Diversity job fair, convention this week

Think free time is hard to find? Try planning a national convention/career fair in your spare time.

That's what Li Tan and other members of the Seattle chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) have been doing for a year — on a purely volunteer basis.

"It was very difficult to plan," said Tan, president of the Seattle chapter. Everyone involved had to balance a full-time job while preparing for the convention, she said.

The 20th annual NAAAP convention, running Thursday through Sunday, will feature a diversity career fair, open free to the public on Friday and Saturday.

More than 40 companies and government agencies will be recruiting, including Microsoft, Boeing, Bank of America, Alaska Airlines and the CIA. A wide range of positions will be available. The convention will feature workshops, panel discussions and entertainment.

The NAAAP is a nonprofit organization with 3,000 members across 16 metropolitan cities in the U.S. and Canada. There are about 1,000 people involved in the Seattle chapter, including 200 paid members. Each chapter takes turns hosting the annual conference. The NAAAP provides opportunities for community service, social networking and professional development.

Joneil Custodio, co-chair of the convention, said many NAAAP members form strong bonds, and the annual conventions allow them to meet old friends.

"You pick up a familial feel," he said. "It's a network of people you can count on and trust."

Ginny Cheng, a member of the Seattle chapter, said she's found lasting friendships at past conferences. "I still keep in touch with people I met years ago," she said.

She said the organization was similar to a fraternity.

Attendees are sometimes surprised when they get more out of the conference than a list of new contacts, Cheng said. At a conference in San Francisco, attendees were touched after a speaker paid tribute to American soldiers of Asian descent who lost their lives fighting in Iraq.

"A lot of people were in tears that night," Cheng said.

Bibeka Shrestha: 206-464-2436 or bshrestha@seattletimes.com