The worst company I ever worked at - Program Manager TikTok Employee Review

1.0
15 Aug 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Compensation and benefits are comparable with most big tech companies

Cons

I wouldn't wish working at TikTok for my worst enemy. Nothing makes sense in this company. Incompetency is spread around the company from top to bottom. Unqualified leaders, unrealistic expectations, and top-down culture with requests that would eminently lead to failure. You're never seen as an expert. You're hired to do tactical work based on the desires of incompetent leaders, and you are not supposed to question anything. If you dare to question, you're told this is what leaders want and you need to get it done. Be prepared to wake up in the morning just to see the scope of your role changing overnight without your knowledge. I was there for 11 months which was way too long.

Explore other reviews about TikTok

2.0
15 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay is level with industry and actual work is somewhat interesting depending on the team you're on

Cons

In my experience, career growth can feel very limited if you are not part of the dominant internal language and cultural network. A significant amount of important context, communication, and decision-making happens in Chinese, which can make non-Chinese-speaking employees feel excluded from key conversations and promotion opportunities. The environment did not feel as inclusive as it should be for a global company. Advancement often felt less tied to performance and more tied to whether you were connected to the right groups or able to operate fluently within the Chinese-speaking side of the organization. Over time, it felt like non-Chinese-speaking employees had fewer long-term career paths and were at risk of being replaced by people who could better fit that internal operating model. Things also move very slowly because employees are often given access only to the bare minimum needed to do their jobs. There is a heavy push toward using AI tools, but in practice it can make it harder to get help from real people. Instead of getting quick support, you often have to spend time going through AI bots or internal tools before getting a useful answer.

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