Courtesy of Sarah Teng
- Sarah Teng joined TikTok as an intern during a hiring freeze in December 2020.She transitioned from a technical product specialist to a product marketing manager.Teng left TikTok in June 2024, before the app's brief shutdown in January 2025.
This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Sarah Teng, a former global product marketing manager for TikTok. It has been edited for length and clarity
When I first started working for TikTok in December 2020, it was so new in the US that it was pretty rare to meet another person who worked there. I joined while doing an MSc in Information Technology & Management at the University of Texas at Austin.
I'd completed two summer internships at Accenture. I enjoyed it, but it was very corporate, and I felt my personality was more suited to something more casual in the tech space.
TikTok was a much better fit for me.
My professor connected me to someone who worked at TikTok
I was then connected to a recruiter on TikTok's HR team. She explained to me she was hiring for an intern position that would start immediately. Since my master's classes were online and this role was part-time and remote, I was able to juggle them both.
I was interviewed by a hiring manager and someone I could be working with. I passed the interview and agreed to work 20 to 30 hours a week for an hourly fee.
When I joined, Trump had just brought the idea of banning TikTok to life. TikTok was on a hiring freeze, but they could hire interns. I was excited about getting the job, as it's a very cool, trendy company to work at.
TikTok sent me a huge welcome package
I received a pair of TikTok embroidered Allbirds wool running shoes, a Parkland backpack, sweatshirts, a branded beach towel, a Bluetooth speaker, and an Owala water bottle.
The office in Austin had around 600 employees. Everyone worked remotely. It was weird joining the company and not meeting anyone face-to-face.
For my online orientation, I watched videos, read many internal documents, and was given a timeline of what would be achievable during my internship.
As time went on, I evolved in my role
I started as a technical product specialist for the ads department. I troubleshooted issues for small businesses buying ads on TikTok. If there was a product bug, I escalated it to the product manager to get it solved.
I was on a team of five, but everyone else was a product marketing manager. I started to become interested in their role, and so my coworkers took me under their wing and taught me how to do their jobs.
By the end of my internship, I was probably doing 50% of my hired role and 50% product marketing work.
I asked my manager if I could interview for a full-time position as a product marketing manager
The company was growing and needed more product marketing managers. I also asked if I could work from the New York office.
I didn't need to live in New York, as I'd still be working remotely, and the New York office was under construction, but I wanted the experience.
I interviewed and was offered the job. I moved to New York in August 2021 and rented an apartment with one of my college friends.
I became a product marketing manager for ads
I worked with the product manager to ensure that all of our products were ready to go to market. I learned a lot, and I learned quickly.
If it were a launch, we'd recruit our target customers and do research with them to ensure that the product was on the right track. If the products were already live, I'd work with customers to understand their pain points and find out how we could improve the existing product.
One product I helped launch was Video Insights, which shared how much engagement you had at each point in your video.
I visited the office for the first time in October 2022
The view of the New York skyline from the office was amazing. During the winter months, when the sun would set early, it was the ultimate place to watch sunsets.
The walls were decorated with cool murals and neon artwork by local artists. The kitchen was filled with free snacks like Kit-Kats, Cup Noodles, and coffee.
Over two years, the office changed dramatically
They built a giant amphitheatre, the famed pink corridor, the gender neutral bathroom with its fit check mosaic, and an entertainment room with games for when creators visited.
There were yoga lessons for staff, and speakers visited often. I listened to comedian Zarna Garg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. I also joined many wine and pizza nights.
Courtesy of Sarah Teng
We went through at least one, if not multiple, reorganizations each year
One of these reorganizations involved dissolving my team, and we were moved to other teams in January 2022. I moved onto a global team.
I traveled to Europe for a three-week business trip, visiting offices in London, Paris, and Berlin. I also visited the ByteDance campus in Shanghai.
My job was similar, but the product managers I was now working with were based in China. Due to the time zones, it was tough to maintain consistency.
Late-night meetings would pop up, and if I wasn't online when everyone else woke at night, it would make me stressed.
By October 2023, we were asked to work in the office three days a week
I'd now reached a point where I was sharing tips and tricks with new staff, and I met with summer interns who reached out for coffee chats.
In March 2024, there were congressional hearings to see where Congress stood on TikTok. That was when a lot of people internally felt like maybe we should look around, so that's when I started to think about trying to find another job.
The shutdown was in January 2025
TikTok was only banned for 12 hours, but I had left in June 2024.
The previous summer, I met someone in an airport lounge who worked in tech. He ended up being the cofounder of Californian software company Emerge Tools. I now work for them remotely.
I miss the people I worked with at TikTok a lot. I'd grown with them as an organization from such an early time, and I felt like I had a lot of ownership and impact on the work that I did.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with TikTok and am grateful for the opportunities I had there.
