Background: I earned my Bachelor's in about 1.5 years; i was a stockbroker for four years, I did all sorts of oilfield work for two years in a place like Siberia, i quit and now I want to get an MBA to get a real job in a big city.
GPA: 3.6 (cum laude, top school for pilots)
GMAT: 720
Sending apps to Wharton, Chicago Boothe, NYU Stern, Columbia, UCLA

Question: Once I fill out my applications for Round 3 in the next two weeks, I have nothing to do so I should find a job. Nobody will pay me what I was making before, so I might as well think long-term and find a job not based on compensation, but based on the potential for the following:

• 1.) Make up for the fact that I didn't ride the Ivy League gravy train
  2.) Make up for my haphazard career path that was based on making the most amount of money possible by working hard (pounding the phone, hitting things with hammers, etc.) instead of working smart (like for Goldman or McKinsey)
  3.) I have no marketable skills besides sales and guts.
  4.) Provide me an opportunity for good letters of recommendation (do those even matter?)
  5.) Preferably one which has good potential for advancement. I have guts and I work very hard; I think it shows and everyone will quickly see I don't belong in the mailroom.

What kind of job is the best for me that I could possibly get that aren't dead-end? My best idea is to cold-call medium-sized business owners and executives convince one of them to make me their protégé. I am sincerely counting on your advice.