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Friday, October 25, 2002
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Thursday, October 10, 2002
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Accused but Not Convicted: Removing the Taint of Scandal
By Jeffrey Zaslow
Following is a segment from the article
"Coretta Robinson was an executive assistant for Andersen in Chicago until she was laid off in April. She has applied for 150 jobs and has had just five interviews. One smiling interviewer asked her if she had shredded any papers. "Whether he was saying it as a joke, I didn't take it as a joke. I didn't even grant him a response," she says. Her résumé is "spectacular," she adds, but interviewers prefer to talk about Andersen.
Chandra White, a former Andersen technology supervisor, says she gets a lot of questions about the firm, and her involvement in it. She tells people: "I had nothing to do with auditing. I'd never even heard of Enron until last year."
She finds it helpful to peruse andersenalumni.net, a new site where 3,800 former colleagues share job tips and advice on overcoming the taint left by Andersen's fall. Andersen alums are learning to let go of their "despair," says site creator Jonathan Goldsmith."
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Monday, September 2, 2002
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Friday, August 30, 2002
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Site allows former Andersen employees to keep in contact
By Joan Wagner
Jonathan Goldsmith felt as though he lost part of his family when he lost his job at Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm for Enron Corp., last April.
To compensate, the 1997 University graduate founded www.andersenalumni.net, a support site intended for those who lost their jobs or resigned voluntarily due to the recent scandal.
He originally created the Web site with the help of a non-Andersen friend to stay in contact with a small group of people based in the Chicago offices. He said the site has grown to host more than 2,800 members in a mere four months, with "40 to 50 new members joining every day." Goldsmith worked for Andersen for two-and-a-half years.
"Basically, when I was still at Andersen, all I saw were empty desks and cubicles of people I had worked with. I didn't have contact information for a lot of people, so I wanted to create a centralized place on the Web for people to communicate," Goldsmith said. "The relationships I formed at Andersen weren't just business. They were friendships, almost like family."
The Web site requires participants to register as members. Once members, they have access to other alumni and spaces to post "questions, comments or concerns for other members in a discussion form," Goldsmith said.
The site also allows alumni to post their resumes and view job postings. This creates a networking tool Goldsmith sees as very important — especially since the site was originally intended for Chicago-based alumni and has expanded to include members from Asia and Europe.
"It's a really great resource," Goldsmith said. "You get to network with people you do and don't know and can keep up with who's hiring, who's not and workplace trends, which are always important things to follow."
Robert Halperin, professor of accountancy at the University, said he could understand why former Andersen employees like Goldsmith would want to create a network like this because they "share a common misfortune."
"I applaud them for doing it and trying to help others find jobs," Halperin said.
Ira Solomon, accountancy department head at the University, said the Web site appears to be a "reflection of strong bonds built over many years between Andersen employees."
"People who went to Andersen found themselves joining more of a family than an organization," Solomon said. "Andersen employees seem to be as tight-knit as any professional organization out there, in a positive way."
As a "way to mitigate a feeling of loss," Solomon said, the site indicates a "genuine appetite to stay connected."
Goldsmith said the feeling of connectedness with Arthur Andersen can be traced back to his time at the University because so many employees were recruited from this campus.
"I feel bad because a lot of the Andersen folks came from Champaign, and Andersen was a huge part of the college experience," Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith, a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and a former Daily Illini delivery person, is still looking for a job and running the Web site full time. He is seeking a sponsor for the site and hopes to further develop the job board.
"Many people have said that by providing this site to the Andersen family, it will act as a positive moment of closure for people that were adversely affected by the entire situation," Goldsmith said. "With all the negative news headlines from the past few month, this Web site can be viewed as something positive that has come out of this ordeal."
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Friday, July 26, 2002
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Monday, July 22, 2002
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July 17, 2002
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Monday, July 15, 2002
Site Aims to Help Andersen Alumni Keep in Touch
By Melissa Klein
New York (July 15, 2002) -- With the piecemeal sale of its offices and business lines scattering ex-Andersen employees around the country, a former colleague has launched a Web site to help firm alumni keep in touch.
