A group of leading global employers, concerned about rapidly rising costs and the future and direction of online recruitment, first discussed the concept of DirectEmployers Association and an employer-owned and -managed employment website in late 2000.

The concept came to fruition in October 2001 when DirectEmployers Association, a nonprofit HR consortium of employers, was incorporated. A directive was initiated to share best practices, create new industry standards, provide research, and develop and manage Internet-based systems and software for employers to increase efficiency and reduce recruiting costs.

DirectEmployers Association developed and launched Employment Search Engine, the Internet’s first employment search engine dedicated exclusively to searching employment opportunities across employer sites.

DirectEmployers Association began offering an XML feed to partner and niche sites. XML feeds enable sites to retrieve a content file from the JobCentral server and place it on their server.

Kansas City, KS
Elected President: Ray Schreyer, IBM Corporation

This national and integrated web-based college recruiting system was created, in alliance with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and a group of leading universities, to allow targeted student and alumni recruitment with specific majors at selected schools.

DirectEmployers boasts 500 percent increase in membership since Employment Search Engine launch in February 2002. The vast majority of Members are reporting that the DirectEmployers’ Employment Search Engine is driving more traffic to their sites than commercial job boards.

DirectEmployers Association created an online destination for Members to retrieve reports, review archives and resumes, receive discounts and more.

DirectEmployers Association launched ThinkTank Webinars to create a forum for Members to share ideas, resources and practices; shape processes, technologies and standards; and introduce new technology and industry advancements. The first ThinkTank Webinar covered Diversity Recruiters.

Orlando, FL
Elected President: Ray Schreyer, IBM Corporation
Keynote Speakers: Pam Dixon, Rich Cober

Las Vegas, NV
Elected President: Ray Schreyer, IBM Corporation
Keynote Speaker: Allan Schweyer

JobCentral, a service of DirectEmployers Association, utilizes DirectEmployers’ popular Employment Search Engine to link employers with experienced personnel in more than 6,200 U.S. cities, including the top 200 major metropolitan areas. JobCentral provides job seekers in all industries and occupations, from non-skilled entry-level to chief executive officer, up-to-date information about employment and career opportunities and a direct link to apply on employer sites.

DirectEmployers Association expanded and moved its headquarters to a location in Indianapolis.

Orlando,FL
Elected President: Ray Schreyer, IBM Corporation
Keynote Speakers: Ray Fassett, Mason Bishop

JobCentral began featuring employers and opportunities outside of the United States.

DirectEmployers Association launched Member Surveys to provide Members the opportunity to survey their peers on industry-related issues and receive feedback at no cost. Other Members can access results on the Member Desktop. The first survey covered Contract Recruiters.

Las Vegas, NV
Elected President: Robin Katzman, Lockheed Martin
Keynote Speaker: Joel Cheesman

DirectEmployers Association was selected by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) to provide job seekers, employers and states a cost-effective transition from America’s Job Bank (AJB) which had been discontinued by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The NLX is a sophisticated electronic labor exchange solution. The online network connects businesses and state workforce agencies in their mission to create a cost-effective system that improves labor market efficiency and reflects our nation’s diverse workforce.

VetCentral, the consumer-facing vehicle of the National Labor Exchange, became the full-time employment service to participating state workforce agencies and, to date, delivers federal contractors’ jobs to state websites and One-Stop Centers for the appropriate Local Veterans Employment Representatives (LVERs) and Disabled Veterans Outreach Programs (DVOPs).

The Association began taking the lead in helping employers comply with new Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program (OFCCP) regulations for internet recruiting by delivering down to the States as required by The Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) and amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002 (JVA).

Several Members of DirectEmployers Association volunteered to serve as a committee member and guide the Association in the ongoing development of NLX.

Las Vegas, NV
Elected President: Shelia Gray, ABB Inc.
Keynote Speaker: Alexis Herman

DirectEmployers Association began offering API to partner and niche sites. API enables sites to access the JobCentral server for Member job content.

A Search Engine Optimization (SEO) initiative launched to optimize Member jobs on JobCentral and increase search engine recognition.

U.S. Army Reserve joined forces with DirectEmployers Association to assist Reserve members in the process of integrating their various skills into positions within the industries and public agencies that form the backbone of the American economy.

Las Vegas, NV
Elected President: Ray Schreyer, IBM Corporation
Keynote Speakers: Dan Pink, Cari Dominguez

Direct SEO is a comprehensive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) solution that generates fast SEO ranking growth.

