🔥Why You Should (NOT) Join TikTok, or ByteDance 字节跳动, Management Career in Tech By Yolanda Yu

Why You Should (NOT) Join TikTok, or ByteDance 字节跳动, after a tiktok ban. Who made TikTok? The creator of TikTok, ByteDance 字节跳动 has recently started its hiring craze in Singapore, as a homebase for international business expansion. Following TikTok Ban in the U.S., how is Work at TikTok? Work at ByteDance?

Okie, let’s talk about why you should or should not work for Bytedance 字节跳动. Let’s start with:
Why you should join them

1. Most Valuable Startup in the world
You may not know Bytedance 字节跳动 but surely you have heard of Tiktok or 抖音. It’s the company behind TikTok and the most valuable startup in the world today, backed by big names such as Softbank, and Sequoia. Based on the information from CBInsights in April 2020, they were valued at 140Bn.

2. Technical edge
Again in CBInsights version, the company is categorized under Artificial Intelligence industry, instead of anything like online content, entertainment, social media, education, which it could have been. This makes sense, because everything it does depends on its robust content recommendation algorithms and machine learning capabilities.

3. International ambition

Bytedance 字节跳动 says many of their products are born thinking of global audience. They had launched or acquired products in the US, brazil, Japan, India and South East Asia. This young company was founded on 2012, Headquartered in Beijing. The founder, Zhang Yiming said he wants to have a company as borderless as Google.
Indeed, as Google has proven to be, technology seems to be crossing border much easier without knocking on cultural barriers. TikTok is available in more than 150 markets and 75 languages. 2 billion downloads as of Mar 2020. Still shy of the facebook’s 16 billion. But consider how young TikTok is, and how fast its growth is. It’s not surprising that people view TikTok as a potential future challenger to Facebook.

4. Great Culture & Smart people
I didn’t say this. Employees on Glassdoor said this. Interestingly, most of them are from the (former?) Indian operations.

5. A good timing to join
From organizational structure perspective, it looks like Bytedance is formalizing a Global organization outside China, which means they are building an international talent reserve too.
Given many Chinese companies’ main field is still in China, their overseas ventures are often just “ventures”. Without official and significant organization dedicated to international business, the overseas staff can be side-lined because of a smaller business size and insufficient trust, and the HQ may suddenly terminate the mission when no clear long term strategy is in place.

The hiring of Kevin Mayer was a good sign showing their determination and commitment to international business. My guess is that their current structure is more product-driven and there would be quite a bit of patchwork because of the acquisition. A new structure would be a better coordinated one across the globe.

Next, Why you should not work for Bytedance

1. It’s Not for those who cannot take risk
Actually risk is never the issue. Whether you can afford the risk is the issue. Ask yourself, suppose you join them, in the times of uncertainty, what will be the risk for you as an employee? And can you afford it? If not, it’s not for you.

2. Not for those who have high Moral Standards (and national pride)


3. Not for those who want free mind and life outside work

Long working hours. To be fair, this is not the first Chinese technology firm that has this reputation. From Huawei’s military style to Jack Ma’s proudly announced 996, the trend has only grown stronger and become taken granted.

This is fair: high growth means someone need to pay the price. This is also unfair, when it comes to returns, everyone gets it differently.


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