👀 TikTok Product Operation Internship: Application to Offer – iykyk

From Marketing and Business Development to Product Operation

Hi there 👋 — Who are you and what’s your background?

Hi! My name is Lena, I’m a rising Senior at Barnard and I’m double majoring in Economics and Theater Studies. My past experiences are mostly related to Marketing, specifically Public Relations (PR), and Business Development. My first internship was at Ogilvy, an advertisement agency, and then I moved into beauty and tech companies after that, specifically as a PR and Business Development Intern. Now, I’m a Product Operation Intern at TikTok.

Maintaining a Product as the Primary Job and Assisting the Marketing Team on the Side

What is Product Operation exactly? What encompasses your role?

I would say Product Operation is kind of similar to Project Management, but it’s more focused on how the product is maintained and ran. In my role, I manage one of the smaller programs called a match program, which is basically matching creators with each other for TikTok lives. We have weekly and monthly matches, depending on the creator’s size and revenue. So, on a day-to-day basis, I’m mainly connecting with creators to arrange time for report and revenue check-ins. On the side, I assist the TikTok Marketing Team by creating their newsletters as well as campaigns.

Well-ran Intern Program with Lots of Check-ins and Feedback

For those who are unfamiliar, how is the program structured and run?

I’ve worked at different companies that don’t usually have a program for interns, but TikTok has a specific one and it’s really well managed and structured. For the internship, there’s a hiring manager who oversees the entire program and then there’s an intern manager who assigns projects to you. I have a one-on-one with my intern manager every week, and she makes time to check in on my project progress and assigns me new tasks once I’m done with the previous one. Everyone else on my team is also really helpful, because they’d give me instructions and feedback on projects.

We had three days of onboarding, where we get to read materials about the team as well as meet with the team members to better understand our role, internally and externally.

Three Rounds of Interviews

What was the interview process like and what made you stand out as an applicant?

It started with a campus recruitment process, then I submitted my application and had my first round with HR. They mainly asked about my availability and scheduling for the summer, which is pretty standard. After that, for my second round, I interviewed with one of the managers from the team and he was asking me questions related to product, my background, and my past experiences. Then for the third round, I interviewed with my direct manager for the internship. There were standard behavioral and technical questions, and she was basically explaining what the team is doing in general and the specifics of the Product Operation Intern role.

As for what made me stand out, I’m honestly not sure, but I think that for this role specifically, they wanted someone who has experience in product as well as sales/marketing. They wanted someone who would be able to operate the product as well as communicate with the creators to make sure that they understand our campaigns.

Interest-focused Networking

Is there a recruitment strategy that nobody is doing right now, but should be?

I think that talking to people, specifically on the team that you’re interested in, is really important. Network around your specific interest. If you do this, you’ll be able to directly share your interest with the team and have a better insight into what they are doing.

Salary Expectations

What is the average starting salary for program participants and what does the salary progression look like once you’ve graduated from the program?

I would say that it’s comparable to other tech internship roles. For undergraduate students, the pay tends to be lower than graduate students.

Future Plans

What’s your next play after graduating from this program? Has this program impacted your 5-10 year career plan?

I’m thinking about staying in tech, maybe at TikTok or another company, go to graduate school, or explore Finance as a possible career. Those are probably my options for now.

Seek Out a Wide Range of Experiences Before Transferring Into Product Operation

What advice do you have for people wanting to go into Product Operation?

If you’re interested in Product Operation, I think it’s good to have exposure to different industries, like Marketing and Business. Most of my coworkers started in Marketing, Sales, or Product Management before they came into Product Operation, since there’s more opportunities for entry-level work there. I also think it’s really valuable to have experience in school clubs, since that’ll give you more management opportunities and soft skills for the operations role.