I admit: I just don't get it. (dot)Jobs is hyping itself up to be the greatest thing for recruiters since sliced bread.

That's one extreme.

The other extreme is recruiters who are absolutely outraged at the process in which .Jobs is being implemented.

~I get this much: .Jobs seems like a very simple solution to guide people to finding a job at a specific company. If I am looking specifically at, say, Walgreens for a job - going to Walgreens.jobs seems like an easy way to find what's available.

BUT - here's why I'm in the middle of the two extremes: While there is a difference between a "Walgreens.jobs" and "Walgreens.com/jobs" - there isn't THAT MUCH of a difference. Some companies have a /jobs - others /careers - yet others /employment. There is no uniform site structure right now.

While .Jobs claims to be the beginning of a uniform structure (anycompany.jobs), there is bound to be a ".careers" or ".employment" that gains a following. We're back in the same boat we were at before:

1. So, say you are a job seeker. I've been there - for awhile - and I've spent my fair share of time on the web looking for leads. I've never typed in an entire "averagecompany.com/careers" to find a site. While there is a good likelihood one of companies I'm looking at may have a job listing page with the "/careers" format - I don't waste my time because there is an equally strong chance I'll get 404'd (say it's "anycompany.com/jobs" instead). So, instead, I go to the main page for the company and click on the handy "Careers" link on the bottom/top of the screen.

So - 2 years from now - when every company is using a ".Jobs", ".careers", ".employment", or ".get-me-a-damn-job"... then - once again - will be no uniform structure.

2. At the end of the day, the majority of job seekers are not looking at a specific company's website in their job search. If they are, they are likely led there by a link from a friend, job posting website, or e-mail from a recruiter. They won't type a single URL. They'll click a link... and they couldn't care less - or even pay attention to - whether or not it's a ".jobs", "/careers" or "_employment" link.

Call me cynical... but I simply don't buy this ".Jobs" business. It's not going to change the world.

I also don't buy the uber outrage. It's not going to change the world.

But what do I know... I've only been job searching in this terrible economy.
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