I applied for the Senior 2D Artist role via the company site. A recruiter reached out about a month later to schedule a screening call.
During the screening call, I was asked about salary expectations. I explained that I would need to learn more about the role but inquired about the salary band since well, they opened that door. They declined to share. Now, this was the first time I have experienced this specific lack of transparency from a tech company. The reason given was that they wouldn't know what those numbers were until I had gone through the entire interview process and signaled to the hiring manager what level I would fit. Apparently, they had a couple of roles for varying levels opened. Ok? Then why request my salary expectations so early if you didn't even have a target in mind?
After passing this call I then moved on to speak with the hiring manager. Then the next step was to complete an art test - which is where I pulled out of the process.
When it came to the art test round, I was told to only do the "Junior - Mid" titled test and not complete the "Senior" titled one. Say what now? I applied for a senior role - why was I expected to do a test for a lower level. So I followed up with recruitment and they came back saying they were targeting mid-level for the role I was being considered for. Like when and why did ya'll decide this???
If you're reading this and thinking " hmmm maybe you just weren't qualified for a senior level " STOP. I was already operating at a senior level and was interviewing with other companies for senior and lead individual contributor roles and associate management roles. Ultimately, I got one of the lead roles.
This interview process with TikTok was a complete waste of my time and as a woman of color - I am completely offended by the attempt to devalue my worth.