Get a Job at TikTok: Interview Process and Top Questions

TikTok, a leader in short-form video content, is an exciting and fast-paced place to work.

The interview process at TikTok is typically swift, with only about a month between submitting an application and, if all goes well, receiving an offer.

ByteDance, the parent company, particularly seeks Machine Learning Engineers for TikTok.

TikTok is almost always hiring. It has nearly 40,000 employees worldwide and over 10,000 employees in the United States. By comparison, companies like Microsoft, Amazon, or Meta have over 200,000 employees.

TikTok is also a great place for students and new graduates, offering undergraduate and graduate internship programs, part-time roles for current students, and entry-level roles for new graduates.

Check out all the open roles at TikTok.

Below, we break down the TikTok interview process and the top questions you should expect to answer.

What is the TikTok interview process?

TikTok's interview process moves quickly, so expect all of your rounds to happen within a month, with your recruiter following up within a week between rounds.

Prepare for all interviews to be virtual because TikTok doesn't do on-site final interviews.

TikTok's interview process is not standardized. The process will vary depending on the role you apply for, as well as if you're experienced or a recent grad, and even candidates applying for the same role may get slightly different types of interviews.

Each interview at TikTok is between 45 minutes to an hour. Expect video calls for each round, except for the initial recruiter phone call.

Interviewers at TikTok are often in a different time zone and might be in a different country than you, so prepare for interviews to be scheduled outside the hours of a typical workday.

The TikTok interview process typically takes about one month and involves:

• Recruiter screen: 1 phone screen or email questionnaire,
• Technical screens: 2-3 rounds of technical challenges or virtual calls,
• Final rounds: Hiring manager interview and HR interview.

Students and new grads

The interview process for students and new grads is different. TikTok's student and new grad opportunities open in August and September for all regions.

After applying, students and new grads get a pre-screening by a recruiter, then a one- to two-hour online interview or assessment event on HackerRank.

These events often include many applicants at once.

The top scorers in assessment events receive priority from recruiters, but those who score lower still have a chance of being contacted to receive an offer or to continue with more interviews.

Application

When you apply to a position at TikTok, TikTok prefers resumes in PDF format and written in English.

TikTok also recommends you apply to no more than two open roles at once.

TikTok looks for candidates with skills in leadership, creativity, and innovation, so highlight these skills in your application.

Then, prepare stories that showcase these skills from your previous experience for the next steps in your interview process.

TikTok's mission is "to inspire creativity and bring joy."

Recruiter phone screen

For some candidates at TikTok, the first step of your interview is a phone call with a recruiter.

This is more common for recent grads, but it happens occasionally for experienced candidates too.

Expect basic introductory questions, like why you want to work at TikTok and the time frame for when you can start a new position.

Prepare to also discuss your resume and prepare for behavioral questions by knowing how you demonstrate TikTok's mission and values.

Here are TikTok's core values:

• We empower creators: Everyone is a creator, whether they're using our app or developing their career here at TikTok.
• We connect people: Our platform helps people around the world become a part of a global community.
• We explore possibilities: We stay curious: We're always searching for inspiration in ourselves and the world around us.

Instead of a phone screen, some experienced candidates receive an emailed questionnaire from a recruiter.

It includes similar questions as the phone call, but in an email format to answer and send back.

Technical screens

TikTok has 2-3 rounds of technical screens for all technical roles. This is often the most challenging step in TikTok's interview process.

Technical roles have 1-2 online coding challenges on HackerRank and another virtual technical loop, such as system design or machine learning, within the same day or a couple of days apart.

Prepare for questions ranging from medium to hard difficulty levels.

Non-technical roles have 2-3 interviews with leaders on the team or department of the role you applied for, such as a hiring manager, team lead, or skip-level manager.

You may also receive a take-home assignment, such as a product case study for Product Manager candidates, to present to the interviewers.

Expect open-ended domain-specific questions.

Final rounds

The last round of most TikTok interview processes is a final virtual interview with the hiring manager, then a final virtual interview with HR.

The final hiring manager interview is a mix of behavioral questions and domain knowledge. Expect to discuss your resume in depth as well as past projects pertaining to the team and role you're applying for.

Most interviews at TikTok end with a final call with HR. This interview includes questions similar to the initial recruiter screen, but more in-depth, and overall focused on culture fit. Practice behavioral questions and have examples prepared for why you want to work at TikTok and how you fit their mission and values. If all goes well, some candidates receive an offer at the end of this final HR call.

Top TikTok Interview Questions

These are the most commonly asked interview questions at TikTok, broken down by interview type. They were reported by recent interviewees at the company.

Behavioral

• Tell me about yourself.
• Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with your manager.
• Tell me about a time you made a bold and difficult decision.
• Do you work well in fast-paced environments?
• Why TikTok?
• Why are you looking for a new opportunity?

Coding

TikTok is always changing their coding questions.

Here are some examples of questions that have been asked in recent interviews.

• Find the repeated number in an array.
• Determine if two sentences are similar.
• Tell me about your background and a project you worked on.
• Find the median of two sorted arrays.
• Sort a list by alphabetical ascending order.
• What is the most complex thing you built?

System Design

• Design TikTok's "For You" Page.
• Design a currency exchange system.
• Design Instagram.
• Design TikTok.
• Design a payment gateway system for a POS.

Machine Learning

• Explain transformers.
• Design a monitoring system for TikTok.
• Design TikTok's "For You" page.
• Describe the difference between bias and variance.

Data Science

• Describe how to go about implementing a video recommendation algorithm.
• How would you evaluate the impact of fake news on users?
• Tell me about your proudest project.
• SQL questions.
• Python questions.

