ByteDance TikTok
First TikTok London Interview
Four years ago, in December 2020, I applied for the System Engineer position at TikTok London. At that time, the TikTok team in London was being established, and the engineer who interviewed me was from Beijing.
The first round was mainly a background check. They went through my resume, asking questions about each section. I remember there were no technical questions in this round, so it was easy to move on to the next one.
The second round was also with an engineer from Beijing, and they asked a lot of basic computer science fundamental questions, such as:
- TCP/IP three-way handshake: How does it work?
- Java: the Stream Object: What does it solve?
Then, they asked me an algorithm question: Merge K Sorted Lists, which is marked as a Hard question on LeetCode. I needed to write code in the provided environment, and the code had to compile and pass tests. I couldn’t come up with the optimal solution, and the simple solution I wrote also had issues, so I didn’t finish within the allotted time.
Unfortunately, I didn’t pass this round.
Overall, the interview process felt unstructured. Often, the interviewer would ask a question, then wait a few seconds before moving on to the next one, as if they were searching for questions. Compared to companies like Google and Meta, TikTok’s interview process seemed more laid-back, without a clear structure.
Second TikTok London Interview
Last month, I applied for a Backend Software Engineer – FIDO2 Authentication position at TikTok London. The next day, a TikTok recruiter emailed me, suggesting I might be a better fit for a Site Reliability Engineer position in another team. I said I was open to either, but preferred the backend position.
Received the interview application from Bytedance Tiktok London for Interview Invitation(s) for a Engineering Role
Then a first-round interview was schedule the next day (Tiktok Recruiter was so efficient to find a slot), which lasted an hour. The first 30 minutes were spent on various fundamental questions:
- Memory Management in C/C++ (Heap and Stack)
- TCP/IP Protocol
- Docker, Virtual Machines (VMs), and Kubernetes (K8s)
- What happens when you type google.com in the browser?
The next 30 minutes were spent on an algorithm question from LeetCode. Coincidentally, it was the same question as one asked during my Meta interview. To prepare for interviews, it’s helpful to review the past 3/6 months of high-frequency questions by company on LeetCode.
This time, I answered perfectly. I wrote the code, provided test cases, and patiently explained my solution, and the program passed the tests.
The last 5 minutes are usually reserved for candidates to ask questions, as the interview is a two-way-choose process. I asked about TikTok’s work-life balance and whether it was a high-pressure environment. The interviewer replied that TikTok isn’t a company where you’d want to retire.
Unfortunately, I got a rejection letter the next working day. From the time to schedule a first interview and the time it takes to give the outcome, I can see the Tiktok is very quick, similar to Meta’s “Move Fast”.
I sent a polite email to ask for the interview feedback, however, got no response. Similar to the first experience with Tiktok four years ago. I guess, they just don’t care. I in particular like Meta. Meta always gives the detailed feedbacks to candidates. The interview feedbacks are very useful to help the engineers grow.
I got rejection letter from Tiktok Bytedance London for a Site Reliability Engineer.
Software Engineer Interview Experience
Interview Tips
- Onsite Interview Tips for Facebook / Google / Microsoft / Amazon / Apple
- 45 Minute Mock Interview (Coding, System Design) + Career Development Advices
- Facebook Interview Tips and Guidance
- Coding Interview Tips for Software Engineers
- What are Big4 Tech Companies looking for in the technical interviews (Phone Screening)?
- How to use the Leetcode's Mock Interview Overview to Nail Your Interview?
- Facebook Onsite Interview Preparation Part 3: How to Ace a Design Interview?
- The Facebook Initial Coding Interview Experience
- Facebook Onsite Interview Preparation Part 2: Coding Questions
- Facebook Onsite Interview Preparation Part 1: Motivation/Bahavior Questions
- A Microsoft Coding Interview Screening for Position Principal Software Engineer
- How to Prepare for an Amazon Interview? My Amazon Interview Experience
- Go to an Interview even if you are not changing your job.
- Last Minute Tips before Phone Interview
Interview Questions
- Interview Coding Exercise - Nested String (Python)
- Some Telephone Interview Questions for C++/C# Software Enginners
- Microsoft Interview Question - Get the Area of the Triangle
- Google Interview Question: Print Messages
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