MBA Placement after 2-3 years in IBD and Microfinance in China

Fargus — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:11:14 -0400

Can anyone comment on top b-school placement after this path:

Finish my 2 years BB IBD (starting this month)
Possible 3rd year in HK or mainland China to try and improve my Chinese for business (skippable)
A year or two in microfinance in rural China (personally rewarding and helpful for language)

Though not exactly high finance, would the microfinance work give me an edge in the m7 applicant pool? My UG story and analyst placement all revolve around trying to get my Chinese up enough to successfully bank in China.

Also, would an year in China teaching English instead of a second year in microfinance(allowing me more time to learn Chinese and study for GMAT) be looked at as a positive to recruiters (both MBA and IB) or as a distraction from finance?

Thanks