Reaping Recruits On--Line.

When the Boeing Co. recently transferred a manager from Seattle to the company's facility in St. Louis, the man s spouse, an experienced mathematics teacher, figured she'd be in a for long, hassle-filled search to continue her profession.

She called the Realtor and asked what she knew about the prospects for teaching in area school districts. The agent told her about an electronic job placement service in the St. Louis area that her own daughter, a recent college graduate, had turned to during her search for a teaching position.

The transferring teacher posted her application the next day. The couple flew in to St. Louis on a Friday to search for a home and employment. Remarkably, by Monday she had received a teaching job offer and the couple settled on a new home. By all accounts, she was pleased with both.

A Universal Process

We didn't start out to be in the on-line job placement business.

Human resource directors at St. Louis-area school districts and college career officers contacted our organization, the Cooperating School Districts, a few years ago to help develop a standardized recruitment system for new graduates and other job seekers in education.

As we collaborated on developing a universal application for teaching candidates, we were still thinking about a paper system. The first step, we thought, was to create one format that would replace a multitude of different formats. A job seeker would have to complete only one application to apply for openings at a variety of schools.

At some point, we had an "aha!" moment and realized that a searchable applicant bank would fit the bill better than any paper-based system we might devise. The standardized application form became an on-line application.

Not only were job-seeking teachers able to do one-stop shopping in their pursuits, but human resources personnel also could review all the applicants at once. Six months later, we launched the Regional Education Application Placement system, or REAP, serving 49 school districts in the greater St. Louis area. Within a year, we had received approximately 1,800 applications on-line.

In year two, we were approached by human resource offices to move REAP to a statewide system. Groups in other states asked us to replicate the Missouri system. Today, REAP is used by more than 600 school districts in nine states--Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In some states, REAP is offered through the educational service agency, such as the Connecticut Alliance of Regional Service Agencies. In Florida, the Florida Association of School Superintendents sponsors the on-line application system.

Now, three years after launching our on-line application service, we are developing a national job bank to provide school districts with the ability to recruit nationally for teacher and administrator vacancies. This is expected to be operational this month.

Customized Use

The on-line recruitment system offers several advantages: It is easy to use, can be customized to user needs and is efficient.

Job seekers log on to www.reap.net and fill out an application on line, using a downloaded instruction manual. Although it takes a few hours to complete, it does not have to be finished in one sitting. Once the applicant submits an application, it moves the user into a searchable database. The service is free to applicants.

Using a password, human resources personnel review applications and select candidates for interviews. Human resources personnel also can post job openings on the site.

By customizing the search, human resources personnel can find, say, an experienced mathematics teacher who also wants to sponsor the yearbook or an administrator with experience in a multicultural setting looking to climb the ladder. A school district user can set parameters to search for a few candidates who have the exact credentials or widen the search to find dozens of suitable applicants.

Applicants, too, can customize their search for jobs. They can choose certain regions or an entire state.

The on-line application is detailed and contains personal history, work background, education--even essays about expectations and goals of the applicant.

For the job-seeking teacher, it also is an efficient alternative to mailing or delivering resumes to dozens of schools or districts. Once someone is hired, his or her application is removed from the active category. Applicants can reactivate and update their files, which are stored for five years.

Career placement directors at universities appreciate the REAP system because their graduates can hunt for teaching positions in nine states without ever leaving the computer. Human resource professionals praise REAP because it has drastically reduced their paperwork and hiring time. Applicants like the hassle-free process of job hunting.

Gary Wright is executive director of Cooperating School Districts, 1460 Craig Road, St. Louis, Mo. 63146. E-mail: [e-mail]. George Simpson is deputy executive director of the consortium, which involves 49 school districts.