What questions are asked at TikTok interviews?

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, conducts interviews that assess both technical skills and cultural fit. The questions can vary depending on the role you’re applying for, but here’s an overview of the types of questions you might encounter:

1. Technical Interview Questions

If you’re applying for a technical role, such as software engineering or data science, the interview will focus on your coding, algorithms, data structures, and system design knowledge.

Common Coding Questions

• Data Structures: Questions about arrays, linked lists, hash tables, trees, graphs, and heaps.
  • Example: "Given a binary tree, write a function to return its level-order traversal."
• Algorithms: Focused on sorting, searching, and optimization problems.
  • Example: "Write a function to find the longest palindrome substring in a given string."
• Dynamic Programming: Solving problems using dynamic programming techniques.
  • Example: "Write a function to find the maximum profit from a list of stock prices."

Recommended Courses

• Grokking the Coding Interview: Patterns for Coding Questions
• Grokking Data Structures & Algorithms for Coding Interviews

System Design Questions

For more senior roles, system design questions are common to assess your ability to build scalable, efficient systems.

• Example: "Design a content recommendation system similar to TikTok."
• Example: "How would you design a real-time messaging service for millions of users?"

Recommended Course

• Grokking System Design Fundamentals

2. Behavioral Interview Questions

TikTok places a strong emphasis on cultural fit. Expect questions that assess how well you align with their core values, teamwork abilities, and how you handle challenges.

Common Behavioral Questions

• Teamwork and Collaboration:
  • Example: "Tell me about a time when you had to collaborate with a difficult team member. How did you handle it?"
• Problem-Solving Under Pressure:
  • Example: "Describe a situation where you faced a significant challenge in a project. How did you overcome it?"
• Leadership and Initiative:
  • Example: "Can you give an example of a time when you took the initiative to solve a problem at work?"

Recommended Course

• Grokking Modern Behavioral Interview

3. Company-Specific Questions

TikTok interviewers might ask questions related to their products and how you would contribute to their growth.

Example Questions

• Product Understanding:
  • "How would you improve the TikTok app’s user engagement?"
• Cultural Fit:
  • "What excites you about working at TikTok, and how do you see yourself contributing to our mission?"

Practice Mock Interviews

Mock interviews are a great way to prepare for both technical and behavioral questions. Practicing with real-time feedback can improve your performance during the actual interview.

Recommended Resources

• Coding Mock Interview
• System Design Mock Interview

Final Thoughts

At TikTok, you can expect a combination of technical and behavioral questions, depending on the role. Preparing thoroughly for data structures, algorithms, system design, and soft skills will help you ace the interview. Make sure to leverage courses and mock interviews to refine your skills and confidently handle the interview process.