Andersen Transition Coaching Taskforce Goes Live on the Internet; Coalition of Career Coaches Organize Online Venue to Support Andersen Partners and Employees.

Business Editors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2002

A coalition of career coaches today announced a series of programs and materials designed to support members of the Arthur Andersen LLP workforce faced with impending career decisions and transitions.

A listing of their available resources can be found using the Andersen Transition Coaching (ATC) Taskforce links on www.NxCoach.com, a website designed for coaches and delivered by NetExec, Inc.

The ATC Taskforce is a coalition of professional coaches operating as free agents in a co-operative manner to reach into the Andersen workforce, providing individual support and resources in this time of personal and professional crisis. ATC Taskforce support is available for all Andersen partners and employees on an individual basis in the form of career coaching services, most often delivered in weekly sessions by phone and augmented by interim, ad hoc phone contacts and unlimited email exchanges between the client and the coach.

"The ATC Taskforce is currently comprised of 22 professional coaches, each with a stated background in career development, career counseling, and/or related fields," said Catherine Turner, President of NetExec, Inc. and founder of the ATC Taskforce. "All of our coaches had prior successful careers and have received specialized training as professional coaches. Many of them trained through Coach U, Inc., which offers a most comprehensive and effective training program for both new and experienced coaches and is fully accredited by the International Coaching Federation."

The ATC Taskforce website is a rich source of information about each of the Coaches on the Taskforce and career coaching in general. Beyond individual career coaching, ATC Taskforce Coaches offer numerous additional resources, including group coaching sessions, career development workshops, recruiting & placement services, help with negotiating skills, teleclasses to strengthen candidates' job search campaign, crisis counseling and career assessment packages.

"Individuals in job transition, whether by choice or downsizing, want to distinguish themselves by communicating their unique value-add to candidate companies. A comprehensive job search strategy includes taking self-inventory, creating a marketing campaign to leverage strengths (resume, informational research and interviewing skills) and successfully negotiating new employment to ensure opportunities for future growth," counsels Lenore Mewton of Lenore Mewton & Associates in Marblehead, MA, co-host of the Coach U Career SIG and an ATC Taskforce Coach. "I frequently include assessment work as part of my coaching package for clients facing career challenges, and I know that many other career coaches provide assessments as an integral part of their practice, as well."

"Traumatic stress can affect different people in different ways depending on their age; coping skills; previous history, etc.," stated Dena J. Bower, a licensed psychotherapist specializing in trauma and loss, CEO of Behavioral Training Institute, and ATC Taskforce Coach. "In cases of trauma, crisis and loss, people can experience biochemical, physical, psychological and emotional changes. Many "normal symptoms" can include: shock; numbing out; waves of grief; irritability; depression; feeling helpless or hopeless; anger outbursts; decreased immune function; fatigue; decrease in self esteem and self-worth; decrease in normal memory, concentration, and decision-making skills; guilt, shame, sleep and digestive difficulties, and marital or relationship strain, just to list a few. Deciding to be proactive in your life and career can be one of the best steps you can take at this time. The next best step is working with a coach, even for a short period of time, to help you sort through the confusion and instability."

"Most of us on the Taskforce have been through career transitions ourselves, so we understand how disruptive and challenging this experience can be," said Susan Race, Founder of Personal Growth Systems, an ATC Taskforce Coach and author of Succeeding in the Workplace. "In a time when the Andersen population feels unjustly tarred with a bitter brush, we just want people to know that they don't have to go it alone. A career coach can make all the difference to a successful and productive transition."

For more information about services and resources available through the ATC Taskforce, please visit the website: www.NxCoach.com and click on the task force link.