The site, http://www.andersenalumni.net , is the brainchild of former Andersen employee Jonathan Goldsmith. "I started to see a lot close friends and colleagues having to leave with such short notice," said Goldsmith. "I've had other jobs before and once you leave you tend to lose touch with most people. I didn’t want that to happen, so I decided to create the site as way to keep in touch with people I worked closely with."
So far, the free site has attracted nearly 1,500 members. Although originally intended to reach people in the Chicago area, the site has drawn members from across the United States, England, Asia and Australia. Members can search for other Andersen alumni, post their resumes, view job postings and post questions and comments. The site also provides space for members to share success stories, and offers free advertising for Andersen alumni who started a business this year.
"I hope that it will help people remember the good times and happy moments, instead of the way it ended with people walking out with their belongings in their hands," added Goldsmith. He worked at Andersen's Chicago headquarters as a mergers and acquisitions consultant for nearly three years until he was laid off in May.
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Wednesday, July 3, 2002
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Saturday, June 16, 2002
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Tuesday, May 28, 2002
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Wednesday, May 15, 2002
Former Andersen workers use Web to keep in touch
By Francine Knowles Business Reporter
It was a hasty departure for many Arthur Andersen LLP employees let go by the accounting firm in the midst of its Enron-related meltdown.
And for some, hurt by the debacle through no fault of their own, the separation means loss of contact with respected co-workers they'd spent years working alongside.
To help them re-connect, former Andersen consultant Jonathan Goldsmith has turned to the Net. He launched a Web site, AndersenAlumni.net, two weeks ago to help former Andersen workers maintain relationships and network.
The free site has attracted about 5,000 hits to date, said Goldsmith, who was laid off in April after having worked at Andersen's Chicago-based headquarters for 2-1/2 years.
"One of the biggest complaints that laid-off workers had was that they would miss their co-workers," said Goldsmith. "I saw people having to walk out of my building and other [laid-off Andersen] people across the U.S. on TV. A lot of them were scared. People said they left the building and didn't have the frame of mind to ask people for contact information because they were shocked. People said they were concerned about not being able to speak to any of their colleagues or co-workers in the future.
"I figured if that's such a big issue, and there's been so much negative press, why can't we give employees a communication link where they can connect with old co-workers?"
So, he and a partner--Web designer Robert Meissen, who never worked at Andersen--invested about $1,000 and 150 hours each to date to set up the site. It has attracted 700 members, according to Goldsmith.
The site was initially set up to reach people in the Chicago area, but its reach is far longer than that.
"Our members are from the entire United States, and we even have a few members from England," said Goldsmith.
AndersenAlumni.net lists the name, city and state of new members under "Contact a Member." So if, for example, Member A recognizes Member B, and wants to contact that person, Member A clicks on the name. AndersenAlumni.net then sends an e-mail to Member B indicating that Member A wants to chat along with Member A's personal e-mail address. From there, Member B can use his or her personal e-mail address to make contact.
So far almost 400 of the group's 700 members have accessed the "Contact A Member" page, said Goldsmith.
The site also features a discussion forum where participants can post stories, thoughts or ask questions.
But the site is not meant to be a place to criticize or disparage Andersen or others. To become a member, former Andersen employees must agree to the site's "terms of service." The site prohibits uploading, posting, e-mailing, transmitting or making available any content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially, ethically or otherwise objectionable. It is not open to present Andersen employees.
The site ultimately plans to provide access to employers and recruiters looking for staff, Goldsmith said. It currently has a resume posting section.
Goldsmith said at the very least, he hopes the site can give dismissed workers a moment of "positive closure."
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Monday, May 13, 2002
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Live interview on the Spike O'Dell Morning Show at 8:00 AM.
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Thursday, May 9, 2002
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This page last updated 7/26/2007 7:58:47 PM
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