I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at TikTok
Easy interview
Application
I applied online. I interviewed at TikTok in Feb 2021
Interview
Emailed back from HR first and told I was meeting with someone, no information as to who this person's title was. I replied to the email and they confirmed it was HR first. Spoke to someone in the US who was there barely a month and seemed overwhelmed, let me know the process and moved on to the next round with the hiring manager.
Used Lark (horrible product) to talk to the hiring manager in China. They didn't know much of the US's industry I would be in, kept asking repetitive questions, also asked generic where do you see your self in 3 and 5 years. Wasn't sure if this person has worked in this accounting group before as the hiring manager had very limited knowledge of it and couldn't answer my questions.
Recommendation is to not bother with TikTok, there are better companies in the US to work for (going off of my experience and friends who have worked there and left).
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Can you explain the industry you work in? Where do you see yourself in 3 and 5 years?
Had a phone screen with the recruiter and then moved on to an interview with the hiring manager in the US. The hiring manager was very friendly and patient to answer all my questions about the role and the company. Got passed on to the next round with someone in China HQ. This is when the red flags seem to pop up. It was supposed to be a video call at night time to accommodate the China time zone and the interviewer didn't put the camera on the whole time. There was no introduction about herself or her role within the company. She started to fire at you with different questions but it seems like she already formed some kind of negative opinions before you even answered those questions. So even after I answered the questions calmly, she couldn't comprehend. It clearly became a one-way grilling session at that point. She was obviously not in a good mood that day and ended the interview in a rush. She also conducted the interview in Mandarin and at the end telling you in a negative way that don't expect to speak mandarin in this role while clearly the job description says speaking mandarin is a plus.
Despite having read a lot of negative reviews from people working at tiktok through various social media platforms, I started the interview with an open and positive mind. However, this whole interview experience just proved some of the negative things being said by people who worked there.
If you were already treated unprofessionally and disrespectively during the interview phase, I can't imagine how bad it would be when you actually started to work there. It also looks like there is a disconnect between the working culture in the US and the China HQ.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Examples of you working with different business partners
At least 3 to 5 rounds of interview.
Starting with the recruiting officer.
Follow by departmental HODs.
Last 1-2 rounds with HQ in-charge.
Every session is about 30-45min.
Very ineffective process that take you more than one month to complete.
I believe this is my worst interview experience ever in Singapore. Firstly, they have a very long interview process which I can understand nowardays even though it's inefficient to both sides.
Secondly, I have to repeat the same answers to different interviewers. I still can trust this is how they design the interview process.
However, the whole process took very long. I have to wait for their update if I will be called for next interview session.
So far the Singapore interviewer are quite polite eventhough they are also Chinese. But the interviewer from China HQ is very unpolite from the way they talk and their postures. I can imagine it may not be eassy to communitate with the HQ personnels as that might be a culture issue.
The worst thing is that I have never received any updates after the 4th round interview. I tried to check with the only contract from HR, the girl told me she had left TikTok and I will be updated by another officer. But there was nothing within the next 2 weeks.
I tried to find the recuitment team on Linkedin. The girl said "don't need to worry. They are in job transition now. No matter what the result is, we will still give you an update".
Unfortunitety, one and half month gone now, no one contact me and give me any updates. The recruitment team also ignore my message.
I don't have any hope now. But I'm just unconfortable with the way they treated interview candidates. It's fine if you don't give the offer. But please pay a little repect to the candidates. I spent a lot of time to prepare the interviews. The company can just ignore me in the half way without any notification. So I believe this company will not repect their staffs. I will not join them even if I have a chance in the future.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Many repeated questions in different sessions. I have to answer them again and again. Maybe this is how they test my reponses to different interviewer at different timing.
Very detailed questions that they can drill into. They are not satisfied with the simple desctiption. Be prepared to answer how you complete your work task with step by step.