Women for Hire was the first organization to utilize Direct Board (Board Builder)- a free platform that allows niche sites to cut costs, guarantee job syndication, and utilize an e-commerce function. As a result, less overhead is used and the niche sites become a low-cost option for all employers to engage and hire from targeted communities.

A national initiative by DirectEmployers Association in alliance with the NASWA to assist in the rapid reemployment of displaced employees via an employer outplacement exchange, a career event database, automated job search agents, and other valuable tools. Together, they connect downsizing employers with hiring employers and connect displaced employees to employers who are currently hiring.

Nineteen representatives of member companies volunteered to join the Advisory Committee and guide both DirectEmployers and Employ Media in the build-out of .jobs.

Direct Traffic measures job view clicks on jobs distributed through Direct Syndication.

Version 2.0 allows Members to control branding and customize SEO pages.

Denver, CO
Elected President: Rhonda Stickley, Providence Health & Services
Keynote Speakers: Jim Abbott, Bill Strickland

DirectEmployers Association, in alliance with Employ Media, built out a beta site of location, occupation, and other top-level domains to test functionality and receive feedback from job seekers, employers, and other interested parties. The .jobs universe created an environment of seamlessly integrated employment domains, a first ever interlinking and coordinated use of a TLD for the public good.

The NLX reports show traffic generated by the state. The monitoring began in January 2010.

With the success of the National Labor Exchange, NASWA signed a five-year extension two years prior to the close of the initial signed agreement.

The SHRM notice reads “In allowing the Council-approved proposed amendment to be implemented, the SHRM Executive Committee concurred with the determination of the Council, supported by the survey research and public comment, that the proposed amendment would serve the needs of the international human resource management community.”

ICANN Board of Directors approved Employ Media’s request for a Phased Allocation Program of domain names consisting of Industry, Occupation, Geographic, and Dictionary terms. Upon approval, Employ Media opened an Expressions of Interest (EOI) period.

The “.JOBS Charter Compliance Coalition” submitted a “Reconsideration Request” protesting the ICANN Board of Directors approval of Employ Media’s Phased Allocation Program claiming it was inconsistent with the .JOBS Charter. Members of the “Coalition” included: (1) AHA Solutions (American Hospital Association); (2) the American Society of Association Executives; (3) the American Staffing Association; (4) CareerBuilder, LLC; (5) the International Association of Employment Web Sites; (6) eighteen individual members of the International Association of Employment Web Sites; (7) Monster Worldwide, Inc.; (8) INDEED; (9) the Newspaper Association of America; and (10) Shaker Recruitment Advertising & Communications.

In an 11-page decision by the Board Governance Committee (BGC), with endorsement by the full ICANN board, ICANN rejected the appeal by the .Jobs Charter Compliance Coalition, declaring its multiple arguments “unsupported.”

After a year of fierce opposition from a coalition of job boards and others, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted unanimously to approve Employ Media’s plans to expand the use of dot-jobs (.jobs) domains. This opens the door for DirectEmployers Association to continue the build-out of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) sponsored .jobs Top Level Domain (TLD), called Universe.jobs.

It’s here. Our hard work, patience, and persistence have paid off – .jobs is officially live!

DirectEmployers created a new video blog that will be your direct connection to the latest trends, tips and tools in the recruitment industry. It’s called The Employment Line.

Press Conference – America’s Top Employers to Announce A Massive Jobs Initiative to Get More Americans Back to Work .jobs is gaining traction! Coverage and interviews from CNN, MSNBC, NPR, La Cronica de Hoy, Fox Business, Associated Press, Fox (FL, Studio10), NBC, ABC and more.

Over 11,000 .jobs domains went live with profile pages. Examples include: ClevelandNursing.jobs, ClevelandSales.jobs.

Newell Rubbermaid in collaboration with IHG hosted an informational day designed to expand thinking around cutting-edge best practices and revolutionary technologies shaping today’s employment landscape. 2011 Tour Dates include: Atlanta, Houston, Denver, Indianapolis, New York, Seattle. For additional locations, visit http://connect.directemployers.org/.

DirectEmployers and HudsonMann Inc., a leader in Affirmative Action Plan outsourcing and compliance, are excited to announce their strategic partnership. “The primary focus of the partnership will be in knowledge-sharing and training development,” stated Allen Hudson, Account Manager, HudsonMann Inc.