Product management

• Pick a product you like that's not popular. How would you improve it?
• Discuss some of the different ways TikTok can acquire new users.
• What are the key contributors to TikTok's success?
• How would you work with an engineering team?

TikTok Interview Loops Explained

Next, let's discuss each interview loop at TikTok.

Behavioral

Behavioral loops at TikTok primarily take place during the recruiter phone screen (if you're asked to do one) and at the final HR interview.

Prepare thorough answers to why you're interested in TikTok, this team, and the role specifically.

Also, prepare to talk through your resume, highlighting what you did in the past, what you learned along the way, challenges you overcame, and strategies that helped you accomplish your goals.

TikTok is interested in how you apply past experience to working at their company, so get to know TikTok's app, features, and company mission and values. Prepare specific anecdotes and examples of past experience that apply to their product and mission.

Coding

TikTok's coding rounds are notoriously difficult.

Expect two rounds of medium to hard coding challenges for all technical roles, followed by an interview with your hiring manager, where you might get more technical coding questions in addition to domain knowledge and behavioral questions.

These interviews primarily focus on data structure and algorithm questions

For recent grads, you'll likely just do a virtual technical screen—a one- to two-hour HackerRank coding challenge with 3-5 questions.

In coding loops, TikTok interviewers look for:

• Problem-solving skills,
• Communication: Explanation of your problem-solving and asking relevant questions,
• Quality of your code.

System Design

TikTok system design rounds are typically 45 minutes long. Get to know TikTok's products and features ahead of time to prepare.

This way, you can explain your design solutions with reasoning specific to TikTok and demonstrate that you truly understand TikTok's systems.

Remember to focus on communication in your system design interview as much as your solution itself. It's not just about getting the right answer but also about understanding the different steps of design work and how you make design choices.

Machine Learning

Machine Learning Engineers are essential at TikTok to research and optimize their recommendation system and algorithms.

For technical challenges, expect scenario-based questions focused on problem-solving and ideation, and questions focused on algorithms and complex systems.

TikTok wants MLEs who can improve TikTok's user experience, content delivery, and platform security.

The ML interview loops at TikTok emphasize technical, hard skills, but expect to also answer in-depth questions about your past projects and experience with ML and AI.

TikTok's ML engineers work across many teams, including:

• Applied Machine Learning,
• App Ads and Gaming,
• Business Integrity,
• E-commerce Global Supply Chain and Logistics,
• Risk Data Mining,
• Search Ads,
• Shop Ads,
• Trust & Safety.

Data Science

Data science interview loops at TikTok test your technical data knowledge and ask about your past experience and how you'll apply it at TikTok.

Since interviews are not standardized at TikTok, you may or may not receive a short take-home assignment to present at your interview with the hiring manager.

Whether or not you have a take-home assignment, prepare for data loop interview questions focused on:

• SQL,
• A/B testing,
• Product analysis,
• Statistics,
• In-depth questions asking about previous experience and past data science projects, and how you'll apply these skills at TikTok.

Product Management

TikTok wants Product Managers who are user-focused and experienced with content creation and content strategy.

In Product Management interview loops at TikTok, expect questions asking you to design a new product for users or improve an existing one.

You may or may not get a take-home product case study to present in your virtual on-site interviews to a hiring manager.

Either way, you'll get similar product questions.

Prepare by getting really familiar with TikTok's current products and features. When responding to product questions, demonstrate your social and content strategy and how you make data-driven decisions.

TikTok Interview Tips

• TikTok values communication: Demonstrate your ability as a strong communicator. Technical domain-specific skills are important to pass your technical screens, but TikTok wants candidates who have strong communication and leadership skills in all roles.
• TikTok is a global company: TikTok is a diverse, international company, headquartered in Los Angeles and Singapore, with offices in New York, London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo. Highlight any previous experience working with teammates across the globe because inclusivity is important at TikTok.
• Know TikTok inside and out: Before interviewing, download and use the app, then read up on TikTok's latest news, as well as company programs, such as TikTok for Good and TikTok for Developers. Knowing TikTok inside and out prepares you to answer product-specific technical interview questions and demonstrate your investment in the company.

FAQs

How long is the TikTok interview process?

The interview process is quickly. It takes about one month between submitting an application, interviewing, and receiving an offer.

How competitive are TikTok interviews?

TikTok's technical challenges and assessments are known to be very difficult. Focus on all loops, but prioritize technical practice for the first two technical screens, especially if you're applying for a highly technical role, like a Software or Machine Learning Engineer or Data Scientist.

Practice commonly asked questions for the role you're applying for, as mentioned in earlier sections in this article and regularly practice hand-picked software engineering coding questions with built-in hints and solutions in Exponent's complete software engineering interview course.

How should I prepare for my interview at TikTok?

Practice, practice, practice. Review interview questions and answers and practice technical questions regularly. Preparing your answers to behavioral questions with a friend can be really helpful, so you can talk them out ahead of time.

Beyond practicing, prepare to be flexible with your schedule for TikTok's interviews. There's a good chance your interviewer will be in a different time zone and country than you.

There's also a good chance your interviewer's first language may not be English. Ask for clarification on interview questions as needed, while being polite and patient.

Does TikTok hire students or new grads?

Yes! TikTok offers several programs for undergraduate students, grad students, and new grads.

Opportunities for students and new grads at TikTok include undergraduate and graduate internships, part-time work while in school, and roles geared for new grads.

Check out TikTok's Early Careers page for more information on open positions.