When applying for tech jobs, TikTok’s Online Assessment (OA) is usually the first big hurdle. As an international student studying computer science in North America, I found this part especially important. After you apply online, you’ll typically receive an automatic email after a while inviting you to take a coding test. The test usually consists of two to three problems and is hosted on platforms like Codility or HackerRank.
The questions mostly focus on data structures and algorithms, but they don’t feel as “template-based” as school exams. Instead, they test your ability to handle edge cases and write efficient code. Topics like sliding window, hash maps, depth-first search (DFS), and union-find come up quite often. Sometimes the questions look easy at first glance, but they’re full of traps—if you’re not careful, it’s easy to fail hidden test cases.
When I was preparing, I made it a habit to practice LeetCode every day. I mainly focused on medium-level problems and occasionally tackled hard ones. Practicing under a timer helped a lot, too. It’s not just about solving the problem—you have to do it fast and clean. During the real OA, time pressure is real, and if your solution runs too slowly or crashes, the system may flag it as a failure automatically.
Sometimes TikTok also throws in a logic or situational question, but those are rare. The main focus is still on your coding skills. One thing I learned is to apply as early as possible. Whether it’s for summer internships or full-time new grad roles, applying late might mean you miss the chance to even get the OA.
One last piece of advice—clean up your code before submitting. Use clear variable names and keep your comments minimal but helpful. These platforms can also track how you write your code, not just the result. Even if you can’t solve all the problems, getting one right and submitting polished code might still get you through to the next round.
Release time:2025-05-26
