Nearly everyone hates their applicant tracking system. ATSes have become these clunky, workflow pieces of software, mostly because of what larger companies need (every ATS wants/has moved upmarket). It's quite shocking how little true innovation there has been in how companies hire.

Hiring managers are rarely spending the time doing the work of hiring and have outsourced much of it to the recruiter, including screening/filtering applicants. Only in-house talent folk/recruiters will put up with these systems and that too because they have to. The problems are too many to count - here are two that I find particularly self-defeating: job descriptions that are a copy/paste and how companies review and respond to applicants. A good ATS should help you do this better.

In the process, I believe hiring has become a painful exercise for everyone involved, not in the least the candidate (how often have you not heard back on your application? how often has someone dropped the ball on you?).

Early stage and mid-sized companies often don't need much of the complexity. I believe I have a strong, somewhat opinionated perspective on this and am toying with the idea of starting with building a lightweight solution for small teams.

I'd love to hear your thoughts - especially if you're a hiring manager or in the in-house talent function. What do you suffer from in your current hiring process/ATS? What do you hate (enough to want an alternative)?