Sarah Teng began working at TikTok in December 2020, during the company's early days in the US amid concerns over a potential ban. She was a graduate student when she connected with a recruiter for a part-time intern position. Despite a company-wide hiring freeze, TikTok was able to bring on interns. Upon joining, Teng received a welcome package and began her remote internship as a technical product specialist, troubleshooting advertising issues for small businesses.
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.
The office in Austin had around 600 employees. Everyone worked remotely. It was weird joining the company and not meeting anyone face-to-face.
I started as a technical product specialist for the ads department. I troubleshooted issues for small businesses buying ads on TikTok.
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