A massive network of employment Web sites launched by DirectEmployers Association this week

The Indianapolis-based nonprofit DirectEmployers Association launched massive network of employment Web sites this week, and by the end of the month will have 40,000 worldwide. The 40,000 sites, with Web addresses that all end in “.jobs,” have the potential to upend jobs classifieds online companies such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com. A so-called Sponsored Top Level Domain, .jobs was created in 2005 at the behest of Employ Media, and backed by the Society for Human Resource Management. Over 500 leading U.S. employers, are joining forces to transform how people use the Internet to quickly and efficiently locate valid employment opportunities.

The catalyst is the unique dot-jobs (.JOBS) Top Level Domain (TLD).  The new platform, called the .JOBS Universe, comprised of tens of thousands of geographic, industry, and occupational web sites ending in the intuitive .JOBS suffix.  Examples of web sites in the .JOBS Universe include www.boston.jobs, www.atlanta.jobs, www.insurance.jobs, www.technology.jobs and www.usa.jobs.

Mr. Warren states, “The very largest of employers in the world have pooled their resources to build this recruitment vertical.  They want greater efficiencies from the Internet and are taking matters into their own hands to invest in the outcome. With the recent advances in cloud computing, the scalability of the .JOBS Universe is off the charts.  The potential for cost savings is natural, real and sustainable as well as available free of charge to every employer worldwide regardless of industry or size.”

Benefits job seekers will find include intuitive web site entry points, verified job listings and the ability to connect directly with employers.  “I’m excited about the .JOBS Universe because it’s going to revolutionize the way someone will look for a job. Right now the process is very difficult.  It takes so much time and there’s so much duplication of effort. With .JOBS, candidates will be able to go to one, intuitive location and know that the opportunities listed are straight from employers,” says Randy Goldberg, Vice President Recruiting, Hyatt North America Operations.

Job listings in the .JOBS Universe are fully integrated with social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and others.  Job seekers can build their own profile and identify which of their friends or connections are working at a particular company of interest.  They can also find and follow companies and recruiters on the various social networks and share job listings with their friends on social news sites.  The .JOBS Universe platform has also been optimized for easy access on mobile browsers.  Its “open source” approach allows industry vendors to develop apps that will result in even greater efficiencies in the future.

Mr. Warren adds, “Building out the .JOBS TLD, owned and managed by employers through a non-profit association, is revolutionary for the Internet and a gigantic step for both employers and job seekers. It provides employers low-cost advertising and branding opportunities while reducing recruiting costs. It also provides job seekers a direct connection to employers and a trusted, reliable source on the Internet to locate employment opportunities.”

Only employers using their corporate name could get a .jobs address. And they had to comply with other requirements, including adherence to SHRM’s code of ethics. In the registration agreement, Employ Media limited companies to posting only their own jobs on sites with the .jobs domain. That limitation is now gone.