Competitive pay but poor HR leadership - Talent Development Lead TikTok Employee Review

1.0
Oct 20, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

many of the team members worked hard and were very capable.

Cons

Too many politics in HR leadership. TOXIC environment. Performance reviews include letter grades which only one person from the past received an A. Bonus is given based on reviews but employees are reprimanded and compared based on their grades. HR leaders should operate and lead with integrity, empathy and ethical. Disconnect between ByteDance and TikTok.

Explore other reviews about TikTok

5.0
Jul 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great opportunity to grow with social leading platform

Cons

Internal growth is really hard

2.0
Jun 15, 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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