With a poor resume, what are my chances at mid-tier business school?

[NY.JM]

Here is a bit about my background information.

 

I'm 33 and received my Bachelors in Economics when I was 25. I have to admit my resume is pretty bad mainly because I was young then and had poor work ethic. The longest time I've held job I've held was 6 months and basically just job hopping and working really basic jobs and have learned no technical skills. I've worked abroad in the UK doing some advertising work at an independent ceramics store for 6 months but came back to the US because the owner decided to close down I have huge unemployment gaps with the most recent one spanning 3-4 years. Basically, I was pretty immature and simply did not want to work.

 

Sadly it took me to 33 to grow up. I've decided to join the workforce and try to set myself on a career path. I've recently taken up two 2 week temp assignments while I have job agents try and find me entry level finance work that's relevant to my degree. I do feel that will be a bit of a problem considering I don't have any technical skills and that I have too many gaps and short work periods. I've started applying to some jobs but I'm not getting any replies so I feel like I'm going to be stuck doing simpler work. My last 2 temp jobs were brutal cause they were so braindead easy and I got scared that this is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life.

 

So I was thinking of a few options: Either study and gain some certifications for example CompTIA A+ and work my way to a network engineer or get licensed to do pharmaceutical sales. If not, I would want to pursue a MBA to boost my candidacy for better jobs. Would I qualify for an Executive MBA or is it too late for me to get one due to my age? I've interned for 2 months at AskJeeves right after college back when it was a search engine and have temped at Bloomberg as a Financial Data Analyst. I know it's impossible to get into a top business school so I'm only shooting for my alma mater and other state schools. What are my chances?

[MsSmurf]

I think you should contact the admissions reps of programs you're interested in and ask them what your chances are. They will tell you what your weak areas are and give you some options to boost your application so you don't waste your time. Also it may be possible to meet with professors/current students to learn more about what the program is like, work load expectations, what you absolutely must know prior to starting, etc.

 

As for your resume, have you asked the temp agency for any guidance on polishing it up? Of course you can't completely hide the job hopping or unemployment gaps, but perhaps there is a way to present it differently so that employers at least look closer? Also ask them if they offer any free technical training related to your field. When I temped (though in HR and accounting) they connected me to all kinds of free training on every field specific software I could imagine.