Entry-Level Positions For Aspiring Product Managers At TikTok
TikTok offers many entry-level internships and recent graduate roles; however, direct entry strategy roles are rare, with most companies preferring candidates with consulting or marketing experience. A strong alternative for undergraduates interested in tech is product management, which provides valuable transferable skills like "managing projects" and "collaborating with other people," setting a strong foundation for future career advancement.
Career Development, Job Search, Technology, Project Management, Communication
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Kelly Mellenthin
Senior Manager, SMB Growth
TikTok
University of Southern California (USC), 2013
UCLA Anderson School of Management, Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Marketing
Technology
Sales and Client Management
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member
Video Highlights
1. TikTok offers many internships and entry-level jobs for recent college grads.
2. For strategy roles, experience from management consulting or marketing is preferred.
3. Product management is a great entry-level option in tech, offering transferable skills and technical knowledge without needing an engineering background.
Transcript
What entry-level positions might an undergraduate college student consider in this field?
I actually checked the TikTok job website this morning, and there are over 150 jobs for either internships or recent college graduates. So, I know that they exist.
Specifically in strategy, there aren't a ton of directly out of undergrad positions in-house for strategy roles. This is because most companies prefer to hire people who have broader experience in strategy, which they normally gain through management consulting or marketing, like I did.
If you would like a role like mine, I would suggest going into consulting straight out of undergrad if you can, or into in-house marketing. This will help you gain the necessary experience and applicable skills to transition your career into strategy.
But if that is not of interest, I've heard that product management is a really great place for undergrads to start who are interested in the tech space. Product managers not only gain soft skills like collaborating with others and managing people who aren't their direct reports, but they also gain project management skills.
They gain time management skills and technical knowledge like an engineer, without being an engineer. This is because you have to speak the engineer's language and then translate that to everyday speak for the company. These skills are transferable to literally every other function at a company.
So, if you're interested in tech but don't want to go the consulting route to then transition into strategy, I would highly recommend product management.