Organizations around the world now have the opportunity to apply for the new .jobs domain that will give them a more direct, consistent and efficient means of recruiting new employees. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and ".jobs" have begun accepting applications for the new top-level domains (TLD), which companies may begin using in August.

For an organization to apply for its own .jobs site, it must complete an online application at http://www.employmedia.com/. Registrations in .jobs can only be for the company's legal or commonly known business name, for example, www.shrm.org and www.shrm.jobs. In addition, each application will be validated for the company name.

The .jobs domain is expected to make recruiting and job searching more uniform and simpler for both employers and job seekers. Any employer would be able to post open positions on an area of its Web site using the ".jobs" TLD, which would be commonly understood among job seekers.

"Now that the application process is open, it won't be long before companies will be able to advertise their vacant positions on their .jobs site," said Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, president and CEO of SHRM. "A company's .jobs site has the potential to create a more streamlined recruiting process for HR professionals, and make it easier for prospective employees to find vacant jobs."

"The new .jobs is the 'best of practice,' and will become the new standard for recruiting. No matter how job seekers find a company -- via referral, the internet or classified ads -- it will be the company's .jobs site that leads them DIRECTLY to the job they are looking for."

Most organizations in the United States already use their company's Web site to advertise vacant positions and HR professionals say the Internet yields the highest quality job applicants of all mediums and is the best return on investment.