confidence at submission that we’d represented me the best possible way regardless of timescale. Thanks to her support, I start INSEAD in August and it’s a dream come true! What I really appreciate is that even after the admission process, my coach and the whole Career Protocol team have been available for any questions and building a community of support to get ready for the MBA and to get through it making the absolute best of it. I’m definitely better off for it and for getting to know her and the whole team.

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Global Executive MBA Acceptance

Angela and I worked the first time together in 2021 as a career coach and now she helped me get accepted into the Global Executive MBA program at INSEAD. Angela has a very profound way of helping her clients identify their impact and communicate it to a company or school. Her approach is very respectful of any circumstance, and she is also very honest of where limitations may lie. It is such an honor to work with Angela as a career, school, and essentially, life coach :)

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My Coach - The Natural Consultant

I met my coach through a common friend when I was applying to top tier MBA programs. My first preference was INSEAD because of its diversity and yearlong course duration.

Just like any hopeful applicant, I scoured the internet for tips and tricks to distinguish my application but I didn’t make much headway. Once I talked to my coach, I knew working with him would be the right strategy. Instead of focusing on the application questions, he patiently heard my story and asked questions which helped me reflect on the highlights and lowlights of my professional and personal life. Unlike most people, I didn’t have a streamlined career path until that point – I had dabbled in the non-profit and corporate sectors wearing multiple hats. My coach helped me stitch my story together and connect it to my ambition in the future. He is a gifted conversationalist with a high emotional quotient which made it easy to share my thoughts and uncertainties without the risk of judgment. He is also an out-of-the-box thinker with ideas that are sometimes so funny that they keep you entertained and sometimes so insightful that they hit the right nerve.

In the end, thanks to him eventually I churned out 4 applications for R1 deadlines and got into INSEAD, my top choice! I would highly recommend him as an application coach – he’s a natural!

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