An extensive online program to assist transitioning military personnel in all branches of our armed forces, their spouses, dependents, and caregivers in quickly and efficiently finding employment. The program will provide military personnel and their dependents access to more than 860,000 employment opportunities from over 90,000 employers nationwide.

Press Conference – DirectEmployers Staff, Board of Directors and Members announced the launch of Veterans.jobs (link) and MilitaryFamily.jobs (link) and answered questions about how The .jobs Universe will aid those who have served in the military or will be transitioning into civilian life.

Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis and Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration, Jane Oates, hosted a summer youth employment kickoff event in Washington, DC featuring many DirectEmployers members. These members included Susan Miller, Manager Quest Communications; Rhonda Stickley, Sr. Director for Talent Acquisition for Providence Health & Services; Brandy Ellis, Sr. Sales Recruiter for Level (3) Communications; Richard Skelnik, Talent Acquisition/Community Investment, General Dynamics C4 Systems; and Rodney Moses, Vice President, Global Recruitment, Research in Motion (Blackberry). Learn more.

It’s a vendor-free community for DirectEmployers Members to “let their hair down” and network with fellow Members – sharing best practices, obtaining materials from presentations and webinars, and accessing tutorials, expert advice, tips, tools and more.

DirectEmployers begins a Wednesday Webinar Series for Members to learn more about the Association, industry, and latest news.

DirectEmployers Association created a number of tutorials to guide Members in the use of our products and services, inform them on the latest trends and tips in the industry, and more. Visit The Pipeline, in the Tutorials tab, for a list of current tutorials available.

DirectEmployers and NASWA sent representatives to D.C. to testify on behalf of our efforts to put America’s Veterans back to work.

USA Cares is now able to assist even more veterans, through a new partnership with DirectEmployers Association, a nonprofit consortium owned and managed by over 600 company members, with over 860,000 jobs from 90,000 employers nationwide.

Powered by the .jobs Universe, this innovative platform allows service men and women preparing to transition into civilian life to use their current Military Occupation Code (MOC) or Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) to easily find civilian jobs on corporate career sites. This technology provides the cornerstone all companies need to start effectively communicating their available employment opportunities to military men and women who are transitioning into civilian life. AT&T, Camber Corporation, Providence Health & Services and ConocoPhillips piloted the automated solution. Learn more.

DirectEmployers featured thought-leaders and Members highlighting experiences, innovative technologies and trends impacting today’s recruitment landscape. To celebrate 10 years of success as an Association, DirectEmployers planned incredible networking events including a tour of Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the 2011 Super Bowl, and an opportunity to ride shotgun in a race car at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

DirectEmployers Association partnered with the National Guard Bureau, Kenexa, Inc. and Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) to create our newest program, the National Guard Employment Network, via National Labor Exchange (NLX) technology.

The NLX job feed provides new opportunities on a daily basis with special emphasis on veterans and military, people with disabilities and diversity. The job feed directly connects returning Guard members to hundreds of thousands of jobs from companies like Lockheed Martin, AT&T, Newell Rubbermaid, ConocoPhillips as well as federal, state, local government agencies, educational institutions and the non profit-sector. Learn more.

Facebook, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), DirectEmployers Association (DE), and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) announced a joint commitment to create the Social Jobs Partnership. The partnership’s goal is to facilitate employment for America’s jobless through the use of social networks. Learn more.

To power this new online platform, Think Beyond the Label partnered with DirectEmployers Association to distribute listings from small and large employers across the U.S., many who looking for innovative ways for finding and hiring people with disabilities. Learn more.

DirectEmployers Association joins US Department of Labor and Google in making jobs easier to find for Internet users. USA.jobs becomes the first online job search tool to support a new standard that makes it possible for search engines like Google to categorize and list online job listings by location, job title, education, and veteran’s preference. Learn more.

DirectEmployers and several Members were invited to the announcement of the Summer Jobs+ initiative at the White House. Summer Jobs+ is a new call to action for businesses, non-profits, and government to work together to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012. Learn more.

DirectEmployers Association and The National Association of State Workforce Agencies transition the National Labor Exchange from www.JobCentral.com to the appropriately named www.US.jobs. Learn more.

Fortune 500 companies launch career microsites on the intuitive .JOBS internet top level domain. Learn more.