Thoughts on working at one of the world's hottest startups

Before I began at TikTok, I wrote an article about my experience working internationally over the preceding year. I learned a great deal during that period. A while back, someone suggested that I write an update on where my career stands now. So I’ve put fingers to the keyboard for a quick update on what it’s like working for one of the world’s most exciting start-ups.

As my LinkedIn shows, approximately a year ago, I joined TikTok. I had been following TikTok for quite some time in the internet space and eventually found an unexpected position in Employer Branding to blend all of my interests in a way that surprised me. 

So, I took another calculated risk and made the jump into TikTok’s unknown. 

It’s been a crazy and incredible 12 months since joining. It’s at once hard to believe it’s only been 12 months and also surprising to see where the time has gone. 

It’s a fascinating time to be at the company and for someone like me, who’s passionate about cultures, people, globalization, and so on, it’s an amazing opportunity to watch a company travel along the journey to becoming a truly global company.

Working here has also been very unique to my previous work experiences and taught me more about what makes me feel value at work on a day-to-day basis. I’ve delved into what I’ve found most compelling about my experience this last year. 

The Product

Growing up as a millennial, I look back at my growing up experience disappointed by the ways that social media impacted my feelings of happiness and my self-worth. 

Despite being more self and social media aware as an adult, I still can’t completely divorce my notions about what social media is “for”: showing off. 

I caught myself about two months into working at TikTok with the thought: “Why would I post on TikTok, what’s the end goal?”

In other words, why would I engage on social media, unless to be seen as my ideal self? 

That’s when I really understood what makes TikTok and its users and creators so cool.

TikTok is about being yourself-- being weird, being quirky, being authentic, silly, scary, artistic, athletic,... On TikTok, creativity and humor are valued in on democratic platform that encourages the BEST content to be seen, rather than the content that is connected to the most influence. 

Communication Style

As a global company, our team is amazingly diverse: linguistically and culturally. This makes communication so important. 

As someone who has not always found it easy to express my opinion readily at work or express opposing views, I’ve found TikTok’s commitment to communication that cuts through the BS as empowering. 

No matter what role someone plays or what experience they have, we’re encouraged to communicate with them in the same way as the next team member. 

Before I joined, I often felt the need to humble myself in communications with colleagues in more senior positions. Niceties, thank you’s, or apologies: a dangerous habit for a woman in the corporate world. 

At TikTok, this behavior is actively discouraged and speaking up and speaking clearly without these pretenses is actively encouraged. 

Most people would think that communication would be one of the biggest challenges embarking on a career at a global company, rather it’s been one of the greatest learnings for me.

White Area

I continue to enjoy the opportunity to work in uncharted areas. Despite sometimes wondering if there are experiences I am missing outside of a more structured and established corporate environment, I can’t deny my desire to always be coloring outside the lines. 

The chance to be a part of building TikTok’s employer brand and the team was something that you don’t find every day. I’ve had the opportunity to mold my own role, rather than fill a slot already outlined and structured for me. 

As you grow from your starting point, effort and success are rewarded with further responsibility and empowerment, which is inherently motivating to someone like myself who feels rewarded and appreciated by receiving more responsibility. 

Many others have joined TikTok and had the same opportunity.

Blended work and life

From before I even started at TikTok, there was a different feeling around how my team approached work and life. 

While I was applying to my role, it was clear how invested my team members were in my application process. 

Upon joining, candor and trust were established right from the start with my team. The conversation moves pretty fluidly between work and home in a way that doesn’t feel like a chore, but more like a passion project. And as I said earlier, when you have the opportunity to contribute in a way that follows your own interests, it is more like a passion project within context than a structured job.

At times my hours need to flex across different time zones, but they’re also flexible. No one is clocking me in and out, instead, they care about my results. So don’t be surprised for someone to ask you to speak to metrics that show the value of your work. But again, if you’re someone who produces and wants to be recognized for it then this allows you to gain more autonomy and more opportunities.

In conclusion

As hoped, working at TikTok has continued to challenge me and push me to learn new skill sets and grow. I’ve had the opportunity to work with people across the world: the UK, Japan, China, India, and more. I continue to learn new things about the world everyday through my team members and our different markets in my journey to be a better global citizen.