A TikTok, Human Resources is constantly innovating. Across teams and regions, our team works to build trust, find new and better ways to connect with candidates, and help everyone in the organization feel heard, seen, and ready for what's next. From creating more efficient ways to communicate to hiring the best in user data protection, Omesh and April talked to us about what's new for HR, and what they do to innovate and create a better workplace for all.
How long have you been at TikTok?
Omesh: I've been at TikTok for almost two and half years. I lead the Mobility and Immigration team for the Americas (AMS)
April: I came to TikTok in September of 2021, joined Talent Acquisition (TA) overseeing marketing and business development, and stepped into a broader leadership role expanding my portfolio of clients in January 2022. TikTok is definitely a place where your career can be accelerated!
Describe your current role. What problems are you and your team trying to solve?
Omesh: Our team supports the entire visa-sponsored population currently working for the company in the AMS region. We also work with our global colleagues who are transferring into the region for a new role at the company. I'm focused on improving the entire transfer experience of those transferring into the AMS region.
April: I oversee the Talent Acquisition strategy for multiple business groups, including TikTok Operations (Content, Consumer Marketing, Distribution, User Operations), Music, and Global Functions (Legal, Public Policy, Communication) in the United States and Canada. Our role is to identify and attract candidates for these teams while future proofing TikTok's talent strategy. That is, find people who can adapt and grow with technology and the market.
As a company, our priority is to inspire creativity, bring joy, and of course, build trust. It's imperative that we recognize the importance of trust building through the candidate experience. Ultimately, our goal is to not only fill open positions with qualified candidates, but also to create a positive reputation for TikTok that resonates with prospective candidates. This is especially important as our candidates are oftentimes also users and creators on the platform.
What does impact look like in your role? Is there a particular experience that you can share?
April: Talent Acquisition impacts TikTok in ways beyond just filling job vacancies. While a big portion of our job is to hire talent from the outside, we also have an opportunity to impact the organization internally. Recently, our team had the opportunity to collaborate with HR and business leaders to launch a global internal mobility program to fill newly created positions with existing employees in an effort to upskill and reskill internal talent while accelerating career growth. We successfully filled two-thirds of the positions with employees from around the globe!
How do you feel your work supports/contributes to TikTok's overall growth/business? How do you and your team collaborate with other business functions?
Omesh: In the day and age of a global workforce, you want to be able to source the best and the brightest, regardless of the country of origin. So, we develop robust strategies around hiring, and some of that requires sponsorship. What the team does is enable – we hope – a frustration free process for moving from one country to another. Sponsorship can be a blocker, but to help facilitate TikTok's workforce, we make sure everyone's transition process is as smooth as possible. So much is out of our control, but securing top talent isn't.
April: By hiring best-in-class talent, we can develop a stronger, more diverse workforce leading to improved productivity and creativity. Our goal is to build a company as diverse and inclusive as our communities on TikTok, and talent acquisition directly contributes to that goal.
The team's success is truly shared success. We collaborate with many teams during the entire recruitment process. We work closely with Employer Brand on candidate experience strategies, hiring managers and business leaders on identifying skills needed for critical roles, Talent Management on interview assessment strategies, and HR and Compensation to ensure offers are equitable and competitive.
What is one business challenge that you've tackled in your role that you're most proud of? How did you make it happen?
Omesh: In an effort to improve the support and experience of our internal clients and stakeholders, the Mobility Team designed a ticketing portral from scratch. Previously, there were hundreds, if not thousands of direct messages coming to the team, which meant there was a backlog of responses while we manually prioritized answering. The automated ticketing portal improved efficiency in our speed responding to tickets, and therefore enhanced the overall user experience.
April: Excitingly, we recently entered a new market in Phoenix, Arizona. There, we leaned on our crossfunctional relationships with Early Careers and Employer Brand to post our jobs for graduating students and build general awareness of TikTok as a new employer in that area. We developed a two-prong recruitment strategy - one focused on mass entry-level hiring and the other focused on niche, skill-based hiring. Given the scale of hiring, we worked closely with our TA Operations and HR Operations team to allow for a smooth onboarding process for the selected hires.
What do you find most rewarding/interesting about your current work?
Omesh: I love my role and work that our team does. We get to contribute directly to the growth of the company while supporting the employee population at a personal level during their transfers. TikTok is innovating in the HR space by really considering the needs of teammates as humans first, employees second during these big moments in their careers
April: Talent acquisition is a meaningful career for many reasons beyond the intrigue and complexity of hiring top talent. As an employer, TikTok evolves just as fast as the product. As our platform markets new product features and partners with industry experts on safety, our talent acquisition team works directly with these teams on hiring for roles that allow you to engage with the app and our brand directly. That's the most interesting and rewarding part of my current work - being able to hire people that help our users and creators to build communities and be safe on the platform.
What does innovation look like in HR? How has the HR organization innovated the employee experience/talent strategy/career development at TikTok?
Omesh: As a company we are very much in the building phase, so we are seeking to enhance processes through automation that will improve user experience without sacrificing engagement.
April: Innovation in HR looks different at every company based on the maturity of their company and HR models. At TikTok, we are building upon the fundamentals and refining best practices. However, what stands out the most was our ability to run a global mobility program that resulted in newly created roles being filled but also launched the careers of some existing employees moving into leadership roles and upskilled to learn different components of our business.
What are some opportunities for impact that you see for HR and/or within your team? What are some qualities you think are important to have in HR at TikTok?
Omesh: Resilience is paramount. There will be setbacks and challenges, so remaining committed, engaged, and positive is key. Your contributions will be recognized.
April: Specific to Talent Acquisition, we have growing opportunities to be advisors to our hiring managers. The talent landscape has evolved dramatically over the past year, and the ability to offer market intelligence and data insights to recruiting is very important. This could take the form of skill set mapping in various regions to understand the viability of opening a role there, or synthesizing interview efficiency data to refine our practices. Our ability to show up as strategic advisors is underpinned by our ability to synthesize data. It's important for talent acquisition professionals to not only understand data, but to contextualize it in a way that provides value to the business and establishes TA as an elevated center of excellence.
Lastly, what advice would you give someone that is considering TikTok as an employer?
April: Be prepared to speak about how you navigate ambiguity and creatively problem solve on a large scale. That type of contribution is not only recognized but rewarded at TikTok. My favorite question I get in interviews is, "where do you see yourself in the next 2-3 years?" I can honestly say, I don't know! There is the linear path many of us in the talent acquisition field are familiar with, but the reality is TikTok opens up so many doors and pathways for those that are courageous and aim for the highest.
I've seen my own role evolve with the business, and I've seen promotion and mobility across my team as well. Moreover, because the company is still so young, one year can bring you a diverse collection of career experiences that would take many years to be exposed to at other companies! For those considering TikTok, I would say, APPLY TODAY!
Are you creative? Are you a builder? Are you a problem solver? Take April's advice and apply today! There are many roles in Human Resources to explore here.
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- HR
- Limitless Possibilities
- Inspiring Creativity
- Life at TikTok
- North America
